Introduction The 2021–22 Budget, titled Protecting Lives and Livelihoods, covers the time period April 1, 2021 until March 31, 2022. This is the third budget of the governing United Conservative Party (UCP) as they enter the halfway point of their term. It is also the first budget that addresses the COVID-19 pandemic, which has upended the lives...

Introduction To increase awareness of the dynamic social agencies that serve the diverse communities within Edmonton, this fACT Sheet provides a summary of HIV Edmonton and its history, mission, and the services it offers. About HIV Edmonton HIV Edmonton was founded in 1984, when the global HIV/AIDS crisis was a pressing concern, from a sense of...

Introduction The COVID-19 pandemic and the ensuing economic downturn took hold in Canada starting in March 2020, exacerbated inefficiencies in Canada’s social safety net. The federal government, to its credit, worked quickly to deliver emergency relief to millions of Canadians who found themselves suddenly jobless or furloughed. Nevertheless,...

What is Food (In)Security? As defined by the United Nations’ World Food Summit of 1996, food security exists when “all people, at all times, have physical, social, and economic access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food to meet dietary needs for a productive and healthy life.” Food insecurity occurs when individuals or families lack access...

Introduction The COVID-19 pandemic upended Canada’s economy when public health measures forced the closure of businesses, and millions of Canadians lost their jobs or saw their incomes greatly decrease. It was immediately clear in the wake of this that the eligibility criteria for Employment Insurance (EI)—a federal program which delivers...