I recently contributed an essay to a paper series published by the University of Toronto’s Institute on Municipal Finance and Governance. The focus of my own essay is the role Canadian municipalities can play in addressing homelessness. A ‘top 10’ overview of the essay can be found here (in English):
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The Progressive Economics Forum: Guest editorial: Homelessness in Canada
I’ve written the guest editorial for a special edition of the International Journal on Homelessness. The guest editorial provides a general overview of homelessness in Canada (and I believe it serves as a helpful stand-alone reading for practitioners, researchers, students and advocates). My guest editorial can be found here (in
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: The 2022 Alberta budget
I’ve written a ‘top 10’ overview of the recent Alberta budget. My overview can be found here: https://monitormag.ca/articles/ten-things-to-know-about-the-recent-alberta-budget
Continue readingwmtc: what i’m reading: four lost cities: a secret history of the urban age by anna newitz
Wmtc readers may know that I am endlessly fascinated with ancient civilizations. Allan and I will go anywhere to see ruins from antiquity or Neolithic sites. My desire to see the remains of ancient civilizations has driven much of our travel, and the list of places I still want to
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: COVID and Homelessness: Ten things to know
I was recently invited by the The Economics Society of Northern Alberta to speak at their 2022 Outlook Conference about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on homelessness. Here’s an overview of my presentation: https://nickfalvo.ca/covid-and-homelessness-ten-things-to-know/
Continue readingwmtc: national day for truth and reconciliation: bearing witness, finding meaning
On September 30, many Canadians will have the day off in honour of a new holiday: National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. The holiday was created in response to the continuing revelations of mass graves located beneath the sites of the former concentration camps known as Indian Residential Schools. The
Continue readingTHE FIFTH COLUMN: How Should We Judge Historical Figures
Should historical figures be judged by the best things they have done or the worst. Should they be judged by the standards of today or of their time. Should some things like slavery or genocide be considered evil no matter when they may have occurred. These are legitimate questions to
Continue readingwmtc: who else turned 60 this year: celebrating the bc ndp
The great Tommy Douglaswas an MP for a BC riding in the 1960s. I recently learned that the BC NDP — the party I vote for, the party that currently leads the provincial government — is 60 years old this year. There’s a website showing highlights of the party’s accomplishments.
Continue readingwmtc: indigenous peoples day at the kwalilas hotel in port hardy
On Indigenous Peoples Day, the day of the summer solstice, we attended a ceremony held by the local First Nations communities outside the Kwa’lilas Hotel, the beautiful Indigenous-owned hotel in Port Hardy. I purposely didn’t bring a camera, thinking photography was prohibited — only to discover that because this was
Continue readingwmtc: what i’m reading: the heartbeat of wounded knee: native america from 1890 to the present
The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee is a fascinating nonfiction. Part hidden history, part contemporary journalism, plus a dash of personal memoir, this ambitious book offers a new perspective on the Indigenous peoples of North America, in both the past and the present. Historian and journalist David Treuer, who is Ojibwe,
Continue readingwmtc: "at your library" in the north island eagle: the library celebrates national indigenous people’s month
Still catching up on posting my columns. The recent horrific discovery in Kamloops of the remains of 215 Indigenous children, buried in an unmarked mass grave, brought home the horrors of the Residential School system. Many people in North Island communities may be retraumatized by this news, and those who
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: Supporting Indigenous tenants in non-profit housing
Horizon Housing (in Calgary) recently had me write a report on how to improve housing outcomes for its Indigenous tenants (i.e., tenants who are First Nation, Métis or Inuit). Here’s a ‘top 10’ overview of the final report: https://nickfalvo.ca/supporting-indigenous-residents-at-horizon-housing/
Continue readingwmtc: thoughts on not celebrating canada day #cancelcanadaday
If it wasn’t clear why we should not be celebrating Canada Day this year, by now it should be. Three days after the discovery of 215 skeletons of children were found at the site of a former residential school in Kamloops, the remains of approximately 750 adults and children in
Continue readingwmtc: bearing witness: 215 tiny skeletons speak to us. canadians must listen.
The discovery, last week, of the remains of 215 children on the site of a former Indian Residential School has sent shock waves through Canada, especially through this province, where the gruesome evidence was found. The unmarked mass grave contained the skeletons of children, some seemingly as young as three
Continue readingwmtc: what i’m reading: there, there by tommy orange
After finishing and marveling over Kate Reed Petty’s True Story, I picked up There There by Tommy Orange and had a similar reaction. I don’t read a lot of popular fiction, so reading two debut novels back to back, and really enjoying both of them, was a wonderful surprise. What does it mean
Continue readingwmtc: rtod: kids are jumping out of windows of burning buildings, so we board up the windows instead of putting out the fire
Revolutionary thought of the day: What I’m here to talk about is how our whole approach since day one has been like this: Kids are jumping out the windows of burning buildings, falling to their deaths. And we think the problem is that they’re jumping. This is what we’ve done:
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: The 2021 federal budget
I’ve written a ‘top 10’ overview of the recent federal budget. The link to the post is available here: https://nickfalvo.ca/ten-things-to-know-about-canadas-2021-federal-budget/
Continue readingTHE FIFTH COLUMN: The future of Laurentian University is in the hands of a flawed process and an anti-education government
When Laurentian University was founded it was not to create a profit making enterprise but to create an educational institution to serve the north, one that went on to include an important partnership with the Franco-Ontarian and Indigenous communities. Using a mechanism (Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act) designed to ensure profit
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: Canada: Ten things to know about the federal role in housing policy
I’ve written a 750-word overview of the federal role in housing policy. The English-language version is here: https://nickfalvo.ca/canada-ten-things-to-know-about-the-federal-role-in-housing-policy/ The French-language version is here: https://nickfalvo.ca/canada-dix-faits-saillants-sur-le-role-du-federal-en-matiere-de-politique-du-logement/
Continue readingwmtc: roots and icebergs: decolonizing community spaces: a workshop
I recently attended a six-hour workshop called Decolonizing Community Spaces. The workshop was led by two facilitators, one a Native American speaking to us from her traditional territories in Montana, and the other a Filipina-Canadian. About 30 people attended; I believe all were health and service providers in the province
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