Earlier this month, I blogged about the At Home/Chez Soi homelessness study prior to the release of its final report. Today I’ve blogged again, this time about the contents of the final report itself. This second blog post, being rather long and nuanced, was written for the Homeless Hub. It
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The Progressive Economics Forum: 10 Things to Know About the At Home/Chez Soi Study
On Tuesday, April 8, results of the Mental Health Commission of Canada‘s At Home/Chez Soi homelessness study will be released at an Ottawa press conference. The study followed more than 2,000 participants in five Canadian cities. All were homeless when the study began. Half of them received the Housing First intervention,
Continue readingScripturient: Blog & Commentary: Should councillors abstain from voting?
In an earlier post, I wrote that Collingwood’s Integrity Commissioner, Robert Swayze, proposed two changes to the town’s Procedural Bylaw: amending section 13.7 and deleting section 13.8. Last post I dealt with the former; here I will explain my concerns about the latter. Section 13.8 currently reads: 13.8 No vote
Continue readingScripturient: Blog & Commentary: Brands, Buzz & Going Viral
My third book for Municipal World, Brands, Buzz & Going Viral, has just been published as part of the Municipal Information Series. I received my author’s copies yesterday. I am very proud of this book; it took a lot of work to research and write. I enjoyed writing it. I hope
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: Homelessness Policy
This afternoon, I gave a presentation on public policy responding to homelessness in Canada, with a focus on the past decade. I gave the presentation at this year’s annual conference of the Ontario Non-Profit Housing Association. Points I made in the presentation include the following: -Once inflation is accounted for,
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: On consistent rules
Bill Curry reports that many Canadian municipalities are wondering why Rob Ford has access to funding streams not available to anybody else: Ottawa’s $660-million gift to Toronto for a subway extension will come from a program that does not yet exist, leaving Canada’s other cities confused as to how they
Continue readingScripturient: Blog & Commentary: The Enemies List
Canadians barely lifted an eyebrow in surprise when it was revealed that our Prime Minister had an “enemies list” compiled as a warning to newly-minted cabinet ministers laying out who they can’t trust. I mean, we’ve lived with Harper as leader long enough not be shocked by anything that seems
Continue readingChadwick's Blog & Commentary: A Sneak Peak Inside Our New Fire Hall
Councillor Lloyd and I took a tour through the new fire hall, at the corner of High and Third Streets, today. It’s still under construction, but the main components are finished and the firefighters have moved in. It’s an impressive … Continue reading →
Continue readingChadwick's Blog & Commentary: The Decline in Media Credibility and Profitability
Last August the Pew research Center released the results of its latest study on how much the American public trusts the media. This has been part of an ongoing study since at least 2002, and ever since the first report, … Continue reading →
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: The CFIB’s Municipal Manipulations
After analyzing “research reports” issued by the Fraser Institute or the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB), I usually end up shaking my head in disbelief. Do they really need to so grossly distort and manipulate the statistics to make their arguments? The answer is invariably “yes”. That’s because the
Continue readingChadwick's Blog & Commentary: Pets and Policies: Why Dog Parks Matter
Back in April, 2011, I wrote a post about municipal policies towards pets, now in the blog archives. I noted then that… A recent survey done by Colin Siren of Ipsos Reid estimated there are 7.9 million cats and 5.9 … Continue reading →
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: On regressive choices
Yesterday, I offered a quick, off-the-cuff response to the Sask Party’s decision to restrict municipalities in applying property taxes to commercial and industrial land. But let’s look in a bit more detail at the warped economic theory Jim Reiter is spouting in defence of the move: “A very, very small
Continue readingThe Canadian Progressive: City of Nanaimo asks to be excluded from CETA
Council of Canadians celebrates vote for transparency and democracy By: Council of Canadians | Press Release: NANAIMO, B.C. – The Council of Canadians and its Mid Island chapter are celebrating a decision by City Council last night to demand a permanent exemption for the City from the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and
Continue readingChadwick's Blog & Commentary: The open government report
On Monday’s agenda, council received a 21-page report from the clerk on the nature and mechanics of open government in Collingwood. This comprehensive report, titled the “Accountability and Transparency Policy,” because it also introduced a revised, formal policy, listed all of … Continue reading →
Continue readingcalgaryliberal.com: Conservative Minister: Cities Don’t Contribute to the Albertan Economy
The Conservative minister for municipal affairs made a very peculiar response to a question by Laurie Blakeman, Liberal MLA for Edmonton-Centre. She was posing a question about how the revenues from taxes disproportionately went to rural Alberta. In Alberta some rural jurisdictions receive almost up to $2,000 for each of
Continue readingThe Canadian Progressive: Toronto, Prince Albert demand public dialogue on Canada-EU trade deal
By: Council of Canadians (Press Release) | March 1, 2013: OTTAWA – Two more municipalities have taken action as part of the Council of Canadians’ campaign to mobilize local governments against the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA). This week, Prince Albert City Council endorsed community demands for a bigger public role in
Continue readingChadwick's Blog & Commentary: Half Time News
This month, Collingwood residents got a newsletter in their Collus- PowerStream utility bill: The Half Time News. Recognizing this is the season of the Super Bowl, our brochure provides residents a fun yet non-political update on the events and activities … Continue reading →
Continue readingcalgaryliberal.com: Alberta. Something is Broken
Let me run through the last two months of scandals to you, dearest reader. 45 illegal donations from universities, public institutions, and municipalities to the PC party may or may not be paid back. Daveberta says the PCs are confused and sending out mixed messages. There has been no pay back
Continue readingChadwick's Blog & Commentary: Another day on the job in Paradise… chapter one
Mayor Ralph “Bosco” Hearne, whistling softly “Everything’s Up to Date in Kansas City” under his breath, gazed at the wood-and-polished-brass, 19th-century front doors of town hall and nodded slightly in approval. He stopped whistling, paused, and breathed out a gentle … Continue reading →
Continue readingChadwick's Blog & Commentary: Mayors Under Siege: Why Laws Must Change
Toronto Mayor Rob Ford is planning to appeal the recent judicial decision that ousted him from office for failing to obey one of the basic rules of municipal governance. In fact, during the hearing, he admitted never having read the Municipal … …
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