This year's State of the Inner City Report: Breaking Barriers, Building Bridges speaks to concerns raised by community-based organizations about Government disregard for the impact their decisions can have on vulnerable people. It provides policy makers with recommendations for working more collaboratively with community.
Municipalities and urban development
This report looks at the popularity of Toronto’s public libraries—the busiest in North America and second busiest in the world— and documents how the Toronto Public Library system has been reeling under years of real cuts to staffing, operating, capital and acquisitions budgets. The report finds that that the TPL system is in critical need of an immediate and long-term reinvestment in staff, books and materials acquisition, repairs and new buildings to continue to serve the growing needs of the population.
To date, 38 municipalities have passed motions expressing concern about the closed door negotiations for a comprehensive economic and trade agreement (CETA) going on between the EU and Canada.
OTTAWA—Underinvestment in infrastructure is not a crisis but a chronic problem in Canada, says a new study by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA).
The study, by economist and CCPA Research Associate Hugh Mackenzie, reveals the extent of underinvestment in infrastructure over the past four decades and makes recommendations on how to close the infrastructure funding gap.
TORONTO—Toronto’s public libraries are the busiest in North America and second busiest in the world but have suffered from 20 years of chronic underfunding, says a Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives-Ontario (CCPA-Ontario) report.
The Great Equalizer: The Case for Investing in the Toronto Public Library looks at public library use and government funding going all the way back to pre-amalgamation 1992 – something no one had ever done before.
Since the 1960s, planning for community-based care for people with disabilities has been a major focus in Canada. Many municipalities have adopted zoning strategies that exclude facilities for people with disabilities from their territory. These uses of municipal powers restrict the ability of people to live in neighbourhoods that might provide access to employment, services and other amenities. They also dampen the health and diversity of neighbourhoods. However, municipalities do not have to act in this way.
Control over the use of land is politically charged, and has frequently led to cases of unfair treatment in the courts and human rights tribunals. Rulings have found that many cities in Canada have used their powers to exclude sections of the population, and Winnipeg is no exception. In fact, a case of ‘people zoning’ – the attempt to regulate on the basis of occupants rather than buildings – from this city the early 1990s has been used as a key precedent. The long and ongoing history of such uses of municipal power has had important impacts for people and neighbourhoods.
Halifax, NS—Now is the time to have serious discussions about what kind of community Halifax residents want for themselves and their neighbours. That's why the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives-Nova Scotia (CCPA-NS) releases its first ever Alternative Municipal Budget for the HRM today during the election campaign and well in advance of the normal budget cycle.
“This document gives our current Council, Council hopefuls and the community, fuel to spark real conversations about the services we need, and what we can afford,” says CCPA-NS Director, Christine Saulnier.
A Sustainable Vision for our Community: Alternative Municipal Budget for the Halifax Regional Municipality is the culmination of a collaborative effort involving more than 20 individuals from academia, the non-profit secto
This two-part report explores the impacts of condominium conversions and rent increases for low-income tenants in Winnipeg's inner city. The first part of the research looks at the quantitative reality of condo conversions and rent increases due to renovations while the second part of the research looks at low-income renters’ housing experiences. The report finds that many renter households in the three focus neighbourhoods are at higher risk of being displaced as a result of condo conversions and rent increases, and that often they have a more difficult time finding a new place to live.