February 2017

The Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) recently announced two new programs that will provide funding, training and knowledge sharing to help Canadian municipalities take action on climate change and strengthen infrastructure planning and decision-making. 

The first option, the Municipalities for Climate Innovation Program, is designed to help communities adapt to the realities of climate change, such as extreme storms, colder winters, hotter summers, rising sea levels, flooding and drought. It also provides support to help municipalities reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and tackle the root causes of climate change. The second option, Municipal Asset Management Program, is designed to help municipalities strengthen asset management practices and make informed decisions about their community’s infrastructure—from roads, to bridges, to wastewater systems.

Funding for plans and studies offered through the Municipalities for Climate Innovation Program will be available in early 2017. More information on the Municipal Asset Management Program will be released in the coming months.

We recently discovered this great website called “Equitable and just sustainability transitions through social science insight”, penned by Dr. Stephen Zavestoski. As a professor in the Environmental Studies Program and Department of Sociology at the University of San Francisco, he is “weaving together [his] personal life, research, and teaching to move society toward” "equitable and just sustainability transitions through social science insight” (Stephen Savestoski, n.d., Home). You can find his blog on the homepage, where he shares regular updates on his work, ideas, current events, and reactions to new research. We’re always excited to discover other academics actively using social media tomobilize their research and findings.

Click here to learn more about his research. You can also find him on Twitter.

Creative Commons image via Public Domain Pictures

The Metcalf Foundation just released a report called, “A Basic Income for Canadians: What would change?”, written by Metcalf Innovation Fellow and income security expert John Stapleton.

The idea of a basic income is not a new one. In the last few years, there has been a significant revival of interest across Canada and internationally in its potential. In late 2016, the Ontario government announced its intention to carry out a basic income pilot project in communities across the province. A Basic Income for Canadians contributes to the spirited discussion surrounding this proposed pilot by analyzing how a basic income model would work in real-life situations.

The report compares the actual budgets of four people receiving income security benefits: an elderly veteran, a senior living in poverty, a single mother, and a member of the working poor. Stapleton’s research reveals how each person is served by our existing income security system, and how their circumstances could change if a basic income was implemented to bring all Canadians up to the poverty line. The results are illuminating, and provide valuable insights into the implications of introducing this new social policy approach.

To learn more, visit the Metcalf Foundation’s website or download a copy of the report here.