Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives
301 - 583 Ellice Ave R3B 1Z7 Winnipeg, MB, Canada

Dr. Samir Sinha, director of geriatrics at Mount Sinai hospital in Toronto...is critical of what he calls the level of inaction on the part of the province and the WRHA, who could have learned from the devastating death tolls in care homes in Ontario and Quebec during the first wave of the coronavirus. He questions why the WRHA did not step in immediately when the Red Cross assessed 20 extra staff are needed but can't be deployed until Friday. https://www.cbc.ca//maples-care-home-covid19-winnipeg-1.57

Join us on November 25th for an online teach-in as prominent Indigenous leaders discuss perspectives on colonialism and COVID-19. Register at: https://ccpamb2020.eventbrite.ca/

Climate activists hung a banner across Portage Avenue this morning calling on the federal government to cancel the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion and spend the $13 billion instead on a Green Recovery. The Canadian government bought the Trans Mountain pipeline for $4.5 billion in 2018 and already the project costs have risen to $13 billion, but will likely go far higher. Many Indigenous communities along the pipeline expansion route oppose the pipeline. ... Please email / call your MP and Justin Trudeau to show your support. Shared via Manitoba Energy Justice Coalition #climatechange

Winnipeg moving to "code red" critical #COVID19 restrictions. Manitoba reports 480 new cases today putting pressure on health system and ICU beds virtually at capacity. How did we get into this situation? COVID spread at for-profit personal care homes and health system under-funded to begin with (see Manitoba Health Coalition for details). Our office continues to crunch the numbers to show austerity (cutting taxes and funding at the same time) is bad for public health, and BTW defies standard economic theory. Watch for more on this from our office soon. #mbpoli & on our blog www.policyfix.ca

Council met today to consider this - a step forward to $15/ hour by 2023 as a floor for all City workers, but not a #livingwage. Lynne Fernandez, the Errol Black Chair in Labour Issues presented to Council today to educate them on what is a #livingwage and how the City of Winnipeg could become *certified* #livingwage employer https://www.winnipegfreepress.com//city-takes-step-toward-

New Work Life: Stella's Strike - It's About Fairness By Paul Moist OCTOBER 21, 2020...Continue reading

Do you have your tickets to our annual fundraiser yet?! Please join us to honour long-standing activist and organizer Shirley Lord and learn about worker supports during the pandemic from David Macdonald, senior economist at CCPA National

A new report KPMG sends Manitoba Housing down a dead end: Learning the wrong lessons from Great Britain, Australia, and New Zealand by Doug Smith outlines the problems of KPMG’s regressive recommendations for Manitoba. With the support of this research being launched today and in response to concerns from community housing advocates and tenants, the Right to Housing Coalition is launching a new campaign at this online event: Keep Public Housing Public: www.righttohousing....ca In 2017 the KPMG consulting firm prepared the Manitoba Fiscal Performance Review: Phase Two ReportBusiness Case Social Housing for the Manitoba Government. KPMG considered leading practices from Great Britain, Australia, and New Zealand, which are to: privatize public housing; reduce benefits; increase barriers for eligibility to benefits; subsidize private landlords and open up public services to private investors. Each of these jurisdictions is also experiencing a commonly recognized crisis in the supply and affordability of housing characterized by: decline in home ownership and rising housing prices, no growth in rent-geared-to income units and lack of affordable housing. The report observes the following on the KPMG proposals: 1. Privatization. The Manitoba government should make use of its access to capital, economies of scale, and experience in the governance of housing to manage the housing it owns. The time, energy, money, and risk involved in transferring publicly owned housing to the non-profit sector would be better spent in supporting the sector in the construction and operation of new housing 2. Vouchers/rent supplement. Adequate rent supplements are a necessity in an overpriced rental market, but they are insufficient without a dynamic public/social housing sector. 3. Social impact bonds. There is a very limited data on the use of social impact bonds to build public housing. There is, however, a growing literature on the limited value and considerable risk of using these bonds. https://www.policyalternatives.ca//kpmg-sends-manitoba-hou About the author Doug Smith is the author of KPMG sends Manitoba Housing down a dead end: Learning the wrong lessons, from Great Britain, Australia, and New Zealand. Smith has worked as writer on numerous provincial and federal inquiries and commissions including the Aboriginal Justice Inquiry and the Indian Residential Schools Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

Please join us for this report launch and Right to Housing Campaign launch tomorrow

One Hell of a Winter unless Province steps up on EIA and Housing People line up at a social distance to stay at Just A Warm Sleep this past March during the COVID-19 pandemic. Photo credit: 1JustCity Can you imagine your grandma deciding that sleeping outside is safer than in a shelter? For 75 year old Granny D, this was the choice she made during COVID 19. She did not want to be inside for fear of catching the virus due to pre-existing health conditions, her disability and...Continue reading

Op ed in today's Free Press with Tessa Blaikie-Whitecloud, ED of One Just City and Molly McCracken, CCPA MB director "The Manitoba government needs to look objectively at who is truly vulnerable socially and economically in the COVID-19 crisis. It must ensure they have access to shelter, while adequately funding EIA and housing options in order to prevent loss of life and further transmission of COVID-19 this winter." https://www.winnipegfreepress.com//harsh-winter-awaits-unl

Manitoba has started selling off public housing units. New research, launched at this event, looks at evidence of the impacts in UK, AUS and NZ when this has taken place. Right to Housing Coalition is launching a new campaign here in Manitoba to keep public housing public. Please join us for this research and campaign launch Oct 20th. Info on how to register in event below.

Hi, this event is being live streamed here actually: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=469161584004519

TODAY! This report launch will be live streamed to our facebook page at 11 am, please join us!