Category Archives: Poverty

‘Culturally-sensitive’ programming sometimes backfires

Posted on December 5, 2012 by Joseph Quesnel

Certain B.C. programs deemed to be culturally sensitive may be harming inner-city youth, rather than helping. Continue reading →

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Failed anti-GMO initiative victory for sound science and policy

Posted on November 7, 2012 by Joseph Quesnel

California voters have apparently defeated Proposition 37, a ballot measure that would have mandated labeling of foods made from genetically modified crops. While on the surface there is nothing wrong with a voluntary labelling scheme. This is much better than … Continue reading →

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Commercial fishing monopoly the problem

Posted on October 11, 2012 by Joseph Quesnel

A few weeks ago, the Frontier Centre released a policy series called Free to Fish: How a Freshwater Fish Monopoly is Impovering Aboriginal Fishers. The piece tackled the problem of the Freshwater Fish Marketing Corporation (the FFMC), which is the … Continue reading →

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Globe series on African prosperity provides lessons for First Nations

Posted on September 24, 2012 by Joseph Quesnel

The Globe and Mail is running an excellent six-part series called Africa Next, which reports on several case studies highlighting growing African prosperity. Apparently, investment has now outpaced foreign aid in that continent. That is certainly great news. However, some important … Continue reading →

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Trade deal with China may help aboriginal fishers here

Posted on September 13, 2012 by Joseph Quesnel

Canada is considering entering into a free trade agreement with China. Of course, there are issues surrounding that, including corruption, foreign takeovers and the rule of law generally. There is always the problem of China’s human rights record, which is a … Continue reading →

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Indigenous property ownership popular on both sides of border

Posted on September 6, 2012 by Joseph Quesnel

Although the proposal does not seem to go as far as the proposed First Nations Property Ownership Act (FNPOA) in Canada, the Helping Expedite and Advance Responsible Tribal Homeownership Act (HEARTH), which was passed without one dissenting voice in the … Continue reading →

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Incentivizing home maintenance on isolated indigenous communities

Posted on June 19, 2012 by Joseph Quesnel

This is interesting. Municipal authorities offered six Nunavik communities in northern Quebec a contest aimed at increasing pride and improving homes. Prizes included a VIP trip to Montreal to see a Canadiens game, six months free rent, an Xbox. A … Continue reading →

Posted in Aboriginal, Housing, Poverty, Property Rights | 1 Comment

Are First Nations communities due for an “EI” style reform?

Posted on May 30, 2012 by Joseph Quesnel

John Ivison of the National Post wrote an excellent column on the opportunities that an aging Canadian population presents to a youthful burgeoning First Nation population. This is particularly important given the resource boom in Canada. For instance, Ivison points … Continue reading →

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Social Enterprise News

Posted on April 29, 2012 by Les Routledge

An interesting concept of establishing an investment market for social enterprises is being established in Singapore. This should be a welcome development for people who like small government.  It is somewhat comparable to Cameron’s concept of Big Society in the … Continue reading →

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More First Nations bands gain control over their land and resources

Posted on April 13, 2012 by Joseph Quesnel

It is good news to hear that 18 more First Nations communities have signed deals to enter the First Nations Land Management Act (FNLMA) regime. The FNLMA allows bands to opt out of the land use parts of the Indian … Continue reading →

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Budget contains long term anti-poverty strategies for reserves

Posted on March 29, 2012 by Joseph Quesnel

While commentators, observers and pundits were busy focusing on the monetary commitment from Ottawa for First Nation education (which is very important, don’t get me wrong), they may have missed that the federal government is moving on actually trying to … Continue reading →

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Family Reunification

Posted on February 6, 2012 by Steve Lafleur

Recently I wrote an Op-Ed in the National Post where I argued that the family re-unification program has a number of benefits that are difficult to quantify. Critics of the immigration status quo often claim that there is a “net … Continue reading →

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