This spring, Raphael released a second updated and expanded edition featuring the latest figures on poverty, and a new, hefty chapter critiquing all federal and provincial anti-poverty programs.��And he clarified, in the final chapter, what people can do to stem growing poverty in Canada, the fourth wealthiest nation on the planet. Rob Rainer, executive director of Canada Without Poverty, wrote the foreword.��

“You are holding in your hands the single most valuable reference on poverty in Canada, a book whose dog-eared copy sits prominently on the bookshelf in my office,” Rainer began, referring to the first edition of Poverty and Policy in Canada (see YFile, May 15, 2007). Valuable, he stressed, for its breadth, its provocative questions, its lists of resources – and because of the person behind this work.��

Raphael, notes Rainer, “has encyclopedic knowledge about poverty in Canada. He has developed this from making the study of poverty central to his life’s work. But unlike some academics who are content to study and publish…Raphael goes beyond publishing to be a scholar (uncommonly) determined to be and unafraid of speaking truth to power."

Raphael wrote the original book to meet a need for a textbook in a third-year course he teaches on poverty and health in 91��ɫ's School of Health Policy & Management.��

The book explores the links between poverty, policy, health and quality of life for Canadians.��Raphael argues, writes Rainer, that unless Canadian governments take steps to reduce the inequities between the rich and poor, "we can expect poverty and its devastating impact and cost to be a virtually permanent fixture of our society."

In the book’s new chapter, "Anti-Poverty Strategies and Programs", Raphael assesses “a bewildering array” of more than 70 so-called anti-poverty programs, from swimming lessons and drop-in centres, to housing and health services, and concludes that most, however well-intended, lack impact. Quebec and Newfoundland offer more effective programs than the other provinces, says Raphael, but poverty can only be eliminated by raising the minimum wage, offering benefits to temporary and part-time workers, and raising social assistance and disability benefits to health-sustaining levels, among other things.��Making it easier for Canadians to form unions is also very important, says Raphael.

Left: Dennis Raphael

What is the future of poverty in Canada, asks Raphael in his final chapter. That depends on the will and influence of political parties to introduce poverty-reducing policies, such as the proposed national child-care program, he argues. “Conservative dominance should lead to little if any decline in child poverty rates and – due to greater implementation of market-oriented rather than equity-based policies – may increase these rates,” he says. Finally, he says, voting for left-leaning parties that advocate social reform would go a long way towards reducing poverty in Canada.

Poverty in Canada: Implications for Health and Quality of Life is published by .��

Republished courtesy of YFile – 91��ɫ’s daily e-bulletin.

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“My intention is to focus on the history, appointment, as well as the tensions or problems emanating from the vice-regal role in Quebec, particularly in recent times,” says Persaud. “This topic has to do in large measure with Quebec's identity, but it also has a strong federal-provincial interface, as the lieutenant-governor is appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister, a central feature of Canada's constitutional monarchical system.”

Right: Radha Persaud

Since the lieutenant-governor of Quebec underscores the British monarchical nature of that province, a significant question to look at is whether this institutional feature of Quebec's governmental system creates tensions or problems that impede the province's full domestic legitimacy and capacity in the Canadian federation, says Persaud.

“To put it another way, whether the institution of the lieutenant governor is a heritage that enriches or impedes Quebec's ability for self-determination within the federal system, particularly in the areas where it is supposed to have a relatively large measure of provincial autonomy in a federal system that, arguably, was intended to be asymmetrical in spirit, if not in form.”

His research will contribute to a public discourse on the significance and legitimacy of the head of state for Quebec, a province that was central to the compromises reached by the founding partners in the Canadian system of governance. Persaud argues that this discourse is particularly significant for the governments and societies of Quebec, because the current federal constitutional arrangements deviate in some important respects from the general tenets of federalism, and in effect, the conceptions of Canada, as they were represented in 1867.

Persaud has demonstrated a continued professional interest in the role of lieutenant-governors in his previous research and in his teaching at Glendon. In January , lieutenant-governor of Ontario was an invited guest and speaker in Persaud’s class on Canadian government. In his address, Onley talked about his vice-regal role and responsibilities, and fielded questions from the students.

Persaud sees his current project as the commencement of a process of formalizing the head of state’s political-legal standing and power in Quebec and, by implication, the rest of Canada – both legitimating the head of state's power, and formalizing it as a kind of republican move to deal with problems of federalism and the role of the head of state in the parliamentary system.

“Thus, a central question to this study is whether there ought to be a Quebec-based process for selecting a lieutenant governor, or another head of state with residual powers that will give the office more legitimacy for the people of Quebec, rather than the current system of appointment, notwithstanding any process of consultation that may have taken place between the prime minister and the premier before such appointments are made,” he says.

Submitted by Marika Kemeny, Glendon communications officer.

Republished courtesy of YFile– 91��ɫ’s daily e-bulletin

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McDonald's is giving away free coffee, while Tim Hortons' Roll Up The Rim To Win campaign is in full throttle. Which company is winning the coffee war? What does it bring to the bottom line? And, which brand tastes better?

The on BNN's Web site.

Robert Latham, associate professor of Political Science and director of 91��ɫ’s Centre for International & Security Studies, and Qasim Farah, a 91��ɫ graduate student in the Faculty of Environmental Studies, spoke about the possible recruiting of young Canadian Somalis by Al Shahab, an organization that has been added to the government’s list of terrorist organizations, on CBC Radio’s “” March 10. The audio clip is available on .

Barbo Ciakudia, an international studies student at Glendon College and an organizer of 91��ɫ's How Much Do You Know About the D. R. Congo? conference, was interviewed on Metro Morning about the relationship between coltan, a metallic ore used to manufacture electronics, such as cell phones and computers, and the Congo's decades-long conflict. Both the interview and the conference took place on March 11. The segment runs over seven minutes and is available on CBC's "" Web site.

Posted by Elizabeth Monier-Williams, research communications officer, with files courtesy of YFile – 91��ɫ’s daily e-bulletin.

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