My final blog

     Coming in to this course, I was very nervous. It wasn’t like anything I had ever done before. In college, we had a lot of theory class yes, but we had more hands on stuff (role-plays, labs, presentation etc.). We learned about the policies that affect the type of clients I was studying to work with, children. Taking this BSW course was to expand the type of clients I could work with and for my own personal knowledge. Right away at the beginning of this course, I understood that it was going to provide me with a good basis to understand the WHY AND HOW of many of the things I had learned in college. For me, the main thing I have taken with me at this end of the course is that the people have the answers. We are able to apply what we learned to issues going on in the world and make a difference. This has been shown to me in three ways; class learning material, blog & presentations, and classroom discussions.     

The readings in the book and classroom discussions really helped me to look into the past regarding the social welfare programs we have now like employment insurance, child tax benefit and social assistance. I have acquired an understanding of where these programs came from and why they were development. In addition, I am able to comprehend the purpose of the programs. Moreover, gaps in our system also became more apparent to me, helping me to see places that I may need to advocate for my future clients such as lack of affordable housing or not fitting a certain criteria for funding assistance. I can see how social policies affect so much of these things we can do as social workers. Something else made clearer to me because of readings and classroom slides were the vast ideologies that are used to implement many of our policies.  I always knew what the political parties were but never understand what they really stood for or represented. I now understand. I have a clearer grasp on how each party affects us in the ways we live our daily lives. I am not proud to say that I have never voted before. At first, it was just because I was never sent that little card in the mail and I made excused, but I never really understood anything about it or had a position. I can now say that I know where I would like to place my vote, and this course did that for me. 

Secondly, the blogs and presentations were amazing. I learned so much about different groups of people. Everyone did such a great job of researching relevant topics to each group and taught me so many new things. I had no idea some of the struggles individuals in each group went through. Again, this really opened up my eyes to many gaps we have in our society. As advance as we think we are here in Canada, in some ways, we have fallen way behind.  I was shocked to find out some issues still going on with our LGBT community. I couldn’t believe the post about gay men not being able to donate blood. Similarly, I always knew immigrants and refugees coming into Canada had struggles but I had no idea that Canada had a bill that allowed for these families to be separated until the family could be cleared. These are just two of the many things I have learned over reading the blogs of my colleagues. I have enjoyed looking over them and even having the ability to add my own comments on it.  My own personal blog encouraged me to dig deeper into a society that I felt comfortable that I knew lots about. At first, picking this topic seemed to be an easy one. We are northern Canadians right. We must have a good idea about the issues going on here. However, I was wrong. I think we had a good basis but there was so much more to discover. Over the past year I saw those Ontario Northland is not for sale signs everywhere. I had an idea of what they were about but didn’t really think much of it to be honest. After researching the topic and blogging about it, I found myself being an advocate for this. I truly believed in what I was writing and shared it with whoever would listen. We were really close to the subject matter in our blog and I feel good about the fact that we, as a group, we able to educate the class in some of the issues we see going on. 

The classroom discussions are the last thing I would like to mention as a learning experience for me. I always enjoy listening to teachers who have a lot of experience in the material they are presenting. However, the best part is always when you can learn from the students in your class. Some of us are working in the field already, are knowledgeable about a certain culture or even part of a particular culture or have even experienced some of the things we discussed in class. Our classroom had a great learning environment that allowed free discussion were people felt safe to disclosed information for the learning of our classmates. I loved that part of the class. I really enjoyed hearing all the stories of the people in the field and people who shared experiences of their cultures. This is something that really stood out for my in this class. 

Overall, this class had provided me with many different learning experiences that I am grateful more. Mostly though, it has shown me that we have the answers. Who better to solve the problem of the people, than the people themselves? 

     Angele, Timmins

Reflecting over this term; it’s all about the Journey

            I spent some time searching online to find a great quote that makes me think of where I am on this spectrum I would like to call my learning curve. I find that this one is the best as I truly feel it represents what I have gone through over the last few months. LeGuin (2012) says “It is good to have an end to journey toward but it is the journey that matters, in the end”.

            When I look back over these few months I definitely find that three particular parts of this program stick out and was things that taught me the most, firstly was the library assignment and the research that was required within this assignment. Secondly was the blogs we completed and commented on. I found that I definitely learned so much I did not know and most likely would not have known without the hard work and great research of my fellow colleagues. Finally was the presentations completed by all the groups.

            When I look at the library assignment as a Timmins student I needed to do this on my own, however the learning done and skills I got from this assignment have helped me not only in this class but also in other classes I have this term and needed to do research for. It will also help me with future assignments in which I need to do research and will have a better idea of what to put in my search bar to get richer and acceptable material for my papers or work.

            The blogs were a lot of work but I got a lot out of them, I learned a lot from the other blogs, got great feedback from my colleagues, and put some great blogs together myself. I felt that it got me thinking on a different level having to use different lenses to look at these different issues in society today. They definitely made me work harder than I have in many other assignments for some of my other courses or educational journeys.

            The presentations were great, I really liked how each individual group put their own spin on the issues they presented about their groups, I liked how some brought tools, and how others have different presentation formats. This was a very enriching experience!

            Overall I see how my views on things affecting myself and others are different and I recognize that there are so many issues out there that affect people in a variety of different ways. I also recognize that there are so many ways to look at any situation or circumstance.

Angela

Another semester gone by

Another semester gone by

Three months have just flown by, and all the stress, assignments and hectic schedules will soon be over, at least for a bit of time. Over these past few months my knowledge of several different types of issues of variable diversities cultures. The topic I learn the most about was my own Northern Rural Communities.  There has been so many different issues myself along with my colleagues have discussed that have been brought to my attention.

Some of the things I have learned through the blogging assignment was the lack of funding in education, cost of living up north is far greater than southern communities,  decisions make in southern communities have direct impact on northern communities; however, they may not be informed decisions, many of our professionals move away because the lack of educational facilities (brain drain), social welfare state for individuals, past ways of dealing with crime and violence, past healing methods and many more. I have gain a lot more insight on the issues that northern face on a daily basis. Having the abilities to read others blogs allowed me to gain more knowledge on different types of issues faced around Canada that I was unaware of or lack some knowledge. These give me more tools and knowledge to use in my career, being more aware of issues and the resources available to help.  In addition, the blogs all had references giving me additions tools in case I need to do more research on a specific topic.

From our main class I have learned about the political parties and their effect on communities and environment, many different ideologies, different point of views, history on First Nations communities and many more. The book is a great resources for a lot of the social welfare policies and additional resources that I could use in my future career. It was very interesting learning about the past and how polities use to control individuals and communities.  In addition, I have learned about the welfare state and a few of the pros and cons of welfare.  

I am very happy that each individual did such an amazing job on their blogs and were so insightful and informative giving me additional tools and resources to help later on in my career. In addition, having to write blogs using different ideologies gives me the opportunity to learn more information about these issues and be able to potentially help more clients, and help them find more resources. Also this gives me the ability to look at others point of view, and attempt to put myself in their shoes to attempt to understand their situation and be more empathetic.

Christine

Small Communities, Shopping To Make Them Sustainable?

It is close to Christmas, the time for everyone to shop shop shop. People are buying gifts for their friends, families, coworkers, teachers etc. This can be costly. Living in a small town myself, I can attest to the fact that there isn’t always the greatest and best priced selections. It can be hard to purchase a SUPER SPECIAL COOL and different toy from Wal-Mart, which is really our main toy store here. If you are anything like me, a gifted gift giver, you like to impress with your favors and gets something truly unique. So why not just take the day trip and spend a day shopping in Sudbury or Northbay or just order something online? There are many reason why not.This blog will discuss the concept of out shopping, how this is affecting our communities and how we can help.
Out shopping occurs when local consumers choose to shop in surrounding areas or online because of better prices, better goods or, in the case of the internet, easier access (Halseth, Ryser, & Durkee, 2005).  This obviously has a direct impact on resident businesses as they are losing money that could have been spent locally. Imagine if everyone was constantly travelling down to Sudbury to purchase bulk items like dog food or pantry staples. What would that look like for our local grocery stores and pet store? How would they survive? This is more than just an economic stance but also ensuring a better overall quality of life for the small communities (Halseth, Ryser, & Durkee, 2005).  Driving through small towns one can often see many local businesses with closed signs on their door. If we are looking at this from a conservative viewpoint, don’t we want to ensure economic growth in our own communities? It makes sense that shopping locally helps to create a more sustainable environment for our community. Travelling to a different place or shopping online results in leakages in local sales (Samli, Riecken & Yavas, 1983).  Sales lost to other locations can have a dramatic impact on small communities (Samli, Riecken & Yavas, 1983).  Governments give small business loans and tax credits to help them get head and allow them to grow thus providing the opportunity for economic growth; it is up to the people to take advantage of them (Conservative, 2012).  The rusty
bucket model is a graphic representation of what out shopping can do to a community. One can see the export money coming in, and going out through the “community holes” thus lowering our economic activity level.
What can we do? Take advantage of the business grants and tax reductions provided by the government. This will allow for job creation in our communities. As a possible business owner, find out what the community needs are and gear your business towards what the people need and what will make the community strong (Samli, Riecken & Yavas, 1983). Discover what it is that people are buying else wear and why? Addressing some of the reasons potential customer choose to shop non-local can help to alleviate some of the out shopping.  (Samli, Riecken & Yavas, 1983). Where there are jobs and businesses, there is money to be spent. Shop locally, it is important to be self-sustainability as a community.
Community economic growth is paramount to our future. Small local businesses play such a vital role in the growth of a community, as individuals it is important that we help them succeed. Each individual is responsible for a part in our community.

References

Halseth, G., Ryser , L., & Durkee, S. (2005). Shopping and commuting patterns in prince rupert, b.c.  University of Northern British Columbia Retrieved from http://web.unbc.ca/geography/faculty/greg/publications/NorthwestShopping/FinalShoppingReportPrinceRupert.pdf

Samli, A., Riecken, G., & Yavas, U. (1983). Intermarket shopping behavior and the small community: Problems and prospects of a widespead phenomenon. Journal of the Academy of Marke ring Science Winter, 11(2), 1-14. Retrieved from http://download.springer.com/static/pdf/616/art%3A10.1007%2FBF02721857.pdf?auth66=1355108623_d8621466fd99aaeb9719d9e0d14cf905&ext=.pdf

http://www.conservative.ca

Heart Of Gold :)

 

Timmins referred to the Heart of Gold city. 100 years ago Timmins was established and mines began to be built. The Hollinger mine was built in the center of Timmins, which produced a lot of gold (Green, 2011). Timmins soon became known as the city with the heart of gold. In the northern region mining has have tremendous impact on communities. As mines would open up more jobs would be created. Unfortunately for women, mining remains to be a very male dominated field (Lahiri-Dutt, 2012).

Why is it that mining remains to be dominated by male in a world that is supposed to be equal and just? The old saying anything a man can do a female can to, yet this seems to not be the case in mining. Some people feels as though women are not capable of handling the task of a miner, some feel it is not a women place to be in the mines, I say, if we as women can do the same job as you can, and can met the same requirements, we have every right to work in the mines. Unfortunately certain people do not agree. A lot of the northern communities are heavily based on mining resources. The Ring of Fire is a project that may be created in the northern region of Ontario, create and develop several mines (Ontario Nature, 2011).

In my career working as a Child and Youth worker for Child and Family services, most of my coworkers are females. When I go to the hospital I encounter many more female nurses, than I do male nurses. Even though it is social accepted that males can be a nurse or a social worker, up north we still see a lot of the gender based employment roles.  This could potentially be caused by males are working in the mines and females must find employment elsewhere.

Although we as females have come a long way in attempts to get equal rights, we still continue to face adversity and barriers along the way. This cannot stop you from continuing your aspired dreams, because I believe that men and women are capable of amazing things, and the word impossible is simply a state of mind that you have create for yourself to give yourself an excuse to give up. Anyone can achieve. One of my female clients at work told me that the word impossible simply means I’m Possible. Believe in yourself and your abilities, and believe that we are equals and allow yourself to succeed.

Christine- Girl Power :)

  

Lahiri-Dutt, Kuntala (2012) Digging women: towards a new agenda for feminist critiques of

mining.Gender, Place & Culture 19 (2), 193-212 Retrieved from: http://resolver.scholarsportal.info/resove/0966369x/v19i0002/193_dwtanaffcom

Green, Norman (2011) Thirty-Eight Years of Progress [Timmins History] Retrieved from

http://www.republicofmining.com/2011/01/02/thirty-eight-years-of-progress-%E2%80%93-by-norman-e-green-1947-49/

 

Ontario Nature. (2011). Ring of Fire Mining. Retrieved from

http://www.ontarionature.org/protect/campaigns/ring_of_fire.php

One system fits all ideology, what it could look like from a Social Democratic lens

            An a northern Ontario resident I recognize that in our Social Welfare system they have a one system fits all kind of approach with this Neoliberal Government in place. They offer financial help to those who are considered the deserving poor and it’s a set amount across the board. When I looked at the amounts available it was an estimate of the amount of financial assistance you could expect to receive. See Diagram A from the Region of Peel Website.

DIAGRAM A:

Basic Needs (*maximum allowances are indicated)
Number of Dependents	Single Applicant	Applicant and Spouse
No Dependents	$227	$448
1 Dependent 0-17 years	$347	$448
1 Dependent 18 years or older	$561	$588
1 Dependent 0-17 years and 1 Dependent 18 years or older	$561	$588

     If we were to consider this from a Social Democratic lens, we would look at what someone has and look at what they need and base the amount they get on those figures instead. So for example if you were a single mom of 3 and one of your children had a physical disability that required specialized supports there may be an amount that is included somewhere in your financial assistance to help with that need. Unfortunately this is not the case with our present system and many individuals and families slip through the systems cracks. According to the research that I found on the Ontario Ministry of Social Assistance website, “a lone parent with one child and that their annual income would be 18,351which falls just below the poverty line”. See Diagram B.

DIAGRAM B

Table 3 : total income from all sources compared to common poverty measures for selected households on Ontario Works and the Ontario Disability Support Program Toronto April 2010
Household	Total income	Percent of common poverty measures for Toronto
		After tax low-income measure	After tax low-income cut-off	Market Basket Measure
Ontario Works
Single adult	$7,878	($16,810) 47%	($18,930) 42%	($16,642) 47%
Two adult couple	$13,669	($23,534) 58%	($23,039) 60%	($23,298) 57%
Lone parent - one child	$18,351	($23,534) 78%	($23,039) 80%	($23,298) 79%
Lone parent - two children	$23,384	($28,578) 82%	($28,688) 82%	($28,292) 83%
Two adult - one child	$20,141	($28,578) 70%	($28,688) 70%	($28,292) 71%
Ontario Disability Support Program
Single adult	$13,362	($16,810) 80%	($18,930) 71%	($16,642) 80%
Two adult couple	$20,557	($23,534) 87%	($23,039) 89%	($23,298) 88%
Lone parent - one child	$24,795	($23,534) 105%	($23,039) 108%	($23,298) 106%
Lone parent - two children	$29,996	($28,578) 105%	($28,688) 105%	($28,292) 106%
Two adult - one child	$27,197	($28,578) 95%	($28,688) 95%	($28,292) 96%

     Taking into consideration that this means so many people go without what they need because there are some people in society who have so much more and yet still gets the same base line amount across the board. When we look at the differences in costs across Ontario, here in the north the cost of rent, hydro, gas and food is so much higher that we Northern Ontario residents need to use the amount we get for things that cost more. So in turn we get so very little for the things we need and yet the amount we get doesn’t cover those costs. It’s a revolving cycle and it can be depressing for so many who are just trying to stay afloat.  

Angela

REFERENCES

Ontario Works. (n.d). Region of Peel online. Retrieved from http://www.peelregion.ca/ow/applying/allowance.htm    on December 06, 2012

Social Assistance. (n.d). In Minisrty of Community and Social Assistance online. Retrieved from

http://www.mcss.gov.on.ca/en/mcss/publications/social/sarac/recipients_sarac.aspx  on December 06, 2012

 

 

The Sale of Ontario Northland, a Liberal View

If something isn’t broken, don’t fix it? How many of us have heard this expression in our lives? Now, let us think of the opposite, what if something is broken. Using my liberal lens, this blog will discuss the reasons behind the divestment of the OntarioNorthland Transportation Commission (ONTC).

Firstly, let us begin by looking at the numbers. I bet most of you were not aware that the ONTC would be costing us 100 million dollars a year to run, based on past and present trends (Ministry of Northern Development and Mines, 2012). This is compared to just under 28 million dollars not even a decade ago. In less than 10 years, the ONTC has upped its running cost by 71 million dollars! 430 million dollars thus far has been put into this service (Ministry of Northern Development and mines, 2012). This is unacceptable. Let’s honestly consider how much money has already gone into this service, with not only no revenue but our government actually paying out.  This subvention is actually costing us on average approximately 400$ per person for their ride on the Northlander train (Ministry of Northern Development and Mines, 2012). How can we justify these numbers? In school, we hear a lot about the idea of sustainable communities and viable options. Environment Canada defines sustainability as meeting the needs our current people without it taking from our future generations. Looking at the numbers noted above, how could one say that the train was a sustainable method of transportation? We expect the government to help us with making our communities more sustainable but there is a point where communities must take on the role themselves  (Alternatives Journal, 1996).

      Working in the social work field, we learn a lot about agencies and funding as well as the way budget cuts works.  If something isn’t thriving financially and is hindering our success why shouldn’t the government help us improve it in order for the communities to thrive. The train servicing the Northern Ontario was making stops at the same place as the motor coaches do (Ministry of Northern Development and Mines, 2012). Is that really necessary? Furthermore, both these services are running at under 50% capacity (Ministry of Northern Development and Mines, 2012). It makes sense to combine them into one service that serves the same locations. This was not an easy decision for the government to make but sometimes situations need to be examined, assessed and a hard decision must be made to ensure progression (Bartolucci, 2012).

      Moving forward, I would agree that this decision is one that benefits everyone in the end. Divestment of the ONTC will allow private sectors to purchase parts of the company, which will create jobs and economic growth do (Ministry of Northern Development and Mines, 2012).  As far as the short-term employment loss goes, Rick Bartolucci (2012) has stated that the government is working very closely with the people who are suffering job loss to attempt to provide a smooth transition for everyone. The federal government is guiding us and working with us to build stronger, sustainable, efficient communities and services.

      In conclusion, I ask everyone to think of our future generations. Just think, if the money we are pouring into ONTC is going up by every year, what kind of a legacy are we leaving for our future generations? Focusing on our future to me means putting money into the services that the people need now such as health care, education, social welfare and so much more. Why continue to support something that is not only no longer viable and is a duplicate service?  This wasn’t an easy decision, but one that had to me made.

References

Bartolucci, R. (2012, March 23). By abstaining from budget vote, ndp gives ontc divestment thumbs up “the ndp’s posturing does a disservice to north-eastern ontario residents – but today their true position is clear.” Retrieved from http://www.rickbartolucci.onmpp.ca/mNews/812?l=EN

Bartolucci, R. (2012). Statement from Rick Bartolucci minister of northern development and mines. News.ontario.ca. Retrieved from http://news.ontario.ca/mndmf/en/2012/03/remarks-for-rick-bartolucci-minister-of-northern-development-and-mines.html

Ministry of Northern Development and Mines, (2012).Ontario northland transportation commission frequently asked questions. Retrieved from Queens Printer website: http://www.mndm.gov.on.ca/en/northern-development/transportation-support/ontario-northland-transportation-commission/frequently

Environment Canada ( 2012). Sustainable development. Retrieved from http://www.ec.gc.ca/dd-   sd/default.asp?lang=Fr=E19EE696-1

Sustainable communities resource package // review. (1996). Alternatives Journal, 22(2), 32-33. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/218767366?accountid=46683