Family Service Toronto is proud to support the screening of the feature film A Better Man  this month at HotDocs Ted Rogers Cinema.

More than 20 years ago, Toronto-based Attiya Khan was in a physically abusive relationship with her then-boyfriend, Steve. Today, she’s a prominent feminist who has worked for women’s shelters across the U.S. and Canada.

Khan has teamed with local filmmaker Lawrence Jackman to create a unique documentary that aims to evolve the conversation around domestic abuse. Steve agrees to appear on camera to explicitly discuss the violence he inflicted on Attiya and their troubled relationship.

Among this year’s Hot Docs Festival’s most emotionally stunning films, A Better Man takes a brave and open-minded approach to processing trauma and healing.

Order exclusive discounted tickets online using the discount code: BMFST.

Public forums in Toronto, Winnipeg and Charlottetown tonight will focus on priorities for Canada’s first poverty reduction strategy and urgent recommendations for change.

The forums follow today’s release of Campaign 2000’s submission to the Canadian Poverty Reduction Strategy. Campaign 2000 – a non-partisan coalition of 120 groups and individuals co-ordinated by Family Service Toronto – has called for a federal anti-poverty strategy for decades and is convening tonight’s event.

Forum participants will connect via Skype and will insist the government’s strategy provides an effective plan to eradicate the number of Canadians – nearly five million – living in poverty.

“After decades of broken promises to end poverty, Canada’s first national Poverty Reduction Strategy must deliver a sea change in Canada’s infrastructure of supports and services that prevent and reduce poverty,” says Campaign 2000 National Co-ordinator Anita Khanna.

Media Release:
Full details of the forums and contact for media spokespeople in English and French.

Submission:
Federal Action Plan to Eradicate Poverty is available in English (French forthcoming).

Infographics:
Campaign 2000’s 10-year Action Plan for the Canadian Poverty Reduction Strategy (includes a summary of targets, timelines and policy recommendations) and Poverty in Canada

Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne has announced welcome changes to workplaces including:

• Raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour by January 1, 2019
• Mandating equal pay for equal work for part-time, temporary, casual and seasonal employees
• Expanding personal emergency leave to 10 days including a minimum of two paid days per year for all workers
• Increasing vacation time to three weeks after an employee is employed 5 years with the same company
• Requiring employees to be paid three hours of wages if their shift is cancelled less than 48 hours before their shift

The move follows many years of dedicated work by community members and organizations, including Ontario Campaign 2000 and Workers Action Centre and is seen as a huge step in the right direction for addressing child and family poverty in the province and ensuring that work is a pathway out of poverty.

Read the Ontario government’s press release and further detailed information about the Fair Wages, Better Jobs Act.

Join Campaign 2000 on the evening of June 12 for a national conversation on reducing poverty across Canada.

The public forum will help inform the federal government as it shapes Canada’s first Poverty Reduction Strategy. Public consultation on the strategy ends June 30.

Campaign 2000 – a non-partisan coalition of 120 groups and individuals co-ordinated by Family Service Toronto – has called for a federal anti-poverty strategy for decades.

Registration and further details are available here.

It’s not too late to send a message to provincial legislators who are making key decisions about the future of decent work in Ontario this week.

Significant changes to labour laws such as a boost in the minimum wage and mandatory sick time are being considered.

Learn how you can send a message to your MPP to support the changes by visiting 15andfairness.

A transformation of record keeping at Family Service Toronto has earned it a nomination in this year’s Digital Transformation Awards sponsored by IWTC, formerly IT World Canada.

FST decided to digitize its records after conducting a 10-year cost benefit analysis, which indicated that investing in a digital document management solution would be a good idea, according to Vani Visva, FST’s Director of Finance and Business Technology.

More than 500 boxes of past and present paper records have been scanned and saved through a technology solution provided by Xerox Canada.

Award winners will be announced at a dinner on June 14 in Toronto.

For more information: How Xerox Canada helped Family Service Toronto streamline its 100-year-old record-keeping system.

Family Service Toronto has awarded a one-year IT Technical Support Services contract to Xerox Canada in partnership with Process Fusion Inc.

The contract was awarded following a public procurement process launched in March with the release of a formal Request for Proposal, and was awarded following a review of bids from four vendors.

The contract is effective May 1, 2017 and ends April 30, 2018.

FST is celebrating National Volunteer Week by recognizing and thanking those who give their time and skills to make a difference in their community and share our vision of a city in which individuals, families and communities are resilient and thriving.

This year’s national recognition event runs from April 23-29 and celebrates Canada’s 12.7 million volunteers.

FST’s history of volunteer involvement dates back to 1914 when we were founded by volunteers who worked to address growing levels of poverty in Toronto. Volunteers continue to play an essential role at FST and are engaged in many aspects of our work.

Volunteers share their leadership skills on our Board of Directors and on Board committees, assist in groups and workshops, provide counselling support, write newsletters, help out at special events, provide administrative support, conduct research, visit individuals in the community and are engaged in many other activities.

Ontario is celebrating the contributions of more than 11,000 volunteers at 54 Ontario Volunteer Service Awards ceremonies across the province from March to June. Three FST volunteers will be recognized at a Toronto ceremony in June.

More than 30 Hispanic members of FST’s Seniors Community Connections program visited the provincial legislature in late March to learn about Ontario’s government and watch the legislature in action.

MPP Cristina Martins (Davenport) introduced the group in the Assembly Chamber and provided background for the visitors.

The tour was arranged through a new Civic Engagement Program for seniors coinciding with Canada’s150th birthday celebration this year as well as marking 100 years of women’s right to vote in Ontario.

Understanding the true cost of raising a child in Canada is complex and requires significant improvements to better inform the development of social policy on child and family poverty, according to a new report released March 7 by Campaign 2000.

“Right now, we don’t have official estimates of what it costs to raise children,” says Anita Khanna, Campaign 2000 national co-ordinator. “Calculating the real cost of raising children is central to crafting evidence-based child poverty reduction policies that support the healthy development of children.”

Report authors Dr. Dana Bazarkulova, Dr. Karen Duncan and Dr. Sid Frankel provide a comprehensive analysis and present the advantages and disadvantages of various methods used to calculate the costs families face. They note the costs of raising children can differ from one family to another based on ethno-cultural practices, geographic location, disability and the health status of children. The report highlights that different types of estimates are best used for different purposes.

Read the full report in English or French and check out the infographic summary.

Media releases are also available in French or English.

In the News:

Toronto Star: Canada urged to calculate how much it costs to raise children
Globe and Mail: Study says no firm estimate on costs to raise a family a problem for government

Family Service Toronto and Campaign 2000 welcome the government’s decision to launch the national public consultation process for the development of the Canadian-Poverty Reduction Strategy (C-PRS).

“With nearly one in five children living in poverty, federal vision is essential to activate the policies and programs urgently needed to eradicate poverty in Canada,” says Anita Khanna, National Coordinator of Campaign 2000. “We welcome the opportunity to inform the development of the strategy and ensure it is guided by targets and timelines that improve the lives of children, families and all people who live in poverty.”

Announced Monday, Feb. 13, the nation-wide consultation process will be achieved through a Poverty Reduction Strategy engagement website (including discussion forums and online town halls) and roundtables with provincial, territorial and municipal governments, Indigenous organizations, businesses, community organizations, academic experts and Canadians who have experienced poverty.

The online consultations for the C-PRS are now open and include surveys for individuals and organizations. To participate go to the Government of Canada website.

Read more:
Government of Canada news release.
Campaign 2000 news release
Globe and Mail: Liberals set up committee to test public input on poverty strategy

On Tuesday, February 7 at the Gala 2016: A Celebration of Belonging, United Way Toronto & York Region announced a fundraising achievement of $102 million. This is the charity’s highest achievement to date and the largest United Way campaign in the world. Funds raised are directly invested in United Way programs and agencies to improve lives locally.

“This is more than a celebration of dollars raised – it is an uprising of care to change lives and neighbourhoods across our region,” said Daniele Zanotti, United Way Toronto & York Region President & CEO. “Along with our agencies, United Way turns this investment into real community change.”

Family Service Toronto is one of more than 200 community agencies supported by United Way every year.

Read press release.