The Coming Co-op Crunch

UVic students to cycle 3,000 km
Many students include cycling as a part of their summer activities, but two UVic students are taking summer bike rides to a much higher level. First-year writing student Cody Gold and third-year history student Sarah Curry will be embarking on a month-and-a-half-long bike ride to Tijuana, Mexico from Vancouver (3,000 kilometers total) on May 31.

Social spending will stimulate economy: CCPA
British Columbia's poor and middle-class families are getting poorer, a fact that does not consider the effects of the recent economic downturn.

A study released today by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives shows that when factoring in inflation, the bottom 70 per cent of B.C.

Make housing the priority for 'shovel-ready' federal dollars
For the first time in a generation, the federal government is poised to become a major partner in social housing development in Canada. This creates real opportunities for housing advocates and providers who, after decades as lone voices in the political wilderness, have ready-made solutions for ending homelessness.

Shelter on wheels: A UVic-community partnership leads to “shelter in a cart” for homeless “binners”
You may think it’s the end of the line when you put a beverage container into your recycling bin, but as Jutta Gutberlet knows, it’s really just the beginning. The University of Victoria geographer is finding ways to help make life better for informal recyclers or “binners”—people who make their living collecting the beverage containers we put in our recycling bins and dumpsters.

Low Income in Canada: 2000-2006 Using the Market Basket Measure - October 2008
Human Resources and Social Development Canada (HRSDC) has just released a new report, Low Income in Canada: 2000-2006 Using the Market Basket Measure. The Market Basket Measure (MBM) is a more robust proxy indicator of poverty in Canada compared to other principal low income measures.

A light in the economic darkness: Community economic development links social well-being with economic opportunity
The current global economic crisis presents an opportunity to start talking about alternatives to unfettered, free-market capitalism. That's exactly what more than 450 people were doing at Manitoba's sixth annual Community Development and Community Economic Development Gathering, held recently in Winnipeg at St. John's High School.

Why BC's Credit Unions Aren't Melting Down
In all the uproar this autumn about the global financial crisis, one local group of institutions hasn't been in the news. B.C. credit unions. Are they in any trouble? To find out, I talked to Chris Catliff, CEO of North Shore Credit Union, and Ian Smith of Central 1 Credit Union, as well as Charles Priester, a financial consultant based in Metchosin. In general, what they had to say was reassuring.

Apprendre aux pauvres à faire des profits Il y a plus que le microcrédit pour donner aux démunis les moyens de leur développement économique. Longtemps réfractaires au profit, les organisations non gouvernementales veulent maintenant aider les plus pauvres à en faire. Et le microcrédit n'est pas le seul moyen mis en oeuvre.