Community Council - Activities

Access to transportation is a fundamental need for everyone. But not everyone can afford to get to the grocery store, doctor's appointments, a job interview or work.

Each year, most of the 40 plus social service agencies in this program report an increased need for transit, and more agencies are purchasing bus tickets than in previous years. There has been an increase in employment related travel and a consistent use of tickets for basic needs and family-related issues.

Achievements:
In January 2007, the Victoria Regional Transit Commission approved an increase in their contribution to the program to 40,000 free tickets, plus 220 free bus passes annually. The participating agencies match the free tickets by purchasing another 40,000 tickets and 220 bus passes. Annually, that means that through this program a total of 80,000 tickets and 440 passes are given free of charge to people with urgent transportation needs.

Read the program reports to the Victoria Regional Transit Commission:

Full Report 2006/07. (pdf)
Full Report March 2005. (pdf)
Full Report December 2002. (pdf)

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CAPITAL REGION FOOD AND AGRICULTURE
INITIATIVES ROUNDTABLE

bringing about positive change in the food and agriculture system within the Capital Region

CR-FAIR, formed in 1997, is a coalition of organizations and individuals involved in our local food system, with a secretariat provided by the Community Social Planning Council of Greater Victoria. Our mission is to increase knowledge of and bring about positive change in the food and agriculture system within the Capital Region.

This includes:
• increasing the viability of farming
• reducing hunger
• increasing the supply, consumption and diversity of locally produced processed food
• increasing our community’s knowledge and involvement with food and agriculture issues

CR –FAIR members include:
BC Government and Service Employees’ Union; Capital Families Association Food Security Initiative; Certified Organic Associations of British Columbia (COABC); Community Council; Food and Agriculture Sub Committee, CRD Roundtable on the Environment; Island Chefs’ Collaborative; LifeCycles Project Society; Ministry of Agriculture and Lands; Sierra Club of Canada, BC Chapter; Small Scale Food Processors Association; TLC The Land Conservancy of BC; Vancouver Island Health Authority; Vancouver Island Public Interest Research Group (VIPIRG).

NEWS: Farmlands Project presents the conference Focus on Farmlands, Our Foodlands, Our Future: A working conference on ensuring the viability and accessibility of farmlands for food production in BC’s Capital Region. The conference is on November 27. Click here for the Farmlands Project website, and details on the conference.

CR-FAIR Resources:

CR-FAIR has developed a Regional Food Charter, designed as a template which individuals, groups, organizations, businesses, local and regional governments are encouraged to "adapt" or "adopt". Click here to read the Food Charter.

Individuals and Organizations who have signed the Regional Food Charter:

District of Central Saanich
BCGEU (BC Government Employees' Union)
LifeCycles Project Society
Community Council
Sonya Chandler
Philippe Lucas
Patrick Chenier

Food and Health Action Plan booklet - a joint publication with the CRD Roundtable on the Environment, Food and Agriculture Sub-Committee, April 2008
Capital Region Food and Health Action Plan - 2007-2010 - December 2007
Final Report, Phase 1: Putting Food and Food Policy on the Table, Oct 2006 (pdf)
Fact Sheet: The Real Cost of Food, May 2004 (pdf)
Fact Sheet: Food Decisions Shape our Community, Sept 2004 (pdf)
A Baseline Assessment of Food Security in British Columbia's Capital Region, March 2004. (pdf)
Making Food Matter Report from the Food Forum - 2003 (pdf)
CR FAIR-Brochure (pdf)

Making Food Matter e-newsletter is a quarterly publication of articles, resources and events about all things food.

Click the links below to read:
October 2008 Making Food Matter
July 2008 Making Food Matter
March 2008 Making Food Matter
December 2007 Making Food Matter
April 2007 Making Food Matter
December 2006 Making Food Matter - Inaugural edition

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COMMUNITY RECONSTRUCTION

What are the impacts of provincial government changes on the people who need social and health services BC’s Capital Region? This project was initiated by the Community Council as a community response to that question. It is funded by the United Way and guided by a Steering Committee drawing in the University of Victoria, Vancouver Island Public Interest Research Group, Vancouver Island Health Authority, B.C. Government Employees Union, Association of Family-Serving Agencies, Burnside-Gorge Community Association, Cool Aid Society, and Association of Services Providers for Employment and Community-Based Training.

Achievements:
24 agencies completed surveys, from Sooke, Gulf Islands, Saanich Peninsula, and the core municipalities. In addition, 31 stories were submitted from staff and clients of 4 agencies. The first three reports were mailed to 2800 people.

Final Report Summary(pdf) Final Report (full document) (pdf)
3rd Report Summary(pdf)    3rd Report (full document) (pdf)
2nd Report Summary (pdf)   2nd Report (full document) (pdf)
1st Report Summary (pdf)     1st Report (full document) (pdf)

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HOUSING AFFORDABILITY PARTNERSHIP
http://www.housingaffordability.ca

The Housing Affordability Partnership plays a unique and influential role at a critical time in planning for and developing housing stock that is affordable in BC’s Capital Region. The primary focus has been to ensure the completion of the Regional Housing Affordability Strategy (RHAS) so that housing policies and practices in this region will provide housing that is affordable for our children and for all of us when we are old. HAP’s strategic objective is to promote positive change to support housing affordability and choice in the Capital Region.

Achievements:
As a credible, authoritative, neutral body, HAP works with all levels of government, community organizations and the industry at the regional level to achieve its objective. HAP promotes policy and regulatory changes that support housing affordability; works with all levels of government in the region to remove barriers and maximize opportunities for housing affordability; and increases public understanding of and promotes public support for what constitutes a quality project. Housing Affordability Week in October is a time to focus public attention on housing, through a public forum, newspaper ad supplement, and media coverage.

HAP Brochure (pdf)

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NEW! - Labour Market Dialogues (LMD) Survey: If you are an employer in BC's Capital Region, we want to hear from you. LMD invites you to complete a short survey to let us know if you wish to receive additional Human Resource supports for your hiring and retention needs. LMD values your feedback on the tips and resources the LMD have been gathering. This confidential survey will only take 10 minutes. Click here to take survey

It’s not easy being an employer in British Columbia’s Capital Region these days. The labour market continues to provide challenges. Employers have difficulty finding enough workers and workers with the right skills. Recruiting new staff is time-consuming and expensive. And the coming demographic changes in Canada will add to these challenges. The aging workforce, a shrinking pool of new workers aged 15 to 24, stiff international competition for new immigrant workers, and a growing economy will have a strong impact on the nature of work and the composition of the labour market.

People who experience barriers to employment form a labour pool that some employers are beginning to tap into as a way to address labour market challenges. But hiring and retaining people who have barriers to employment often requires some special strategies, which in turn require creativity and an understanding of both the issues affecting people with barriers to employment and the supports that are available.

The Labour Market Dialogues is a project to explore how employers in BC’s Capital Region can be better supported to hire and retain people experiencing barriers to paid employment.

Legislation Affecting the Hiring and Retention of
People with Barriers to Employment: A Guide for Employers

Over the course of the Labour Market Dialogues, it has become clear that employers need information about the various provincial and federal laws that can affect their efforts to increase the hiring and retention of employees who face barriers to employment. LMD has produced a new guide for employees entitled Legislation Affecting the Hiring and Retention of People with Barriers to Employment to help meet this need. Click here to read the full guide, or check out the links below for a breakdown of the guide's contents.

1. Human Rights Legislation	2. The duty to accommodate	3. Asking questions on protected grounds
4. Discipline and firing of an employee who has been accommodated	5. Asking the right questions	6. Employment Standards Legislation
	7. The Employment Equity Act

Need more information?

NEW! The LMD Project was featured in Monday Magazine's 2008 issue of Body, Mind and Spirit in an article entitled "A Fine Balance - The values of today’s workers are shifting, and taking human-resource practices with them"

The LMD Project was featured in an August Times Colonist article entitled "Job flexibility helpsVictoria claim Canada's work capital" - click here to read the article.

Employers of Choice Wanted! If you are a magnet for employees or just have an innovative HR program, contact Alvaro Moreno and share your best practices. Bonus - this is a good way to promote your business at no cost!

LMD Phase II Final Report

On March 28, 2008 the Labour Market Dialogues released the final report from Phase II of the project. A plain language summary report was also released.
.

LMD Phase II Plain Language Summary Report.	LMD Phase II Full Report
An Innovative HR Resource from the Labour Market Dialogues Project for Capital Region Employers... Click here for practical tips and resources to help employers tap into hidden labour markets.

Phase II Achievements
In the fall of 2006, the Community Council, in partnership with six local community service agencies, conducted interviews with 60 employers, 42 clients and 10 community service agencies. 200 ideas for addressing barriers to working were identified.

Through a process of elimination, the 200 ideas were culled down to 22 practical ideas. A community consultation process then took place to choose the nine best ideas for a second phase of research. The Community Council will research these nine ideas over the next four months in partnership with employers, community providers and people experiencing the issues firsthand.

LMD Phase I Final Report and Highlights

Click here to read the Final Report of Phase I
Click here to read the Highlights of Phase I

Frequently asked questions about the Labour Market Dialogues.

Labour Market Dialogues Research Topic Discussion Papers:
Employing people with past or current problematic substance use	Advertising and hiring	Child care
Immigration & employment	Literacy in the workplace	Mentoring in the workplace
Scheduling flexibility	Sex workers in transition	Transition to work

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UNDERSTANDING EARLY YEARS

An initiative of PLAY (Partnership in Learning and Advocacy for Small Children) the Understanding Early Years project enables communities to use local research to increase understanding of the needs of young children, their families, and the community factors and resources that influence children’s development before the age of 6.

See www.playvictoria.org for more information.

Children Welcome Early Years Award NEW! The Early Years Community Appreciation Awards

The Early Years Community Appreciation Awards are an opportunity for parents and care-providers of children aged six and under to inform the UEY project about the things in their communities that they believe support them and their children.

The topic areas the awards will center on are:

parks
free services,
sources for parenting information,
family friendly restaurants/cafes
places to connect with parents
family friendly work places

Each topic area and the information collected from the parents, feeds into current and proposed research and communications activities. Click here for more information

In January 2008, seven Early Years Reports containing baseline information on child development for each municipality in BC's Capital Region were released. Click below to view the reports.

Esquimalt View Royal Early Years Report	Gulf Islands Early Years Report	Oak Bay Early Years Report
Peninsula Early Years Report	Saanich Early Years Report	Victoria Early Years Report
	Westshore Early Years Report

On June 27, 2007, the Understanding Early Years project released Child Care Information Action Project: 2007 Report on Child Care in the Capital Region. The research for this report involved 28 stakeholders and obtained data on staffing and recruitment of child care workers/early childhood educators, child care spaces, and funding to the child care sector. Click here to read.

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