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Welcome to SocialCommons.ca

SocialCommons.ca seeks to build engaging conversations and support transformative change. All stories will be framed by our five pillars that provide the foundation for all of our work. Together with our partners, we are committed to creating a future society based on stronger human rights and social protections, revitalized communities, and a more democratic economy. We seek to build an active and engaged civil society, an enlarged social commons with more shared community assets, and systems of production and distribution that ensure a sustainable eco-sphere on which all life depends.

In many ways we are at a crossroads.  The choices we make in the next ten to twenty years will either see us embrace a profoundly different path founded on human needs and ecological sustainability, or continue to founder under the weight of failing global systems based on an endless growth mindset and the ceding of more and more political influence to large multi-national corporations.

Working from within our five pillars, we seek to join with others in mapping out the path forward.  We are all on this journey together.  It involves exposing and recognizing the failures within our current systems that are holding us back. It means articulating needs and expectations, both of ourselves and each other, as we think through what must be protected, what needs to change and what we need to create together.  Finally, it means painting a picture of the future world we wish to inhabit in a way that both reflects the values and aspirations we share, and shows concrete examples of how it is feasible and can be done.  We invite you to join us on the journey.

The Social Commons: Our Five Pillars

The Social Commons: Our Five Pillars

Where We Started From Our journey began with the planning of a fall 2019 symposium exploring the relevance of the...

Inclusive, Equitable Communities: Ensuring Human Rights

As we contend with the ravages of a global pandemic and plan our recovery, Canadians have discovered, as in...

Social Rights and Protections

The foundation laid for social rights and a social contract In the mid-20th century, after fifteen years of the Great...

Sustainable Eco-Systems: Economies Living in Harmony with Nature

How Do We Ensure Sustainable Eco-Systems? Living through the pandemic has exposed how precarious so much of our social and...

Creating a Human Needs Economy

The post-pandemic economy: More of the same? As the disruption of the pandemic nears its end, we begin to imagine...

Deepening Democracy: Strengthening Democracy and Civil Society

What Is Democracy’s Place in the Commons? Living through the pandemic has exposed how precarious so much of our social...

Latest Articles

Bringing Marvyn Novick’s Ideas to Life: An Anthology with Commentaries

Marvyn Novick was a leading social policy thinker in Canada, and a colleague and inspiration to many, including members of the Marvyn Novick Legacy...

Recurring Themes and Ideas in Marvyn’s Thinking and Writing

The ideas articulated and championed by Marvyn Novick are as relevant today as they were in his lifetime. They give us both an intellectual...

Time for a Civic Declaration on Decent Work and Basic Incomes for All (2014)

Commentary by: Jamie Swift I first met Marvyn Novick when working with the Interfaith Social Assistance Reform Coalition (ISARC), Ontario’s principal faith based social justice...

Personal Reflections on Marvyn’s Legacy

The full document, Bringing the Ideas of Marvyn Novick to Life: An Anthology with Commentaries can be found here. On Family Reflections of Gillian Novick My family...

“Building a New Canada”, in Meeting the Civic Challenges of Social Inclusion (2005)

Commentary by: Joey Edwardh I watched as Marvyn walked into the room and smiled, acknowledging the mayor, the previous mayor, city councillors, leaders in the...

Epilogue: Final Thoughts and Insights

The anthology of Marvyn’s writings covers the span of neoliberal domination over forty years (1980-2020), a time when market forces were once again allowed...

“Policy Perspectives on Mental Health Promotion”, in Work and Well-Being: The Changing Realities of Employment (1984)

Commentary by: Peter Clutterbuck In the early 1980s, Marvyn Novick chaired the National Committee of the Mental Health and the Workplace Project for the Canadian...

“Civic Alliances for a Mutual Canada”, in Building Inclusive Communities: Cross-Canada Perspectives and Strategies (2003)

It has been almost two decades since Peter Clutterbuck and Marvyn Novick wrotetheir reflections on building inclusive communities in a diversifying Canadian urbancontext. Jointly...

Social Inclusion: The Foundation of a National Policy Agenda (2001)

Commentary by: Ish Theilheimer Citizens as contributors, not just consumers. Why social inclusion matters to me.- thoughts from child development expert and advocate Marvyn Novick As...

Summoned to Stewardship: Make Poverty Reduction a Collective Legacy (2007)

In a discussion about the neoliberal preference for tax reductions in Rosalie Chappell’s (2014: 108) widely read text, Social Welfare in Canadian Society, she...

Crossroads for Canada: A Time to Invest in Children and Families (1996)

Commentary by: Anita Khanna and Laurel Rothman In Crossroads for Canada, Marvyn Novick anticipated the negative effects of the now staggering income inequality that first...

Civic Solidarity: Foundations of Social Development for the 21st Century (1995)

Commentary by: Susan McGrath It was appropriate that Marvyn Novick was asked to give the keynote address at the Social Planning Council of Metropolitan Toronto’s...

Unequal Futures: The Legacies of Child Poverty in Canada (1991)

Commentary by Brigitte Kitchen That the fundamental groundwork for the development of all abilities of individuals is laid in childhood, shaping and forming their future...

Neighbourhoods Under Stress (1983)

Commentary by Mary Lewis Neighbourhoods Under Stress (NUS) is a concise report, but its impact has been considerable.  Produced by the Joint Task Force on...

Paying For Canada: Perspectives on Public Finance and National Programs (1994)

A Joint Statement by Child Poverty Action Group, Citizens for Public Justice, and Social Planning Council of Metro Toronto Commentary by Armine Yalnizyan In any given...

Developing a Covenant of Care for the New Millenium: Keynote Presentation to the Catholic Press Association (1996)

Commentary by: Robert Glossop Close to a quarter of a century ago, Marvyn Novick spoke to journalists and reminded his audience that we are all...

“Is Social Spending Productive?”, in Full Employment: Social Questions for Public Policy (1978)

Commentary by: Leon Muszynski The Social Planning Council of Metropolitan Toronto of the early 1980s was a place of progressive intellectual ferment. It gathered together...

A Fair Chance for All Children: The Declaration on Child Poverty (1986)

Commentary by Brigitte Kitchen With the Declaration of Child Poverty: A Fair Chance of For All Children (1986), the Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) issued...

Foreword to The Missing Child in Liberal Theory: Towards a Covenant Theory of Family, Community, Welfare and the Civic State (1994)

Commentary by: Nathan Gilbert and Walter Ross Marvyn Novick believed strongly in the link between nationhood and our collective responsibility for children. In his Foreword...

Metro’s Suburbs In Transition: Parts I And II (1979, 1980)

Metro Suburbs in Transition (MSIT), a major three-year social planning assessment of Toronto carried out in the late 1970s was the first to recognize,...

Speech to Provincial/Territorial Social Services Ministers (1991)

Commentary by: Laurie Monsebraaten The optimism and promise of Ontario’s first NDP government in the early 1990s and Marvyn Novick’s speech to provincial-territorial social service...

A Time To Stand Together. A Time For Social Solidarity (1987)

by The Working Committee for Social Solidarity Commentary by Laurell Ritchie In the wake of a deep recession that began in 1981 with unemployment and inflation...

How biodiversity credits could build capacity to conserve and restore nature

Click here to view original web page at www.nature.com Biodiversity-credit markets could succeed in ways that, so far, carbon-credit markets have not — as long...

If all life mattered, what would decision-making look like? (Analysis)

Click here to view original web page at news.mongabay.com Key Ideas: Across the world, Indigenous and other communities embedded in nature have articulated, as part their...

Adverse childhood experiences: A health equity issue

Click here to view original web page at www.wellesleyinstitute.com Friday, October 25 is Dress Purple Day in Ontario. It’s an opportunity to reflect on ...

Solid foundations: Local investment needs for a decade of renewal

Click here to view original web page at neweconomics.org The physical infrastructure of everyday life in England is broken. Millions in the country have unmet...

Ontario can end gridlock. But not with more highways

Click here to view original web page at www.nationalobserver.com If you’ve driven along a 400-series Ontario highway recently, you’ve probably seen one of the massive...

Provinces wasted $1.5B on for-profit nursing agencies in Canada this year, a sixfold increase in three years

Click here to view original web page at albertapolitics.ca Spending on so-called “agency nurses,” nurses employed by for-profit nursing agencies whose services are contracted out...

B.C.’s plan for involuntary addiction treatment is a step back in our response to the overdose crisis

Click here to view original web page at theconversation.com British Columbia Premier David Eby recently announced that his government plans to open highly secure facilities...

A future where we might ‘get climate right’: A conversation with Ayana Elizabeth Johnson

Click here to view original web page at news.mongabay.com Solving our ecological and climate problems looks a lot less like a techno-utopia and more like...

They found a huge pile of clothing dumped in an alley. Now they want to use AI to reduce fashion waste

Click here to view original web page at www.nationalobserver.com These in-their-own-words pieces are told to Patricia Lane and co-edited with input from the interviewee for...

Copyright Keepers Just Destroyed a Huge Digital Library

Click here to view original web page at jacobin.com They’re burning the modern Library of Alexandria. That’s one way to describe the recent ruling of...

Ireland, the EU and the Apple tax case

Click here to view original web page at www.socialeurope.eu Ireland led the ‘race to the bottom’ on corporate taxation. ...

Plastic is polluting our brains and bodies!

Click here to view original web page at rabble.ca Plastic pollution is a growing global problem. It affects our ecosystems and our bodies. A...

Make Canada stronger by supporting the health of refugees

Click here to view original web page at theconversation.com “Canada accepts many refugees and many of them remain here. The more effectively ...

Why AI might be a game-changer for collaborative research in Africa

Click here to view original web page at www.nature.com To an outside observer, Olubayo Adekanmbi’s career in telecommunications epitomized success. At Airtel and MTN Group,...

Stories You May Have Missed

Pacific Island nations propose ecocide be adopted as international crime

Click here to view original web page at news.mongabay.com Three Pacific island countries have formally requested the International Criminal Court to recognize “ecocide,” or mass...

We need to deepen our relationship with Mexico

Click here to view original web page at policyoptions.irpp.org Mexico is booming, with a new president in the wings. It is a promising moment to...

The Burning Earth: how conquest and carnage have decimated landscapes worldwide

Click here to view original web page at www.nature.com An epic exploration of human history examines how the poor and powerless ...

AMLO’s War on Neoliberal Corruption

Click here to view original web page at jacobin.com The following article is reprinted from Catalyst: A Journal of Theory and Strategy, a publication from...

The Dream and the Nightmare of Neoliberalism

Click here to view original web page at jacobin.com The spread of neoliberalism promised economic efficiency and freedom ...

Malaysian court shuts down hydroelectric dam project on Indigenous land

Click here to view original web page at news.mongabay.com Key Findings: A Malaysian court ruled this week that hydropower companies building a dam on land belonging...

How the United Nations’ Pact for the Future could help heal a fractured world

Click here to view original web page at theconversation.com The problems of the world, including climate change, ongoing war, the COVID-19 pandemic and other emerging...

Why is violence against environmental defenders getting worse? Five things to know

Click here to view original web page at news.mongabay.com Key Ideas: Global Witness’s latest annual report shows that at least 196 people were killed last year...

Data on SDGs are riddled with gaps. Citizen Groups can help

Click here to view original web page at www.nature.com The world is more than halfway through the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which...

Money is a Social Agreement—Let’s Start Treating It That Way

Click here to view original web page at www.resilience.org Like most people, I usually mute and ignore advertisements; however, one caught my attention. It was...

A new solution for flood-prone cities? Concrete made from shellfish waste

Click here to view original web page at www.grist.org Researchers have developed a type of concrete that uses discarded shells ...

On the Linkage Between Indigenous Rights and Democracy

Click here to view original web page at news.google.com We do not see things as they are, we see them as we are (anonymous) Introduction I wish...

Big Pharma Is a Big Menace to Global Health

Click here to view original web page at jacobin.com Pharmaceutical companies claim their profits are necessary for vital medical research, but it’s public investment that...

Canadian mega landlord using AI ‘pricing scheme’ as it massively hikes rents

Click here to view original web page at breachmedia.ca Software the U.S. government says is illegal gives landlords ability to coordinate rent hikes. Now it’s...

As COVID Surges, the High Price of Viral Denial is Staggering

Click here to view original web page at thetyee.ca COVID is surging once again and, if you live in British Columbia, you probably already ...

How do ‘rights of nature’ and ‘legal personhood’ laws differ, and what’s their conservation potential?

Click here to view original web page at news.mongabay.com Nations across the globe are trialing “rights of nature” laws and “legal personhood” for various ecosystems...

To address climate change, biodiversity loss, we need to change our thinking

Click here to view original web page at rabble.ca We need ways to ensure people’s needs are met without destroying ...

5 lessons from ancient civilizations for keeping homes cool in hot, dry climates

Click here to view original web page at www.resilience.org Modern buildings tend to take electricity and air conditioning for granted. They often have glass facades...

B.C. community groups and First Nation file court challenge against regulator over pipeline

Click here to view original web page at www.nationalobserver.com A coalition of community groups and a First Nation in Northern British Columbia have launched a...

The Rich Want You to Fear Tax Fairness

Click here to view original web page at jacobin.com Canada raised its capital gains tax inclusion rate, sparking outrage ...

Climate Assemblies Seek Citizen Participation in Latin American Solutions

Click here to view original web page at www.ipsnews.net Danilo Barbosa had never taken part in political processes until his name was drawn in a...

Let’s discuss the true cost of privatization in Ontario

Click here to view original web page at rabble.ca In a forum on Ontario’s healthcare system, expert speakers will delve into the consequences of prioritizing...

The cooling technologies that could protect cities from dangerous heat

Click here to view original web page at www.nature.com From super cool materials that send heat into space to shape-shifting ...

Ottawa needs to act on a proposal for a guaranteed basic income for P.E.I.

Click here to view original web page at policyoptions.irpp.org The highly touted GBI plan could be a model for other provinces, but it will ...

To end chronic homelessness, we must stop evictions

Click here to view original web page at theconversation.com Homelessness, a crisis that affects about 11 per cent of Canadians in their lifetime, often begins...

How a downtown university ‘story walk’ promotes children’s literacy and belonging in higher education

Click here to view original web page at theconversation.com Feeling a sense of uncertainty about belonging is most pronounced for students during times of transition,...

UN votes to adopt roadmap for global tax convention

Click here to view original web page at www.icij.org The vote clears the way for U.N. member states negotiate a historic framework to tackle...

Lies, damned lies, and Conservative charts

Click here to view original web page at rabble.ca Conservative attacks on the Canadian economy are not based on solid math, and in some cases...
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supporting the shift

What’s driving higher living costs? Who loses and benefits from inflation

Click here to view original web page at monitormag.ca Executive summary This report creates a new dataset to better understand what is driving inflation in Canada—workers’...

How We Converted to a Cooperative—and How You Can, Too

Click here to view original web page at www.yesmagazine.org The healthiest and happiest companies in the world are democracies. At Louder Than Ten, the project management...

What Does An Ecological Civilization Look Like?

In this far-reaching and well presented outline, Yes! Magazine gives shape and substance to a groundswell of ideas that could form the foundation of...

Four Views on Basic Income, Job Guarantees, and the Future of Work

This insightful summary includes four short commentaries on basic income, job guarantees, and the future of work by four leading Australian experts. It's a...

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