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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...

The $91 billion wasted on nuclear weapons last year could transform ecosystem restoration (commentary)

Click here to view original web page at news.mongabay.com Nuclear weapons have caused much damage to the environment and are the only devices ever created...

How to start Participatory Budgeting in your city

Click here to view original web page at www.shareable.net Has your city been making cuts to schools, libraries, firefighters, and social services ...

Youth activists win ‘unprecedented’ climate settlement in Hawaii

Click here to view original web page at www.nationalobserver.com This story was originally published by The Guardian and appears here as part of the Climate...

Making visible the invisible: Supporting long COVID patients and the people caring for them

Click here to view original web page at theconversation.com We are living through a mass-disabling event: Over 200 million people worldwide have long COVID....

Ottawa has opportunity to create an effective energy retrofit program for low-income households

Click here to view original web page at policyoptions.irpp.org The funds allocated to the new greener homes affordability program will only allow it to achieve...

Envisioning democratic and ecological cities

Click here to view original web page at www.resilience.org f sustainability requires a sustainable democracy, then cities may be the places where democracy is most...

Why social coops offer potential transformation of care and more

Click here to view original web page at www.shareable.net Last week, the Rocky Mountian Employee Ownership Center (RMEOC), Shareable, and a growing list of partners...

Demystifying Community Housing

Click here to view original web page at policyoptions.irpp.org Welcome to Demystifying Community Housing, a special series from the IRPP’s Policy Options Podcast, where we...

Calgary’s water emergency is just the start

Click here to view original web page at www.nationalobserver.com Three recent events drew attention to something people rarely think about until it’s too late —...

Global Impact: The Hidden Environmental Costs of AI

Click here to view original web page at jacobin.com In early May, Google announced it would be adding artificial intelligence (AI) to its search engine....

How farming could become the ultimate climate-change tool

Click here to view original web page at www.nature.com A generation of farmers and scientists are finding ways to sequester carbon ...

Gig platform workers need better health and well-being protections

Click here to view original web page at theconversation.com The rise of technology in the workplace, labour market deregulation and the decline in union representation...

Canadians with disabilities remain locked in ‘legislated poverty,’ and many left wanting to die

Click here to view original web page at ricochet.media The federal government may have hit the pause button “indefinitely” on the expansion ...

Extending the Sustainable Development Goals to 2050 — a road map

Click here to view original web page at www.nature.com The world should redouble its efforts on the SDGs, not abandon them. ...

Stories You May Have Missed

‘Decolonizing Lens’: Winnipeg and virtual film series reflects the beauty of Indigenous worldviews

Click here to view original web page at theconversation.com Decolonizing Lens is a film and discussion series based in Winnipeg that brings together Indigenous filmmakers,...

Money for good: the rise of ethical finance in building community

Click here to view original web page at www.resilience.org Finance & the crisis It has been nearly two decades since a financial crisis unleashed an economic...

EU passes law to restore 20% of bloc’s land and sea by end of decade

Click here to view original web page at www.theguardian.com Narrow vote causes fury in Vienna where climate minister is threatened ...

The rich say boosting the capital gains tax will hurt productivity, but it’s just not true. Time for some myth-busting

Click here to view original web page at spon.ca Having to pay taxes on slightly more of their income has the well-heeled reaching for torches...

A Shareable explainer: What is the Solidarity Economy?

Click here to view original web page at ccednet-rcdec.ca Note: this piece was originally published on Shareable. We stand at a historic moment—a crossroads in the...

What’s the difference between Indigenous nations co-managing or co-stewarding their land? A lot.

Click here to view original web page at www.resilience.org “This story was originally published by Grist. Sign up for Grist’s weekly newsletter here.” For a decade,...

Historic amendments to the WHO’s International Health Regulations create a path towards an equitable pandemic treaty

Click here to view original web page at theconversation.com On June 1, in the nail-biting final hours of the annual World Health Assembly meeting ...

Follow the U.S. lead on funding inter-regional bus service

Click here to view original web page at policyoptions.irpp.org (Version française disponible ici) Since 1981, the number of weekly intercity coach departures in Quebec has fallen...

Are we home yet?

Click here to view original web page at rabble.ca There’s no place like home, but how is Canada doing to ensure ...

Addressing the Triple Threat of Debt, Climate, and Development

Click here to view original web page at fpif.org As the world speeds past the target of keeping warming to 1.5 Celsius above preindustrial levels,...

Communities are essential to powering change

Click here to view original web page at www.resilience.org There is often a tension in response to the climate and ecological crises, pitting individual action...

Millennial architects redefine Canadian dream of homeownership

Click here to view original web page at spacing.ca Affordability, climate change, and thriving communal spaces are prevalent themes of mainstream policy talk amid Vancouver’s...

Marxism, the Land, and the Global Working Class

Click here to view original web page at jacobin.com When it comes to contemporary ecological and anti-colonial politics, there is perhaps no more central factor...

Explainer: What You Must Know About Climate Change and Blue Carbon

Click here to view original web page at www.ipsnews.net The coastal ecosystem protects us, feeds us, and could be ...

Living in a False Reality: Better Ventilation In Schools Is Critical

Click here to view original web page at apuffofabsurdity.blogspot.com Without testing or wastewater data warning us of rising cases of viruses in our regions ahead...

Ontario’s health-care system is in crisis. More privatization isn’t the answer

Click here to view original web page at www.tvo.org OPINION: Yes, we need more facilities, and we need specialized facilities that can efficiently process procedures....

Canadian mines a threat to Alaskan Indigenous rights

Click here to view original web page at www.nationalobserver.com This story was originally published by High Country News and appears here as part of ...

A Small Town’s Comeback: How The Industrial Commons Leveraged Local Assets for Rural Economic Development

Click here to view original web page at www.resilience.org This article is an adapted excerpt from an inspiring new book, “Assets In Common.” The Renaissance of...

Wealthy countries push back as UN moves ahead with global tax fairness

Click here to view original web page at www.icij.org A minority of countries that opposed a legally binding U.N. tax convention ...

Canada needs to start seeing Africa as a collaborator

Click here to view original web page at policyoptions.irpp.org Africa is brimming with economic opportunity, and Canada can be a pivotal partner. But it must...

How real action on environmental justice comes from Latin America’s community alliances (commentary)

Click here to view original web page at news.mongabay.com Key Ideas Despite the regional Escazú Agreement coming into force in 2021 to ensure the protection of...

Community broadband: providing a local solution with a global reach

Click here to view original web page at theconversation.com According to a 2023 study by the International Telecommunications Union, approximately 2.6 billion people are unconnected...

Walking With Giants: How Economic Thought and Policy Evolves

Click here to view original web page at www.progressive-economics.ca Armine Yalnizyan, Atkinson Fellow on the Future for Workers ...

New Sierra Club Report: Trading Away Our Climate Exposes How Trade Pacts Undermine Climate Action

Click here to view original web page at www.commondreams.org Report Urges Elimination of ISDS Provisions, Calls for ...

An oligopoly keeps driving up grocery prices. What can we do?

Click here to view original web page at www.nationalobserver.com https://www.nationalobserver.com/2024/05/30/opinion/Food-insecurity-inflation-Loblaw Ryan Labatiuk, a resident of Prince George, BC, is on disability benefits. Recently, it has been...

How creating place-based bio-region solutions can change the world

Click here to view original web page at www.resilience.org In a world of onrushing crises, where the level of change required to meet them boggles...

Why Protection & Participation of Children Must be Elevated at the UN Summit of the Future

Click here to view original web page at www.ipsnews.net KATHMANDU / NAIROBI, May 31 2024 (IPS) - The United Nations will hold the Summit ...

Polar warning: Warming temperatures mean more than melted ice

Click here to view original web page at news.mongabay.com The Arctic and Antarctic are changing rapidly in response to global warming, with scientists striving to...
- Link to Anthology Host Site -spot_img

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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