ANNOUNCEMENT: Welcome Canadian Teachers’ Federation!
We are very proud to announce The Canadian Teachers’ Federation is now a “Partner Union” of the Douglas Coldwell Layton Foundation. Thank you to CTF President Heidi Yetman and all of the Executive Board Members for choosing to affiliate with us. A very special thanks to outgoing President Sam Hammond for your support and advocacy. We wish you all the best in your retirement. Stay in touch Sam!
The DCLF fully supports CTF’s mission of striving to inspire collective actions to build a better world by improving the quality of publicly funded education through ensuring adequate funding for public education, strengthening labour rights and unionization, and advancing social justice.
At a time where there are cuts being made to our public services, public education must be defended and fought for. That is why the Canadian Forum on Public Education was so vital. We had conversations with various unions and stakeholders about the progress that has been made and what we need to do to make sure young people get the quality public education they deserve.
It’s time for the Douglas Coldwell Layton Foundation to work on protecting and improving public education. We look forward to working with the Canadian Teachers’ Federation and all of your affiliated Teacher Unions.
RSVP for The Layton Legacy Awards
A key component of the Jack Layton Legacy initiative is to encourage and support new waves of activism; to support the long-standing and new emerging groups who are committed to organizing for change in their community and social and physical environment.
That’s why we’re excited to invite you to join us in person or online on Tuesday, August 22, 2023 at 1:00pm ETD for the Layton Legacy Awards Celebration.
The Layton Activism Award and The Layton Indigenous Award, created in honour of Jack's Legacy, both recognize and amplify the activism and leadership we see in individuals and organizations from coast to coast. These awards help to support, grow, and move forward with the changes we want to see in our country and around the world.
Join us and newly elected Mayor of Toronto Olivia Chow and special guest speakers featuring a panel discussion between Bob Gallagher, Jack's former Chief of Staff, two special guests with personal connections to Jack's early days of activism. This discussion will be moderated by Brad Lavigne, Jack’s former Principal Secretary and current Vice-President of the Douglas Coldwell Layton Foundation.
Click here to RSVP in-person.
Click here to RSVP virtually.
Healthcare in Crisis
Recent actions by governments have shown that our universal healthcare system is in crisis. Our nurses and doctors are exhausted and under-resourced, and wait times are getting longer. Canadians do not have the retirement income or care support for a growing population. Workplace pensions are no longer common; and the CCP and OAS are terribly inadequate. We must not only save our universal healthcare system, but also expand it to protect our seniors.
That is why we have launched a special research project; Health Care in Crisis: Finding Solutions for Seniors Care and Long Term Care. This project has been developed to explore the crisis for seniors in our healthcare system. We will delve into the challenges facing our country to address any policy gaps. This first phase of our research allows us to determine what information exists today, what is missing, and helps guide the next phase of our research work.
The project's lead researcher Tom Parkin has written a report on our initial findings entitled: Our Growing Population; are we Prepared to Care?
Here are a few startling facts we’ve uncovered:
- Canadians over 65 years old had more than tripled in the previous 40 years.
- By 2040, 22.7 percent of Canada’s population will be 65 or older.
- Provincial and territorial healthcare systems will require an additional $93 billion by 2028 to address population aging.
- 20.4 percent of people in need of long term care are going unmet by existing facilities
- In the private sector, defined benefit plans covered 21.3 percent of workers in 2000, but just 9.6 per cent in 2020.
Every senior in Canada has the right to live in dignity and with the support they need. Every person who needs long term care has a right to a bed. This research project will be a call to action and help sound the alarm nationwide.
The good news is that our research shows that we can help fix this problem - employers and policy makers can take responsibility to address the growing health crisis.
With your support we can and will do more in Phase 2 of our research. If you have not done so already please consider making a charitable donation toward our Research Fund today - click here.
We just Launched a Podcast!!
Working in collaboration with Harbinger News Media, we have launched the Douglas-Coldwell-Layton Presents podcast to share inspiring stories and educate people about social democracy that you can enjoy from wherever you listen to podcasts.
Every two weeks Douglas-Coldwell-Layton Presents features lectures and conversations promoting social democracy principles, contributing to public policy dialogue, provoking discussion through research and education, and reclaiming the legacies of its founders and other social-democratic leaders with our host and historian Jon Weier.
You can listen to our first episode on our website here: www.douglascoldwelllayton.ca/podcast
Or, simply search on your favorite podcast provider: Douglas-Coldwell-Layton-Presents
RSVP for The Alexa McDonough Lecture with Peggy Nash
We are thrilled to be hosting an annual nationwide lecture series that focuses on advancing social democracy today. We need thought provoking discussions and fresh ideas that prioritize the majority of people's needs rather than the elite and well connected.
Our next lecture is at Mount Saint Vincent University in Halifax on Wednesday September 20th at 6pm ADT featuring former NDP MP and author Peggy Nash.
This lecture will focus on Women in Leadership and how we use our voices to build a better world. As Peggy notes “Taking on the responsibility of leadership can offer others a chance to act on their values and make change on the issues they care about. Women leaders are needed now more than ever.”
Peggy Nash is the author of Women Winning Office: An Activist’s Guide to Getting Elected, encouraging those who are often excluded to consider running for office, work she continues as the co-instructor of the Toronto Metropolitan University Women in the House Program. While in office as a Member of Parliament Peggy held official portfolios in finance and industry and was a federal NDP leadership candidate. A former senior negotiator with CAW (now UNIFOR) in the automobile, airline and service sectors. Nash also pioneered women’s leadership training and equity policies. Nash was invested into the Order of Canada in 2023 and holds an honorary Doctorate of Law from Brock University.
RSVP to join us in-person or virtually by clicking here.
Stay Tuned for the Rachel Notley Interview
We are excited to be hosting a series of interviews with leading social democratic women today who have inspired so many with their strength, intelligence, and determination. Next up as part of the series is Rachel Notely, the Leader of the Official Opposition in Alberta.
Prior to entering politics Rachel was a lawyer focused on labour law. She was elected as Alberta’s Premier in May 2015, forming the province’s first NDP Government. She is committed to protecting and improving healthcare, creating good-paying jobs for Albertans and helping make life more affordable for people and families.
This series is connected to the Alexa McDonough Women’s Leadership Centre as we hope to build upon her legacy and inspire generations to come. This helps us highlight Alexa’s values, the progress we have made as a collective advancing women’s rights and the work that still needs to be done to make things better. Click here to register and be the first to know the details.
Thank you JJ
The Douglas Coldwell Layton Foundation would like to acknowledge and thank JJ Sandler for his dutiful work as our Development Officer over the past several months. Thanks to his efforts our fundraising systems and protocols have been improved, and many relationships with past and present donors have been strengthened.
JJ has decided to take a different direction in the development of his career and education. We wish JJ and his wife Stacy all the best in their future and growing family.
Thank you JJ.
That's a wrap!
From all of us at the Foundation for Social Democracy, we hope you enjoy the rest of your summer with family and friends. We’ll be back in touch after labour day.
All the best,
We hope you are all soaking up the sun as we are now in the heart of summer. Despite the temptations of beautiful weather it’s been another productive couple months for us as we get ready for all the exciting events we have lined up for you the rest of the year.
