What’s new: Documents obtained through the Access to Information Act show that Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) proposed an initiative to the Canada 150 fund in April 2015 titled: “Canada 150: Mentoring the Disability Leaders of Tomorrow Today.”

It was one of seven initiatives put forth by the department. However, all were ultimately rejected except for the 2017 Canada Summer Jobs Program.

The initiative planned to reach out to a national disability organization and have them identify 150 “disability leaders” across Canada. Those leaders would then be paired up with 150 Canadians living with disabilities for a mentorship opportunity. The ultimate goal was for leaders to pass on “knowledge, tools, and best practices with the next generation of leaders within disability community.”

Why it’s important: Canada’s 150^th birthday is a major milestone, and the federal government has paid it special attention.

Programs and events related to the anniversary have been heavily advertised by all levels of government, and at the helm of this is the Canada 150 fund. According to the department of Canadian Heritage, the fund has received over 3,000 applications so far, and has a 200 million-dollar budget to give out.

But to date, only 430 of those applications have been approved for funding. Canadian Heritage says 38 of these are large-scale “signature projects”, and 392 are smaller “community projects”.

What’s unclear is if there’s a specific allocation for initiatives targeted to help disadvantaged groups, like people living with disabilities.

An initiative “screening tool” provided by the Canada 150 fund to ESDC asks how a proposed initiative will contribute to themes like “Canada’s cultural, ethnic, linguistic, and geographic diversity” and “Leaving a legacy for future generations.”

But despite these socially-minded guidelines, many of the approved initiatives are centered on celebratory events. Examples range from a citywide game of snakes and ladders in Calgary, to the “Red Couch Tour”, where a couch will move from coast to coast to bring Canadians together to share stories.

What the government says: When asked why the disability initiative was rejected, the ESDC said in an e-mail statement only that: “ESDC’s contribution to Canada 150 has evolved since the briefing note was prepared.”

Tim Warmington, a spokesperson for Canadian Heritage, says the department cannot discuss or provide information about why certain applications have been rejected.

What others say: Dr. Mary McColl, academic lead at the Canadian Disability Policy Alliance, finds it hard to understand why the ESDC’s disability initiative wouldn’t be attractive to the Canada 150 fund.

She says she understands that Canada 150 is about celebrating and having fun, but feels there should be a certain amount of money set aside for projects “that are actually making a difference in Canadian society.”

This is particularly important, she says, for Canadians living with disabilities. “People with disabilities make up about 15 per cent of the Canadian population, and so arguably 15 per cent of the money should’ve gone to disability topics.”

Overall, she believes the rejection of this initiative speaks to a larger problem: the federal government’s lack of proper attention to disability issues.

What’s next: Canadian Heritage is expected to continue announcing approved projects in the coming weeks, right up until the exact 150^th anniversary on July 1^st.

Of the large-scale “signature” projects approved thus far, one is related to disability issues. Titled “Access4All”, it provides funds to the Rick Hansen foundation, an organization that helps communities create more accessible environments for those living with disabilities.

A media relations representative for ESDC says the department is unsure whether it will try to continue to move forward with their own disability initiative.

Pages relevant to the final story: *The following four pages are all from Employment and Social Development Canada

First page: This gives a brief outline of the disability initiative, and indicates which branch put it forth (Office for Disability Issues). This information was helpful because it details what the project would entail, and also how much it would cost ($2.5 million).

Second page: This page shows how the ESDC filled out an “initiative screening tool” provided to them by the Canada 150 fund. The tool was supposed to help evaluate the efficacy of a proposed initiative It’s helpful because it shows what exactly the Canada 150 fund was looking for in this regard, and how well the disability initiative fit in to that.

Third page: This is another filled out initiative screening tool, but for the Canada Summer Work Experience Program (SWEP). This was the only initiative of the seven from ESDC to receive money from the Canada 150 fund, so it’s helpful in that it provides an opportunity to compare and contrast how each initiative fit in to the requirements for the fund.

Relevant Correspondence for final story:

Final ATIP Story – Relevant Correspondence (Text)

Other Requests – Relevant Correspondence (ATIP Story) (Text)

Hipster coffee shops and cool fusion restaurants haven’t deterred graffiti vandals in Ottawa’s Somerset district. The ward had the highest number of graffiti complaints per capita last year, according to an analysis of the city’s 311 service requests database. The trend has continued into the new year, with twelve graffiti complaints from the area recorded in January, and six in February. Although the ward was second in total number of complaints – Rideau-Vanier had the most –having the highest per capita means the complaints are occurring at a faster rate than in other wards.
Top 5 wards with the most graffiti complaints per capita

In an e-mail statement, Roger Chapman, chief of Ottawa bylaw services, says the most common type of graffiti complaints in Somerset are those related to ‘tagging’. The city’s website defines ‘tagging’ as: “the writing, painting or ‘bombing’ of an identifiable symbolic character or ‘tag’ that may or may not contain letters.” The site indicated that gang related graffiti is rare in Ottawa, even though ‘tags’ can sometimes be associated with gangs or certain groups. The city categorizes five other types of graffiti: “personalized, political, offensive and hate-related.”

Chapman also says he doesn’t think Somerset is facing a “specific issue” with graffiti, because other wards, like Rideau-Vanier, also experience a high number of complaints. But volume of complaints alone isn’t necessarily indicative of the depth of the issue. Rideau-Vanier has about 7,500 more people than Somerset and around 11,600 more people than Capital ward – yet it lags behind both of those wards in complaints per capita. This suggests Somerset may have certain factors that contribute to the high rate.

The ward encompasses much of downtown, LeBreton flats, and most of Centretown West – all home to some of the city’s busiest bars, restaurants and shopping centres. The Ottawa Real Estate Board notes that these neighbourhoods have become more popular in recent years, and are becoming gentrified by a younger demographic who are driving up home prices. Last month, the Board said the price of a single family home in Hintonburg/West Centretown, for example, has risen 27 per cent in the last five years – nearly double that of the city as a whole.

But this peak in interest hasn’t made the area immune to crime or vandalism. Take the disturbing instances of hate graffiti this past fall as an example. In mid-November, the Ottawa Muslim Association and Parkdale United Church, both situated within the ward, were vandalized with racially-driven hate graffiti.

In response to how  complaints in Somerset are dealt with, a communications representative for the city says it employs a “4E model”, meaning: education, empowerment, eradication, and enforcement. They also say the city works with the Ottawa Police to help employ the model.

Graffiti has always been a fixture of urban life – but it can have real consequences.

In 2015, the city published a study that evaluated the effectiveness of the graffiti prevention program. The report concluded with: “The volume of Service Requests received indicates that residents are reporting graffiti which is then being quickly removed… Due to the commitment of the community, a marked decrease in the level of graffiti has been noted. Unfortunately, the costs incurred to remove graffiti continue to soar.”

The study was conducted as part of the “Ottawa 2017” campaign – a celebration of the capital’s 150-year anniversary. The report mentions numerous times that this occasion calls for a more concerted effort to control graffiti incidents, in order to “preserve Ottawa’s reputation as a ‘Clean, Green, Graffiti and Litter Free City’.”

The Somerset ward encompasses many areas that tourists are likely to be drawn to. And if the graffiti trend there continues, the city may have its hands full trying to maintain a clean image.

Goldcorp’s Stock Prices by shaunamcginn on TradingView.com

The Canadian mining giant saw a 22% decrease in gold production in its third quarter of 2016, a figure indicative of production challenges, such as worker strikes and blockades, at two mine sites in Mexico and Argentina.

The Peñasquito gold mine – which is located in Mexico and is the company’s largest – halted production in late September because of a blockade set up by protesting mine workers. Fuelled by anger over loss of work contracts, it interrupted production for at least a week. Reuters reported that the blockade ended when Goldcorp reached an agreement with the community that promised to renew contracts and improve infrastructure near the mine site.

When asked about how these protests affected production, Goldcorp stated that the decrease was largely a result of Peñasquito’s operations moving to a planned ‘low grade’ zone. ‘Low grade’ refers to an area of the mine that is expected to produce less gold than usual. In regards to the worker’s strike, the company claimed it was resolved quickly and therefore did not drastically harm production numbers. It also stated it will continue to “deepen relationships” with the communities it works in.

Similar issues arose in the Cerro Negro gold mine in Argentina, another of the company’s largest. That mine also experienced production slowdowns, due to a reduction in the workforce. Goldcorp said this reduction was planned, as part of a strategy to “set up the site for long-term success.” It added that it’s expected that after this restructuring, the mine will be back on track to return to previous levels of productivity.

Based on an analysis of their third quarter financial statement, these challenges outlined above are mainly responsible for the decrease. While Goldcorp has other mines at work, it relies on Peñasquito and Cerro Negro for the bulk of its gold production. Overall, the company posited the decrease as something it could easily recover from.

But Josh Wolfson, a Senior Equity Research Analyst at Dundee Capital Markets, said it’s unusual to have such stark differences in production numbers between quarters. However, he said it wouldn’t be “unreasonable” for Goldcorp to expect to bounce back quickly from a 22% decrease, especially in an industry like mining that often finds itself in flux.

Goldcorp’s second quarter in 2016 saw similarly low production numbers. And it may be because it was a year of reevaluating for the company. A January 16^th press release included comments from CEO David Garofalo, who said that 2016 was a year of rethinking Goldcorp’s business model. He said the company aims to increase gold production by 20% over the next five years.

The company also recently released its Guidance 2017 report, a document made mostly for investors that outlines production estimates for the year ahead. Goldcorp projected that both Peñasquito and Cerro Negro will produce 410,000 ounces of gold each in 2017.

What was unclear was how Goldcorp plans to mitigate the risk of further worker’s strikes or blockades. Goldcorp describes itself as being focused on “responsible mining practices.” It is also a proponent of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), a framework that encourages the use of environmental and people-friendly business practices.

In addition to their 2015 annual financial report, Goldcorp issued a 2015 sustainability report. In it, the company indicates that it spent 27 million on infrastructure and community investments. In the ‘Management Approach’ section of the report, it states that “Without community support, we cannot operate safely and sustainably.”

Goldcorp is expected to release its 2016 annual financial report on February 16^th.