Link: http://victoria.tc.ca/~reed

Even as our local economy sputters, the "feel good" headlines continue with predictable regularity in our local media. Yesterday’s Times Colonist, for example, (Carla Wilson, September 11, 2010) proclaimed: “Region bucks national trend as unemployment rate slips.”

It is true that the unemployment rate dropped from 5.8% in July 2010, to 5.5% in August 2010, and year-on-year the rate dipped -0.2%. Things are looking up—right?

Well, maybe not. From the Statistics Canada data series, other measures of the health of our labour force suggest that there is much less reason for optimism. In August 2009, there were 181,400 employed persons in Victoria; there are now 177,100: A net loss of 4,300 jobs (-2.4%, all data seasonally adjusted). For comparison, over the same period, the employed labour force in Vancouver gained 24,600 jobs (+2.0%), and in Toronto a net gain of 121,300. Ken Stratford (Business Victoria CEO) is quoted in the same article, saying: “I think we are doing okay—could be doing better—but we are better off than most of the country.” Within the very narrow context of the official unemployment rate, he is correct; but one simple metric cannot capture the complex dynamics of the labour force.

Our labour force is shrinking. The size of our total labour force (TLF) plummeted by 4,800 in the past year. In February 2010 it peaked at 198,200 (CRD data); in August 2010, it was 187,600: our labour force has actually contracted by 10,600 in six short months: where did these people go? Some undoubtedly retired, but it is a well-documented fact that in a weakening economy many people quite simply give up looking for work (discouraged workers: those who according to Statistics Canada are neither employed nor unemployed). It is also a fact that this withdrawal from the labour force artificially depresses the unemployment rate. We are one of the few census metropolitan areas (CMA) in Canada with a shrinking TLF, a net loss of jobs, and a lower unemployment rate (Abbotsford, Kitchener-Waterloo, and Windsor share this dubious distinction).

The Statistics Canada labour force survey (LFS) also identified that in July 2010 there were 178,800 employed in Victoria; in August 2010 there were 177,100 employed: we have lost 1,700 jobs in the last month alone (Last year there was no change between the number of employed in July and August, so we can effectively discount student employment dynamics as a cause).

Simply utilizing the "unemployment rate" as a measure and comparison of our economic fitness does not capture the reality of the labour market(s). When other metrics are included, the results can seem counterintuitive; for example, we are experiencing a declining rate of unemployment (promoted by some as evidence that our economy is recovering), yet there are fewer people employed. If this paradox can be attributed to a deflationary cycle, then why are most other markets in Canada not experiencing similar declines in their employed labour force?

Irrespective of the unemployment rate, Victoria's economy is listless and faltering; an objective and more rigorous analysis of the data would have revealed this.

Link: http://victoria.tc.ca/~reed

50 Fresh Starts and Counting

Life-altering transformations take place here. A former rooming house, Cool Aid Society's Next Steps Transitional Shelter provides the opportunity for 15 emergency shelter clients to access the resources they need to make the transition from a state of homelessness to stabilized housing.

Funded by BC Housing and the United Way of Greater Victoria, and fully supported by the community through a Good Neighbour Agreement, Next Steps is fundamentally different than most shelters. While emergency shelters such as Streetlink and Sandy Merriman House meet the basic needs of temporary shelter, hygiene services and meals, Next Steps provides a vital bridge between these much-needed emergency shelters and permanent housing. Residents find a longer-term, more stable home at Next Steps, staying between 30 and 90 days. This is in contrast to emergency stays at Streetlink that are usually a result of short-term crises.

During their stay at Next Steps, the three unique core elements of the transition program are actively developed: income, long-term housing, and the development of community within the shelter. At present, four of the residents work, while two volunteer at the Mustard Seed and the Immigration Centre. Employment services that are available include assistance in preparing resumes and covering letters, online job searches facilitated by Project Literacy, and mock interviews. Training in Foodsafe is available on-site, while WHMIS and Industrial First Aid training is available through the John Howard Society. The REES network also provides a pool of prospective employers.

The majority of Next Steps clients move into housing provided by Pacifica and BC Housing. In instances where only market-based housing is available, the United Way provides vital top-up. According to one of the client services workers, “independent living is preferable, as sharing can be destabilizing if one person decides to leave.”

Promoting a sense of community, responsibility and interaction with others is an integral part of this program. Various rotating chores (cooking, cleaning, and landscaping), movie and pizza nights, a survival cooking program and an art group develop these important life skills. The “ambiance of a home setting fosters personal ingenuity and creativity,” while the one-on-one counselling allows the individuals the get “more in touch with their personal needs.”

In addition to the three core elements, Next Steps also provides medical and dental services, follow-ups every 3 to 6 months after departure, the opportunity to reconnect with family, assertiveness training, and relaxation exercises.

Next Steps focuses on supporting individuals who have elected to move forward in their lives after a crisis. In this smaller community setting of only 15 residents, there is a much greater emphasis on individual growth and how they interact with others, something that is not possible in an emergency shelter of 95 beds. Making the transition to a more promising future is a complex process that requires not only commitment by client services and outreach workers, but by each individual who takes ownership of the process by constructing a personal action plan.

After only one year of operation, fifty individuals have moved through this program and are now living independently.

JUNE 16 2009

THE FIRST ANNUAL JAMES JOYCE BAY DAY!

((this is James Bay Culture Blog #10))

Stately, plump Buck Mulligan came from the stairhead,
bearing a bowl of lather...

These words are the classic opening line from James Joyce's acclaimed universal masterpiece -- the novel "Ulysses." Universal? Wow - that's pretty big. You just can't argue with something THAT big. So I guess we have no choice but to leap onto this bandwagon. Let's get into the Spirit by celebrating James Joyce Bay!

Hip communities around this world have been celebrating June 16th as "Bloomsday" for decades. The events of the novel Ulysses all take place on a single glorious day which is commemorated globally (especially in Joyce's Dublin). Public readings from the book, high spirits, literary excitement and busy pubs typical Bloomsday festivities. Surely we can manage that!

Read more

A U R A L

P L E A S U R E S

The original album cover for the 1970s classic BREAKFAST IN JAMES BAY featuring Ogden Point's own Dick Danger

The Ogden Point Cafe (just follow the beach -- you'll find it) is now featuring regular live music 530-7pm every Wed-Sat.

Sorry about the title of this piece. I took "oral pleasure" (appropriate for a cafe, no?) and fused it with "aural" to indicate musical appreciation. I assure you there is absolutely no subliminal perverse content in this title. It could be misleading. I know. I'm sorry. But, heck, at least it's a short title. NEW OGDEN POINT LIVE MUSIC EVENINGS was just too much for me to get my mouth around. ()

I stopped in a few nights ago to hear pianist Diane Taylor. She provided a marvelous, cozy backdrop for a warm drink and a pleasant conversation at the ocean's edge.

Drop by and check it out.

(And do try to put some money in the musician's tip jar.)

Yours,
me.

PS - Stay tuned to this blog in the weeks to come for a full-length Ogden Point story -- "WHO IS DICK DANGER?"

Wednesday, November 26 2008
The First of the New Weekly Spoken-Word Nights
@ the James Bay Coffee House & Bookshop

My reading was the first of the evening. I gave a profanity-laced diatribe against Stephen Hawking and the general presumptions of 20th Century physics. What the heck was I thinking??? Those few who could even follow my high-speed spew of bizarrely juxtaposed phraseology still had no idea why I would be ranting contemptuously against a brilliant professor dying of ALS.

Fortunately, the night moved on. Other people gave wonderful performances showcasing the wide variety of interpretations of "poetry." The latter half of the evening was devoted to Adam... a cyborg. His eye-sight failing slowly, this accidental photographer and inadvertent poet gave a very personal and, at times, quite insightful reading from his pamphlet-book: JAMES BAY IS A WARM BLANKET.

I'm an arch-enemy of poetry but even my cold heart was touched... a little.

(NOTE - These evening have been deactivated for the Holidays. Look for their triumphant return in early January.)