Introduction Advocacy has been defined as the act of speaking or of disseminating information intended to influence individual behaviour or opinion, corporate conduct, or public policy and law.2 Many people believe that the act of advocacy as a form of free speech is an essential part of democracy.3 While many registered charities in Canada believe…
Good policy development lies as much in the “how” as in the “what.” This is because the process used to develop policy positions can either lead one headlong into common policy development traps or help one to sidestep these and continue safely to one’s goal—producing good policy. This article looks at what we mean by…
Summary The following article was prepared by Blake Bromley for the Commission of Inquiry into the Investigation of the Bombing of Air India Flight 182 in support of his personal testimony in Ottawa on October 26, 2007. This article will be published in 3 consecutive issues of The Philanthropist: the first installment will be the…
Welcome to the fourth 2010 issue of The Philanthropist. This issue discusses public policy and how various parts of the charitable and not-for-profit sector participate in public policy making—and how it should be done. It is an area in which the sector has generally failed to have substantial and sustained influence. Before I focus on…
Organizations that provide settlement services for immigrants and ongoing support for immigrant communities play a vital role in Canadian society. These organizations provide benefits—including assistance with housing, language training, employment preparation, and social services for new immigrants, as well as ongoing programs designed to support disadvantaged communities and eliminate discrimination—that are now recognized as accruing…
Summary This article summarizes some findings about how civil society in Canada has been involved in working to improve the rights of children within the framework of an international human rights convention. The article demonstrates how the focus on an international framework like the CRC and its implementation can be an instrument for policy progress…
Introduction by Kate Mansell This article has a curious history. Some time back, the board of Leadership Victoria was considering the notion that the organization should be focused not just on helping to prepare the new generation of leaders for our community but also on promoting the idea and necessity of “community leadership” within the…
Advocates and advocacy groups in the nonprofit sector in canada get involved in the public policy process in a number of ways. The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC)2 funded a four-year research project involving nine groups to address the question of outcomes under the title “How do you know you are making a…
Background In the June edition of The Philanthropist, Elizabeth Mulholland wrote “New Ways to Keep Up Our End of the Policy Conversation” (Mulholland, 2010). Voluntary organizations are the organized expression of our civic desires and one of the main ways that Canadians communicate their values, hopes and ideas to each other and to the world. Policy…
Point: Bob Wyatt As I reflected on the theme of this issue of The Philanthropist – the sector’s involvement in public policy—I tried to think about why we are rarely as successful as we would like to be. After all, groups that aren’t as broadly based, that aren’t as engaged with citizens, and that are…