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Ideas
Meet 4 Innovative Organizations Transforming Canada’s North
Why It Matters
Canada’s Arctic is leading the way on a number of innovations that enhance lives. Every year, the Arctic Inspiration Prize awards funding to projects by the North, for the North. This innovative prize approach uses a non-traditional funding model to support and accelerate Arctic-led projects — and these four previous prize winners show that the model is working.
The Importance of Treaty Training for Indigenous Youth
Why It Matters
There is an increasing knowledge gap between emerging Indigenous leaders and the treaty negotiators who came before them — a gap that can be hard to close due to a culture of oral knowledge sharing and the situational nuances that can play out in negotiations. How can we bridge the gap between those with lived experience and those who have grown up with treaties already in place?
Inclusion on the Court: What the NBA Can Teach Us About Relative Privilege
Why It Matters
The Raptors locked down Canada’s first National Basketball Association win last week, to raucous celebration across the country. While we continue to celebrate the win, Amy Ge — of the equity-focused consulting firm Feminuity — takes a minute to unpack recent issues of inclusion and privilege on both the basketball court and the football pitch and explores how sport strengthens inclusion in communities.
Trends
4 Canadian Youth-Led Initiatives Worth Paying Attention To
Why It Matters
In many philanthropic and governmental initiatives, bringing youth to the table is often discussed — but never quite done enough. When it comes to these four Canadian initiatives, though, youth are not only building the tables themselves, but making a marked difference in the world while doing so.
3 Ways the Canadian Justice System is Failing Women (& How We Address It)
Why It Matters
As cultural perspectives shift, so do a country's expectations of its governance and systems — so it's not entirely surprising that in July, Canada’s federal government announced nearly $2 million in funding to help advance gender equality in Canada’s justice system. But exactly where is that inequality showing up most, and how are national women’s organizations tackling these issues?
What’s a Community Bond, Anyway?
Why It Matters
Thanks to ever-changing political environments and limiting restrictions imposed on nonprofits by funding bodies, the ability of non-profit organizations to grow and secure their long-term is often hampered. One solution? Community bonds present an opportunity for organizations to leverage the power of their community to fund projects that can have a big impact, even beyond real estate usefulness. Christopher Trotman of Tapestry Community Capital gives us a primer on the impact investing tool.
Insights
Then & Now: How Kitchener’s Blue Box Program Launched Modern Day Recycling
Why It Matters
Recycling has been seen as the perfect solution to our wasteful woes. But as news of plastic waste issues take over headlines, journalist Bill Bean dives into this through a historical look at the origin of Canada’s innovative household Blue Box Program — and how it continues to evolve today.
Why We Need Co-ops in 2019
Why It Matters
Platform businesses are not necessarily the financial success that their market valuations suggest, even if they have a dedicated community who use them. Now, however, networks of like-minded people and organizations are emerging to accelerate a first wave of digital co-operative enterprises.
3 Ways to Start Integrating Accessibility into Your Workplace (& Life)
Why It Matters
Canada's federal government has made significant moves to support individuals with lived experience of disability in recent months — from passing the Accessible Canada Act to investing in AccessNow, an app that maps accessible locations across the country. But how can Canadians be better advocates for accessibility on an individual level?