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This paper develops a framework for a financial, economic, and stakeholder analysis of a residential rooftop solar net-metering program. The empirical focus of the paper is the net-metering program in Ontario, Canada, but the methodology is applicable to evaluating other public programs. The results highlight that without the Federal Government's subsidy for the initial investment cost, net-metered solar systems are not financially viable for representative households. Moreover, the stakeholder analysis reveals that for each additional net-metered system installed in Ontario, non-net-metered households experience financial losses of six times the benefits to the net-metered households. The net losses to the Federal Government of Canada and the Canadian economy are five and nine times the benefit to the net-metered households, respectively. The only stakeholder who benefits marginally is the Government of Ontario. In terms of environmental benefits, our estimate of the cost of greenhouse gas abatement by residential net-metered solar is 325 CAD per ton of CO 2 , which is significantly higher than the current (65 CAD in 2023) and future (170 CAD by 2030) national carbon price set by the Government of Canada. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The research pertaining to racial disparities for Black families in child welfare is relatively limited in Canada. Recent research reveals that the overrepresentation of Black families in Canadian child welfare systems typically begins at the reporting or investigation stage and continues throughout the child welfare service and decision-making continuum. This research is occurring against the backdrop of increasing public acknowledgement of Canada's historic anti-Black policy-making and institutional relationships to Black communities. Though there is increased awareness about anti-Black racism, there has been limited exploration of the connection between anti-Black racism in child welfare legislation and how this policy generates disparities for Black families in both child welfare involvement and outcomes – this paper seeks to fill this gap in knowledge. The objective of this paper is to explore the entrenchment of anti-Black racism within the child welfare system by critically assessing the language and absence of language within the guiding legislative and implementation policies. Utilizing a critical race discourse analysis method, this study explores the entrenchment of anti-Black racism within the Ontario child welfare system by critically assessing the language and absence of language within the guiding legislative policies that shape practice for Black children, youth, and families. The findings revealed that though the legislation does not explicitly address anti-Black racism, there were instances where the legislation indicated that race and culture may be considered in responding to children and families. The lack of specificity, particularly in the Duty to Report, has the potential to contribute to disparate reporting and decision-making for Black families. Policy makers should acknowledge the history of anti-Black racism that informed the development of the legislation in Ontario and move towards tackling systemic injustices that disproportionately affect Black families. More explicit language will shape future policies and practices to ensure that the impact of anti-Black racism is considered across the child welfare continuum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• New carbon-sequestration geosystem paradigm proposed for screening CO 2 repositories. • Deposition, burial history 1st-order controls on repository attributes, traps, etc. • Genetic understanding of geology enables property prediction away from data control. • Case-study application to heavily industrialized region of onshore Canada. In this paper, I propose a new geoscience paradigm for evaluating potential carbon-sequestration targets. I introduce the term carbon-sequestration geosystem to study and describe portions of sedimentary basins where all the geologic components necessary for the safe and long-term storage of CO 2 are present. The purpose of this type of analysis, most appropriately applied at a basin-screening stage, is to derive a holistic, genetic, and predictive understanding of the geology – the depositional systems, structural setting and other factors that are direct controls on storage, injectivity, potential for induced seismicity, and other critical factors. To illustrate the concepts, I present a re-evaluation of the geologic carbon-sequestration options in Southern Ontario (Canada) where business and environmental needs, mostly associated with hard-to-abate industries, require urgent action. Legacy wireline-logs, core, and outcrop data are the main data sources available in this onshore setting. The results of this new, independent study are broadly similar to those of previous studies: the Cambrian section, a saline aquifer, is the most likely candidate to be a CO 2 repository. However, the methodology used identified several issues (e.g., stratigraphic heterogeneity, proximity to basement) that will need addressing by targeted data collection and/or analysis before site-selection for a test should be undertaken. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agroecology and food sovereignty have gained a significant foothold in the Global South; however, in the Global North, there are significant challenges hindering the adoption of these concepts. Drawing on participants' insights following an Agroecology Field School and Research Summit held in Ontario, Canada in 2018, this paper presents the context for agroecology's potential expansion in this country. We argue that three key dimensions must be addressed in order for the concept to be advanced: 1) Engagement in food system governance; 2) Building networks of solidarity between academics, activists, and food producers/harvesters; and 3) Realization of Indigenous food sovereignty. • Politics remain one of the most significant challenges facing agroecology in Canada. • Agroecology can strengthen food governance at community and government levels. • Agroecology requires solidarity between academics, organizers, and food producers. • Agroecology must address historical and ongoing injustices facing Indigenous people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• This article answers criticisms about the malleability of the resilience concept. • The three necessary features of the resilience concept are clarified. • A parallel concept, 'resistance', is introduced and its necessary features defined. • Introduction of 'resistance' reinforces both what 'resilience' is and what it is not. • Clarifying resilience as distinct from resistance has implications for policy. Despite criticisms that emphasize the ambiguity surrounding its definition and applications, the concept of resilience is featured prominently in studies of regional economies and regionally-based industries. This paper builds on this literature through a case study of Canada's automotive industry, an old industrial region (OIR) situated primarily in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. It also provides heightened definitional rigour to the concept of resilience and in so doing, advances the concept of 'resistance.' We argue that resistance better characterizes regional economies and regionally-based industries whose competitive advantages have eroded, are resistant to change, and remain locked into trajectories of slow decline but persist through shocks, disruptions and interventions, policy-oriented or otherwise. The clarification of resilience as distinct from resistance carries significant implications for policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Labour geography has yet to pay full attention to the experiences of public sector workers and their employer (the state). This article addresses this lacuna and provides some insight into the labour geographies of public sector workers through an empirical analysis of the centralization of governance, employment relations, and collective bargaining in Ontario, Canada’s publicly-funded elementary and secondary schools. This case demonstrates how one particular group of public sector workers – teachers – and their unions located and exercised agency in the arenas of politics and collective bargaining through a rescaling of their activities from the local to the provincial level. The paper also argues that the rescaling of politics and collective bargaining is problematic. Questions remain regarding whether or not Ontario’s teachers were able to increase their aggregate bargaining power through centralization or merely transferred agency and authority from one scale to another. Moreover, the paper engages with the fast-developing geographies of education literature, and is consistent with an outward-looking approach that links education to wider political and economic processes. In so doing, it extends the scope of the geographies of education to the employees of publicly-funded schools and their administrative bodies, and suggests value a theoretically- and empirically-informed dialogue between geographers interested in education and those interested in labour. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper examines the provision of mobility options being one of the important policy areas vital to addressing transportation accessibility of the elderly. A provincial analysis, taking the case of the Province of Ontario in Canada, is warranted given that the country’s highly decentralized system puts provincial policies at the forefront in meeting this challenge. The paper evaluates the important progress made in this policy area and stressed the need to go beyond the traditional policy focus on the less able-bodied elderly and consider the increased heterogeneity of the elderly population with respect to lifestyle, preferences, resources, health and physical abilities. While significant efforts have been made, a more explicit recognition of population aging in Ontario’s transport policy motivation that could strongly influence transport strategies and investments attuned to the mobility concerns in an aging society remains to be seen. The paper summarizes the general concerns in the literature, policy developments, and the challenges in crafting solutions in terms of policy and research for Ontario and other regions with similar institutional setup. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Rural broadband strategies in Canada face data and mapping challenges. • Research shows challenges with being deemed "served" or "underserved". • In southwestern Ontario rural Internet quality levels may fall below the government's aspirational targets. • We recommend provider reported data cross-referenced with user experience data and detailed mapping. This paper examines challenges to evidence-based decision-making in the design and implementation of rural broadband investment programs. Our focus is on Canada, and the apparent need for further intra-rural broadband research and better data and mapping for informing public investment decisions, but similar challenges are evident in the international literature. Based on proprietary telecommunication provider datasets, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunication Commission (CRTC) estimates that broadband services with advertised speeds that meet its basic universal service targets (50 Mbps download and 10 Mbps upload) are available to 87.4 percent of households in Canada. In rural areas however, services that meet CRTC's speed targets are available to 45.6 percent of households. Moreover, effective speeds and service quality levels that suppliers deliver and users experience tend to fall well below the government's aspirational targets. In response to demand for better broadband, a variety of initiatives are directing public investment to the deployment of regional and rural broadband networks, which are typically owned and operated by private companies. There remains a serious lack of relevant data and its effective use in creating rural broadband strategies and managing public investment projects. Evidence from the literature suggest that this affects the degree and quality of geo-spatial and econometric analysis that results in a limited empirical basis to allocate scarce public investments, aggregate demand of consumers/communities, and assess the outcomes of rural broadband initiatives ex post. This paper provides a historical overview of rural broadband development in Canada and questions if the body of knowledge to inform public investment initiatives has grown sufficiently to ensure their effectiveness and sustainability. With a regional case from southwestern Ontario, Canada, we discuss the findings of the literature review, characterize the broadband data challenge, and discuss the importance of proprietary provider data cross-referenced with Internet user experience data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The heritage-scape is a socially constructed place that provides locally crafted products, cuisine, and experiences to satisfy consumers’ desire for authenticity. In this paper we question if the introduction of a functionally non-conforming structure causes an existing heritage-based place identity to dismantle (i.e. deconstruct). In 2003, a pari-mutuel racetrack and gaming parlour (a “racino”) was introduced to the historic village of Elora, Ontario, Canada. Through content analysis we unravel (i.e. deconstruct) the social processes that lay behind this development. We find that this profit-oriented venue was widely contested by preservation-minded residents, who expressed concern that this structure would compromise Elora’s heritage image. Our survey finds, however, that the majority of visitors believe that the Grand River Raceway and Slots has not impacted Elora’s existing place-based identity. Key informants further reveal that image management, spatial placement and visual coherence are largely responsible for its maintenance. We conclude that a heritage-based place identity may be retained, and even enhanced, in the presence of a hegemonic discourse that is underlain by a long-standing preservationist ideology. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: While new environmental policies and procedures often are developed incrementally, they can also result from crises or other significant events. In situations where policies and procedures are introduced in response to a crisis, questions about the strengths and weaknesses of existing mechanisms, and the extent to which they can be used to address concerns, may be ignored. This paper explores the complexities of introducing new policies and processes where planning systems and procedures already exist. Drinking water source protection policies that are being developed in response to the tragic events in Walkerton, Ontario, Canada serve as the context for the inquiry. Three case study watersheds were selected to reflect the diversity of municipal jurisdictions and water supply systems in Ontario. A content analysis was undertaken on regulatory and non-regulatory policy documents to determine the extent to which they addressed elements of the multi-barrier approach for drinking water safety. Findings from the research reveal considerable evidence of the multi-barrier approach in the policy and guiding documents analyzed. Policy development in response to a crisis can advance progress on the issue of drinking water safety and coincide with emerging governance strategies. Policy effectiveness may be enhanced by considering existing policies as well as contextual and jurisdictional differences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes the community health of the Wikwemikong Unceded Indian Reserve (WUIR), Ontario, Canada. Results are reported from fieldwork including participant observation, key informant interviewing and self-reported data measuring health status, risk behaviour, place of residence, self-identity, and personal history extracted from 350 interviews conducted during a community-wide needs assessment. The research aimed to create a health plan for the community; however, subsequent analysis of the needs assessment results indicates that internal diversity exists in health status and needs between the seven villages that comprise WUIR. The analysis suggests variation in health status and risk-taking behaviour among community members may be related to varying colonial histories among the villages. The implications of intra-community variation in health status in First Nations are discussed in relation to influential health policy theories such as the determinants of health and health transfer policy in Canada. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]