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Background: Improving equity and early access to palliative care for underserved populations in Canada is a priority. Little is known regarding access to palliative and end-of-life care in the Black population. Methods: We undertook a scoping review using the framework by Arksey and O'Malley to identify knowledge, access gaps, and experiences of palliative and end-of-life care among Blacks living with life-limiting illnesses in Canada. Primary studies, discussion papers, books, and reports were considered eligible. We followed a comprehensive search strategy developed by an information scientist. Searches were performed in the following bibliographic databases: Medline, EMBASE, PsycINFO via OVID, CINAHL via EBSCOhost, Scopus and Cochrane Library via Wiley. The search strategy was derived from three main concepts: (1) Black people; (2) Canada and Canadian provinces; (3) Palliative, hospice, or end-of-life care. No publication date or language limits were applied. Titles and abstracts were screened for eligibility by one reviewer and full text by two independent reviewers. Results: The search yielded 233 articles. Nineteen articles were selected for full-text review, and 7 articles met the inclusion criteria. These studies were published between 2010 and 2021, and conducted in the provinces of Ontario and Nova Scotia only. Studies used both quantitative and qualitative methods and included cancer decedents, next of kin, family caregivers and religious leaders. Sample sizes in various studies ranged from 6 − 2,606 participants. Included studies reported a general lack of understanding about palliative and end-of-life care, positive and negative experiences, and limited access to palliative and end-of-life care for Blacks, across all care settings. Conclusion: Findings suggest limited knowledge of palliative care and inequities in access to palliative and end-of-life care for Blacks living with life-limiting illnesses in 2 Canadian provinces. There is an urgent need for research to inform tailored and culturally acceptable strategies to improve understanding and access to palliative care and end-of-life care among Blacks in Canada. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we use intersectionality-based policy analysis (IBPA) to examine how COVID-19 income support policies enacted in Ontario, Canada, affected people living with poverty. We find that the privileging of formal labor market attachment in eligibility requirements systemically excluded constituencies most likely to be living with poverty. More broadly, these exclusions represent a retrenchment of neoliberal logics in social policy, and the rejection of universal social welfare programs. In conclusion, we suggest that the experiences of people living with poverty during the COVID-19 pandemic further highlight the need for comprehensive social welfare programs, including a universal basic income. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The migration literature focusing on understanding interactions between immigrants' integration and transnationalism is replete with mixed findings. However, contemporary consensus among migration scholars suggests that immigrants' integration and transnational connections can occur simultaneously. Focusing on transnational dating—which is understudied—this exploratory study draws on an online qualitative survey with five Ghanaian male immigrants in southwestern Ontario, Canada, to explore how immigrants' attachment to the host society, homeland, and "elsewhere" shape transnational dating behaviour. Transnational dating is conceptualized in this paper as dating partners that live part or most of their life or time detached from each other, yet hold together and create a sense of shared welfare and harmony, namely "datehood" that surpasses national borders. Using the integration‐transnationalism matrix as the theoretical framework, this paper demonstrates that the roles of integration and transnationalism should not be seen as separate influences on participants' transnational dating behaviour given participants' strong attachment to the host society, sending country, and "elsewhere." Importantly, our finding indicates that the motivation for transnational dating is related to transnational connections rather than not feeling integrated into Canadian society. Overall, the finding contributes to discourses on dating, transnational dating, transnationalism, and the conceptual framework of the integration‐transnationalism matrix. Key Messages: The migration literature focusing on understanding interactions between immigrants' integration and transnationalism is replete with mixed findings.This exploratory study has taken a critical step in stimulating a research agenda on transnational dating within the integration‐transnationalism matrix.Our finding indicates that the motivation for transnational dating is related to transnational connections rather than not feeling integrated into Canadian society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines how policymakers interpret and deploy cultural economy approaches within municipal economic development strategies and cultural plans. Focusing on the 33 largest municipalities in Ontario, Canada, we conduct a keyword analysis of 63 municipal planning documents, supplemented with key informant interviews with economic development and cultural planning staff. Our analysis reveals that the use of cultural economy approaches in economic development and cultural plans varies depending upon city size, municipal governance structure and municipal organizational structure. However, despite the widespread use of cultural economy ideas in planning documents, we conclude that its uptake in municipal policymaking fails to reflect its professional and scholarly popularity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides a theoretical and empirical intervention into housing research by applying the geospatial lens of the rural-urban space (RUS) to the social problem of homelessness, a conceptual linkage absent in the Canadian context. Drawing on original data from 80 surveys, four focus groups, and a community feedback session, we identify and interrogate key local impacts of systemic shifts in the housing market and associated policy responses in Dufferin County, Ontario, a RUS community located 80km northwest of Toronto. We find that for people experiencing homelessness within RUS communities, the intersecting consequences of multiple forms of structural marginalization, such as low wages and social assistance rates and discrimination, can quickly destabilize housing. We emphasize the importance of attending to housing in RUS communities and developing housing policy strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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]

This paper examines the political history of the failed struggle to require companies to justify their plant closing decisions in Canada's industrial heartland of Ontario. Demands for the public review of plant closing decisions began, locally, in the auto town of Windsor in the 1950s and 1960s and reached Toronto with the closure of Dunlop Tire in 1970. Another wave of closures struck in 1980, this time reaching deep into rural and small-town Ontario as well as larger industrial towns and cities, generalizing concern. The resulting Select Committee on Plant Shutdowns and Employee Adjustment, created by the Ontario legislature, took it upon itself to conduct the kind of public review of recent closures that was long demanded. Due to the strength of the political opposition to any interference with management rights, it was essential that proponents could point to precedents in Western Europe. Trade unionists also grounded their argument in favour of government regulation in the moral economy idea that long-service workers accrued a proprietary right to their jobs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Homelessness is becoming an international public health issue in most developed countries, including Canada. Homelessness is regarded as both political and socioeconomic problems warranting broad and consistent result-oriented approaches.Methods: This paper represents the qualitative findings of a project that explored risk factors associated with family homelessness and strategies that could mitigate and prevent homelessness among families using a focused ethnographic study guided by the principles of participatory action research (PAR). The sample includes 36 family members residing at a family shelter who participated in focus groups over two years (between April 2016 and December 2017). Most of the participants were single-parent women.Results: The analysis yielded five major themes including, life challenges, lack of understanding of the system, existing power differentials, escaping from hardship, and a theme of proposed solutions for reducing family homelessness in the community.Conclusion: The findings illustrated the complex nature of family homelessness in Ontario; that the interaction of multiple systems can put families at risk of homelessness. Findings from this study underscore the need for urgent housing protocols aimed at educating homeless families on how to navigate and understand the system, enhance their conflict resolution skills, and develop strategies beyond relocation to help them to cope with difficulties with housing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In an era of rural service decline and population aging, some rural libraries rely on volunteers to keep them open within the community. This paper outlines the challenges of sustaining such volunteer-based rural libraries, drawing on a case study of a volunteer-based library in rural Ontario, Canada. Findings suggest that age of volunteers, volunteer participation, territoriality, branch polarization and the burden of volunteering present challenges in sustaining the volunteer program at the library, yet the library contributes to the community through community engagement, enabling aging in place and through economic development. The paper concludes with recommendations from the case study on how the sustain such a volunteer program. [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]

Purpose: The prevalence of substance use disorders among incarcerated individuals in Canada is substantially higher than in the general population. Many incarcerated individuals with opioid use disorder remain untreated due to inadequate access to opioid agonist therapy (OAT). A considerable proportion of overdose-related deaths in the province of Ontario are individuals who have recently been released from prison. The purpose of this paper is to highlight that discontinuation of OAT as a disciplinary measure remains an active concern within prisons in Canada and places individuals with opioid use disorder at increased risk of relapse and resultant overdose death.Design/methodology/approach: This case report describes an incarcerated client with opioid use disorder who was initially stable on OAT, but was forcibly tapered off OAT as a disciplinary measure and subsequently relapsed to illicit opioid use while in custody.Findings: This case calls attention to concerns regarding treatment of opioid use disorder during incarceration, as forcible detoxification from OAT as a disciplinary measure is a highly dangerous practice. The authors discuss concerns regarding diversion and ways in which prison-based OAT programs can be improved to increase their safety and acceptability among correctional staff. Ongoing advocacy is required on the part of health-care workers and policymakers to ensure that individuals are able to appropriately access this life-saving therapy while incarcerated.Originality/value: To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first case report to describe forcible tapering of OAT as a disciplinary measure during incarceration. Despite existing evidence emphasizing the significant risk of overdose associated with detoxification from opioids, this case highlights the need for further research into the causes and prevalence of this practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Over the last three decades, there has been worldwide recognition of peer support contributions to improve mental healthcare provision. However, in the current literature, little attention has been paid to exploring perspectives of peer supporters on their involvement in mental health services provision. The purpose of the present study was to examine peer supporters' perspectives on the implementation of a transitional discharge model (TDM), an intervention for the community integration of people with mental illness. Methods: This paper represents ethnographic qualitative data collected as part of a study that used mixed methods to evaluate the implementation of TDM across nine hospitals from the Province of Ontario, in Canada. The study involved a sample of 66 peer supporters, who were recruited from participating Consumer/Survivor Initiative Organizations and Peer Support Programs. The study collected data using two sets of focus groups, which were held at 6 months and 1-year post implementation. Data analysis used an ethnography model of qualitative analysis. Results: Peer supporters expressed that their involvement in mental healthcare enhanced clients' autonomy and hope about their recovery, as well as established a safety net and reduced hospital readmissions. Peer supporters articulated that they assumed several roles to facilitate clients' transition from hospital to the community. These roles included: assisting clients in building their capacity and developing healthy routines; attending regular on-ward and community meetings; accompanying clients to their appointments; and working with clients to set goals for their recovery. The study showed hindrances to effective implementation of peer support programs, such as a lack of understanding and appreciation of peer supporter roles, lack of careful allocation of peer supporters to clients, and an absence of appropriate protocols for ensuring the safety and supervision of the peer supporters. Conclusions: Results of the TDM implementation demonstrated that involving peer supporters in mental healthcare delivery may benefit clients by enhancing autonomy and hope about their recovery, as well as establishing a safety net and reducing hospital readmissions. Results from the study have the potential to inform healthcare professionals and managers of strategies for developing effective peer support programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Set within the framework of the birthplace effect literature and the seminal work of Curtis and Birch, this paper draws information from the publicly available database www.hockeydb.com and from the Census to examine the hometowns of Canadian National Hockey League (NHL) players from 1970 to 2015. It found that from a regional perspective, the distribution of players' hometowns remained fairly stable over the 46-year period with Ontario and the three Prairie provinces being prominent. Players from small centres have been well represented in the NHL. While larger urban areas have historically produced the most players, there has been a marked increase in 'big city' players while the odds of making it are low. However, when the analysis is adjusted according to the population aged 10-19, boys growing up in small and mid-sized centres were at advantage in reaching the NHL until 2009. Finally, we discuss whether the growing presence of big city players in the NHL will affect the image of hockey as a national sport, as for many, small-town hockey remains at the heart of Canadian sporting culture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Floating Catchment Area (FCA) methods are a popular tool to investigate accessibility to public facilities, in particular health care services. FCA approaches are attractive because, unlike other accessibility measures, they take into account the potential for congestion of facilities. This is done by 1) considering the population within the catchment area of a facility to calculate a variable that measures level of service, and then 2) aggregating the level of service by population centers subject to catchment area constraints. In this paper we discuss an effect of FCA approaches, an artifact that we term demand and level of service inflation. These artifacts are present in previous implementations of FCA methods. We argue that inflation makes interpretation of estimates of accessibility difficult, which has possible deleterious consequences for decision making. Next, we propose a simple and intuitive approach to proportionally allocate demandand and level of service in FCA calculations. The approach is based on a standardization of the impedance matrix, similar to approaches popular in the spatial statistics and econometrics literature. The result is a more intiuitive measure of accessibility that 1) provides a local version of the provider-to-population ratio; and 2) preserves the level of demand and the level of supply in a system. We illustrate the relevant issues with some examples, and then empirically by means of a case study of accessibility to family physicians in the Hamilton Census Metropolitan Area (CMA), in Ontario, Canada. Results indicate that demand and supply inflation/deflation affect the interpretation of accessibility analysis using existing FCA methods, and that the proposed adjustment can lead to more intuitive results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This study reports on physicians’ experiences with chronic pain management. For over a decade prescription opioids have been a primary treatment for chronic pain in North America. However, the current opioid epidemic has complicated long-standing practices for chronic pain management which historically involved prescribing pain medication. Caring for patients with chronic pain occurs within a context in which a growing proportion of patients suffer from chronic rather than acute conditions alongside rising social inequities. Methods: Our team undertook an ethnographic approach known as institutional ethnography in the province of Ontario, Canada in order to explore the social organization of chronic pain management from the standpoint of primary care physicians. This paper reports on a subset of this study data, specifically interviews with 19 primary care clinicians and 8 nurses supplemented by 40 hours of observations. The clinicians in our sample were largely primary care physicians and nurses working in urban, rural and Northern settings. Findings: In their reflections on providing care for patients with chronic pain, many providers describe being most challenged by the work involved in helping patients who also struggled with poverty, mental health and addiction. These frustrations were often complicated by concerns that they could lose their license for inappropriate prescribing, thus shifting their work from providing treatment and care to policing their patients for malingering and opioid abuse. Interpretation: Our findings show that care providers find the treatment of patients with chronic pain–especially those patients also experiencing poverty–to be challenging at best, and at worst frustrating and overwhelming. In many instances, their narratives suggested experiences of depersonalization, loss of job satisfaction and emotional exhaustion in relation to providing care for these patients, key dimensions of burnout. In essence, the work that they performed in relation to their patients’ social rather than medical needs seems to contribute to these experiences. Their experiences were further exacerbated by the fact that restricting and reducing opioid dosing in patients with chronic pain has become a major focus of care provision. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 1823, the Ontario House, a hotel and tavern, was built near Niagara Falls, Canada. In addition to providing a location for travelers and tourists to drink and lodge, Ontario House, like many other establishments, billeted soldiers when the need arose. The 2012 excavation of the midden and features of the Ontario House produced a large assemblage of artifacts including ceramics, buttons, numismatics, and military accoutrements. Of particular interest is an East Indian coin, found in the natural topsoil, which can be associated with the 67th Regiment of Foot's brief occupation of Ontario House in 1841. This paper addresses the significance of this coin and associated finds in regards to the global movement of the regiment and the socio-political context of Ontario House within regional history. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reconciling diverse forest values within policy and decision-making processes is an ongoing challenge in forestry. The use of environmental impact assessment (EIA) provides potential for improving forest management and making it more responsive to diverse interests. This paper examines EIA in Canadian and Finnish forest planning. In Finland there has been a reluctance to see EIA as a tool for forest planning while in Canada some provinces have long applied EIA to forest management. Ontario, Canada, provides one example of applying EIA to forest planning at a range of scales in order to advance integrated planning and help conflict management. The paper provides a brief analysis of the Finnish forest planning system, an illustration of the Ontario EIA forest management experience, and then considers the application of EIA to Finnish forest management. The paper concludes that EIA may be workable for Finnish state forests and would likely enhance planning and management, but given the existing institutional frameworks EIA would be difficult to apply to private forests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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]

After the election of a neo-liberal provincial government in 1995, Ontario was at the forefront of work-based welfare reform in Canada. Many of the sweeping reforms carried out under the banner of the“Common Sense Revolution” received widespread coverage: for example, reductions in welfare rates, the introduction of the Ontario Works programme, the adoption of a zero-tolerance policy for so-called welfare fraud, and changes to the rules relating to common-law spousal relationships. However, much less attention has focused upon significant changes to the ways welfare is delivered. This paper critically interrogates a number of key changes to the Service Delivery Model in Ontario. After the passage of federal legislation in 1995, national entitlements to welfare have been terminated, replaced with local responsibility; this decentralization is changing not only the hierarchy of the regulation of poor people, but also the form and function of provision. In particular, there is evidence of the reinvention of administration towards the micro-regulation of job search and personal behaviour and the deterrence of welfare receipt as applicants and recipients are bureaucratically disentitled. Although administrative practices have historically acted as a secondary barrier to welfare receipt, the paper suggests that the current incarnation of work-enforcing reforms could be especially significant as the worlds of welfare and work continue to change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Canadian studies have examined patterns of sexual behaviour and health based on age, gender, and geographical regions, but typically ignored the increasing ethnic diversity in Canada's population. In large part this is because sampling techniques tend to produce insufficient numbers of youth in specific ethnic groups for detailed analysis. This paper presents a profile of the sexual experiences of African, Caribbean, and Black (ACB) youth using data collected in a survey (n = 510) with ACB youth age 16-25 years living in the Windsor/Essex County region of Ontario, Canada. Data were examined for differences among the three ethno-racial groups in combination with differences between Muslims and Christiana, and males and females. In this predominantly heterosexual sample (95%), nearly 3/4 of the Black and Caribbean youth reported sexual intercourse experience compared to well under 1/2 of the African youth. Overall, African were less experienced than Caribbean and Black youth and, within the African group, Muslim less than Christian youth. This included age of initiating various sexual activities, number of partners, use of condoms, and experiences of either non-volitional or non-relational sex. Alcohol in connection with sexual activity and multiple partners within a single month were rare. The Black and Caribbean participants reported sexual experiences and had a sexual profile that was closest to that of Canadian youth. Given the increasingly multicultural profile of Canada, these findings support the importance of research on distinct ethno-racial groups in Canada to inform the delivery of sexual education and health policy and programming. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Canada, youth apprenticeships have been promoted as an educational alternative that leads to the development of valuable skills, allows for the opportunity to earn an income while learning and helps youth to gain a head start into lucrative, creative and in-demand careers. Yet, these programmes have remained rather marginal and continue to be perceived as being of lower-status compared to traditional post-secondary educational pathways, such as those leading to university or community college. In this paper, we draw on interview data with former youth apprentices in the province of Ontario to explore their reasons for entering apprenticeships in high school, their experiences in them and their own perceptions about the status and social recognition of apprenticeships. We suggest that policies regarding apprenticeship programmes in Canada need to expand their focus. While emphasis is currently placed on recruiting students by highlighting relatively utilitarian benefits, we argue that more focus needs to be placed on the training offered to apprentices including the commitment of employers to provide quality training on the job, the integration of classroom and on-the-job training and the opportunity for apprentices to move from partial to full participation in communities of practice. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The widely held view is that effective action on climate change requires commitment by national governments to international agreements. Developed nations like Canada and Australia continue to fall short in their commitments to emissions reduction targets established under the 1997 Kyoto Protocol. Australia refused to ratify its Kyoto commitments until 2008 and Canada withdrew its commitment in 2011. Subnational governments in both countries have been active in developing policy responses to climate change yet remain largely excluded as serious policy partners in national mitigation and adaptation initiatives. This paper utilizes Kingdon’s Multiple Streams Framework to consider why subnational governments address climate change and the main factors shaping their policy choices. The experiences of the Australian state of Victoria and the Canadian province of Ontario provide examples through which to explore the factors contributing to climate policy opportunities and constraints faced by subnational governments in these countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the implementation of new policies supporting renewable natural gas production from organic wastes, Canada began replacing traditional disposal methods with highly integrated biogas production strategies. Herein, data from published papers, Canadian Biogas Association, Canada's national statistical agency, and energy companies' websites were gathered to gain insight into the current status of anaerobic digestion plants in recovering energy and resource from organic wastes. The availability of materials prepared for recycling by companies and local waste management organizations and existing infrastructures for municipal solid waste management were examined. Governmental incentives and discouragements in Canada and world anaerobic digestion leaders regarding organic fraction municipal solid waste management were comprehensively reviewed to identify the opportunities for developing large-scale anaerobic digestion in Canada. A range of anaerobic digestion facilities, including water resource recovery facilities, standalone digesters, and on-farm digesters throughout Ontario, were compared in terms of digestion type, digester volume, feedstock (s), and electricity capacity to better understand the current role of biogas plants in this province. Finally, technology perspectives, solutions, and roadmaps were discussed to shape the future in terms of organic fraction municipal solid waste management. The findings suggested that the biogas industry growth in Canada relies on provincial energy and waste management policies, advanced technologies for diverting organic waste from landfills, improving biogas yield using existing pretreatment methods, and educating farmers regarding digester operations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - This paper aims to explore the transportation needs of adults in Toronto who have acquired brain injuries (ABIs).Design/methodology/approach - A survey was completed by staff working with clients in a community brain injury organization.Findings - The survey showed that that some people with ABIs who do not use mobility devices and/or do not have obvious physical disabilities, could benefit from the city's door-to-door accessible public transit service (Wheel-Trans). They are currently excluded from Wheel-Trans based on the eligibility criteria for this service.Research limitations/implications - This survey only looks at people with ABIs who are accessing services from an ABI community agency, thus it overlooks those who are not and may not be doing so due to lack of transportation. Also the survey is completed by staff rather than ABI clients, which may lead to different answers/perspectives.Practical implications - A change to the eligibility criteria of Wheel-Trans could increase the independence of some people with ABIs and could also increase their participation in society.Originality/value - Based on a literature review by the author, there is no existing research that examines transportation and ABIs in Canada. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cultural planning is often explained as a strategic approach to urban cultural development; an approach that involves the 'mapping' and leveraging of a wide range of 'cultural resources' (arts, culture, and heritage). However, it is increasingly being questioned whether cultural planning is anything more than a fairly traditional arts policy with a different name. In particular, it has been observed in Australia that cultural plans usually fail to address more than arts sector concerns. The objective of this paper is to investigate whether this assessment applies to cultural planning practice in Ontario, the province at the forefront of the current 'municipal cultural planning' push in Canada. An examination of all cultural plans in Ontario's mid-size cities and interviews conducted with municipal staff members overseeing these initiatives shows that whereas several municipalities do follow an arts-driven policy agenda, this is not the case with most mid-size cities in the province. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines two sociolinguistic lexical variables, 'work' and 'to dwell,' in the spoken French of former immersion students in their first or fourth year at a bilingual university in Ontario, Canada. Their patterns of use are compared to those of non-immersion graduates in the same institution, to Ontario high school immersion students, to former immersion students living in daily contact with French in Montreal, Canada, and to native speakers of Canadian French. The results suggest that, while under-performing in relation to the Montreal learners and the native speakers, the former immersion university students are at an advantage over their non-immersion university and their high school immersion counterparts in mastering socially stratified lexical variants, but that this advantage does not extend to socially neutral variants. The results are discussed in light of the relative levels of exposure to 'naturalistic' French experienced by the various speaker groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Canada’s book trade is fascinating not only because it really consists of two book trades—the Anglophone and the Francophone—but also because it is a site of intense and sustained policy interventions designed to foster greater domestic control. Examining the country’s book policies, Statistics Canada data, trade association membership rosters and trade directories, this paper reveals that Canada’s contemporary book trade is characterized by three features: circa 40 years of government interventions in response to foreign dominance; the central role of foreign firms despite these interventions; and the dominance of Toronto and Montreal as domestic sites of book production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Title. Career trajectories of nurses leaving the hospital sector in Ontario, Canada (1993–2004). Aim. This paper is a report of an analysis of the career trajectories of nurses 1 year after leaving hospitals. Background. Although hospitals are traditionally the largest employers of nurses, technological advances and budgetary constraints have resulted in many countries in relative shrinkage of the hospital sector and a shift of care (and jobs) into home/community settings. It has been often assumed that nurses displaced from hospitals will move to work in the other workplaces, especially the community sector. Method. Employment patterns were tracked by examining a longitudinal database of all 201,463 nurses registered with the College of Nurses Ontario (Canada) between 1993 and 2004. Focusing on the employment categories Active (Working in nursing), Eligible-Seeking nursing employment or Dropout from the nursing labour market, year-to-year transition matrixes were generated by sector and sub-sector of employment, nurse type, age group and work status. Findings. For every nurse practising nursing in any non-hospital job or in the community a year after leaving hospitals, an average of 1·3 and four nurses, respectively, dropped out of Ontario’s labour market. The proportion of nurses leaving hospitals transitioning to the Dropout category ranged from 63·3% (1994–95) to 38·6% (2001–02). The proportion dropping out of Ontario’s market was higher for Registered Practical Nurses (compared to Registered Nurses), increased with age and decreased with degree of casualization in nurses’ jobs. Conclusion. Downsizing hospitals without attention to the potentially negative impact on the nursing workforce can lead to retention difficulties and adversely affects the overall supply of nurses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines how and why in March 1995 certain elements of the Canadian government decided to take unilateral forceful action against foreign fishing off the Grand Banks and go against a long tradition of cooperation and multilateralism. In particular, it will address to what extent existing models of decision-making (in particular rational and bureaucratic models) adequately explain the process that went on in Ottawa at this time. The findings are that even though the bureaucratic politics model of decision-making can be used in a parliamentary structure like Canada, it is insufficient to explain Canadian decision-making processes during the Turbot War, and thus must be supplemented by a more inclusive cybernetic approach. [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]

Background: This paper describes a study that explores the experiences of internationally educated nurses (IENs) in their efforts to gain entry to practice as Registered Nurses (RNs) in the province of Ontario, Canada. Aim: The aim was to uncover, in part, the issues related to professional nursing credentialling. Methods: This study was guided by a biographical narrative (qualitative) research methodology. A convenience sample of 12 IEN students volunteered for this study representing the Philippines, Mainland China, Korea, Ukraine and India. Findings: The findings were that the IENs progress through a three-phase journey in their quest for licensure in Ontario. These phases include: (1) hope – wanting the Canadian dream of becoming an RN in Ontario; (2) disillusionment – discovering that their home-country nursing qualifications do not meet Ontario RN entry to practice; and (3) navigating disillusionment – living the redefined Canadian dream by returning to nursing school to upgrade their nursing qualifications. Conclusions: Professional regulatory nursing bodies and nursing educators, as well as practising nurses, must be aware of the potentially confusing and unpleasant processes IENs go through as they qualify for the privilege of practising nursing in Ontario. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper I draw on interviews with professional visual artists in Toronto, Canada to reconstruct an occupation-specific reading of the urban landscape. I use a detailed examination of one specific occupational identity to reveal the intricate relationship between self, work, and context at different spatial scales. The underlying mechanism that supports the articulation and negotiation of artistic identities, I argue, is the sustained tension between absence and presence, visibility and invisibility within different spaces of the urban fabric. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper I examine the role of the studio as a central site of artistic identity construction and maintenance. Using ten case studies drawn from interviews with contemporary women visual artists from Toronto, Canada, I argue that women artists value studio space because it powerfully reinforces their sense of commitment and belonging to a predominantly male-dominated profession. I consider how women cope with the demands of artistic practice when they are unable to establish a spatially separate workspace by addressing the experiences of artists who are parents. I demonstrate how women artists who are primary care-givers are rarely adequately protected from the interruptions of daily life and have grown accustomed to working in fragments of time and space. While these women may appear willing to concede space to others, when space is crucial to their artistic practice, they have a remarkably strong influence on the form of their creative environment. I maintain, then, that the studio as a fixed physical space continues to be a very real necessity for women artists in all stages of their careers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper sought to examine chronic disease risk behaviour latent classes and their association with Body Mass Index (BMI), assessing for gender differences. Participants were youth (n = 116,086; grades 9-12) enrolled in the COMPASS study (Ontario, Canada) during 2013, 2014, 2015. Multilevel latent class analysis was used to identify underlying, homogenous classes of youths' engagement in physical activity, smoking, binge drinking and marijuana use. Adjusted multilevel models regressed BMI on the latent classes controlling for ethnicity and grade. Three latent classes were identified: active experimenters (ACE), inactive clean youth (INC) and inactive substance users (INSU). This study found that gender differences are apparent in chronic disease risk behaviour latent classes and their association with BMI. INC males (OR = 0.85, 95% CI = 0.78, 0.93) were associated with a lower odds of overweight/obesity relative to active males who experimented with substance use. As for females, the class with the highest proportion of youth using substances were associated with higher odds (Females: OR = 1.2, 95% CI = 1.1, 1.4) of overweight/obesity relative to their active experimenting peers. As such, youth in latent classes with substance use are associated with higher BMI and weight status. Successful interventions may include school policies/programs that limit screen time use, as they were seen to have a positive effect on PA engagement and including social-influences approaches for substance use. Future research and interventions should be gender-specific as our results show that different latent classes are associated with obesity across genders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]