PROSOCIAL BEHAVIOUR - ACTIONS THAT BENEFIT OTHERS: INDIVIDUALS, GROUPS OR SOCIETY AS A WHOLE

According to an article by Perri Klass, MD from the New York Times in the Chronicle Herald on December 15, 2012, children learn very early to respond to distress by others and to develop feelings of “empathy, sympathy, kindness and charity”. These types of behaviour are learned very early in children and parents play an important part in promoting this approach to humanity. As quoted in the article, two theories have been developed by Scott Huettel, professor of psychology and neuroscience at Duke University to explain prosocial behaviour. The first is, “…essentially motivational: It feels good to help other people”.  The second “…is based on social cognition — the recognition that other people have needs and goals. The two theories aren’t mutually exclusive: Cognitive understanding accompanied by a motivational reward reinforces prosocial behaviour.” Parents serving as positive models can instill these attitudes long before children know the meaning of the words sympathy and compassion. “Working with a child’s temperament, taking advantage of an emerging sense of self and increasing cognitive understanding of the world and helped by the reward centres of the brain, parents can try to foster that warm glow and the worldview that goes with it. Empathy, sympathy, compassion, kindness and charity begin at home, and very early.” See the article at: http://thechronicleherald.ca/science/254154-sowing-the-empathy-seed

HOW FEDERAL JOB CUTS WILL IMPACT ATLANTIC CANADA – A new report by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA) highlights how federal job cuts in the Atlantic region will disproportionately affect this part of the country. The report titled: “Public Disservice: The Impact of Federal Government Job Cuts In Atlantic Canada” by Michael Bourgeois, Joanne Hussey, Christine Saulnier, and Sara Wuite of the CCPA, cautions that the number of cuts proportional to other parts of the country, the deeper impact in the region compared to others, the effect on service quality and serviceability, the decrease in institutional knowledge within the public service, and the concern that progress by vulnerable groups like women, visible minorities, aboriginal people and people with disabilities will be lost. We all remember the cuts of the 1990’s, although they contributed to a balanced budget, the social and economic costs were devastating to social progress. See the full report at:   http://www.policyalternatives.ca/sites/default/files/uploads/publications/Nova%20Scotia%20Office/2012/11/Public%20Disservice_ENG.pdf

FEDERAL TAX CREDITS COULD BE BETTER SPENT ON LOW INCOME FAMILIES

FEDERAL TAX CREDITS COULD BE BETTER SPENT ON LOW INCOME FAMILIES - The anti-poverty coalition, Campaign 2000, has recommended that certain tax credits paid out to all families each year could be better spent directly on low income families. The child tax benefit, the child fitness tax benefit, and the universal child care benefit could be replaced with a child benefit supplement for poor families and would go a long way to reducing poverty in Canada. “For many families it would mean higher quality food, …it would mean better housing and housing is a very important determinant on its own of health. For some families it might mean that children can become involved in activities that they otherwise couldn’t become involved in. Some children would certainly be clothed better.” (Sid Frankel, a University of Manitoba social work associate professor and Campaign 2000 committee member.) See more at: http://thechronicleherald.ca/canada/185935-canada-in-brief-november-21-2012 .

FEDERAL GOVERNMENT LAUNCHES THE CALL FOR NEW IDEAS ON SOCIAL FINANCING

Human Resources Minister, Diane Finley, has launched a call for ideas on how private sector social financing can shape future social policy in Canada. Social financing is a way to use private sector funding to finance social programs. It offers an opportunity for charities, non-profits, and social purpose businesses to open new sources of funding.  Many non-profits are trapped in a cycle of short term subsistence funding that diverts attention from their mission. It is a way for social purpose businesses to contribute to social programs. Minister Finley has expressed her concern “with the lack of progress in social programs, and wants to dramatically re-arrange the system so that there are incentives to deliver better results.” (Chronicle Herald, November 9, 2012). The National Consultation invites ideas from organizations and individuals from across the country on how to improve social and economic outcomes for Canadians. Comments can be made before December 31, 2012 on the website at: http://www.hrsdc.gc.ca/eng/consultations/index.shtml .

PSYCHIATRIST CAUTIONS COVERAGE OF SUICIDES MAY BE PROBLEMATIC

The extensive use by media that cover adolescent suicides may push desperate young people to choose death as a solution to their pain. Dr. Stan Kutcher, professor of psychiatry at Dalhousie University Medical School, has expressed concern about the wide media coverage of suicides like that of recent bullying victim, Amanda Todd. Dr. Kutcher claims that vulnerable young people who are suffering depression and contemplating death as a solution may be encouraged to choose death as a solution. “It’s important to understand that young people who are thinking of dying by suicide are very ambivalent about that decision. They usually agonize over this for weeks or months or longer. There’s a huge push and pull between the decision, should I take my life or should I choose life.” (Excerpt taken from the Chronicle Herald on October 19, 2012. (Read the article at: http://thechronicleherald.ca/novascotia/150918-media-coverage-of-suicides-concerns-expert )

CORPORAL PUNISHMENT OF CHILDREN IS NOT GOOD PARENTING

An article in the Canadian Medical Association Journal is strongly advocating for the removal of section 43 of the Criminal Code of Canada which permits parents and teachers to use corporal punishment in the name of discipline. Corporal punishment is a form of assault and if used against any other human being would be considered assault under the Criminal Code. Section 43 states in part “… a parent is justified in using force by way of correction … if the force does not exceed what is reasonable under the circumstances.”  Using corporal punishment is a poor excuse for effective parenting and instead of using section 43 as a protection against criminal prosecution, parents who use hitting, spanking or more serious assaults leaving an injury, need education around more effective approaches to positive parenting. “To have a specific code excusing parents is to suggest that assault by a parent is a normal and accepted part of bringing up children.” See the editorial in the CMA Journal at: http://www.cmaj.ca/content/184/12/1339

FINALLY, THE DEBATE BEGINS!

The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA), a think tank, has opened the debate on suggesting ways to increase social programing and transit options in Halifax’s municipal elections this fall. So far there has been little debate on details that citizens want to see from candidates. Most candidates so far have refused to commit themselves on details of their platforms preferring to wait for the right political moment or to wait and consult with the public before committing themselves. Although the CCPA has suggested applying a 4% surcharge to income taxes, a measure that citizens may not be quick to endorse, it claims that this would provide funding for social programs and transit while cutting property taxes. The alternative budget would create a source of steady income for non-profit groups already working in the community. Christine Saulnier, the CCPA’s Nova Scotia director said, “There’s perhaps more social policy spending (but) we’re not asking HRM to actually provide services, we are asking them to help the programs that exist and help grow some of the things that are at the local level”. See the full Alternative Municipal Budget for HRM at: http://www.policyalternatives.ca/newsroom/news-releases/ccpa-ns-releases-first-ever-alternative-municipal-budget-hrm