Linda Weichel

The Enabling Accessibility Fund - Small Projects Component is now accepting applications! This funding opportunity, offered by Employment and Social Development Canada, aims to enhance accessibility for persons with disabilities across communities and workplaces nationwide. Key Details: Application Period: July 23, 2024 Funding Amount: Up to $125,000 for projects lasting up to 2 years Who Can Apply: Not-for-profit organizations, for-profit organizations, indigenous organizations, municipal and territorial governments Make a Difference Today: Whether you're improving access to community activities, programs, services, or employment opportunities, your project can create meaningful change. Act now to empower persons with disabilities and build a more inclusive Canada! Apply Now and Transform Accessibility: https://lnkd.in/gusAcXx #Accessibility #FundingOpportunity #InclusiveCanada

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New report from the 2024 Confederation of Tomorrow survey: Canadians are more likely to disapprove than approve of how each of their governments (federal, provincial and municipal) is managing the supply of affordable housing. In no province do more than one in three approve of the federal, their provincial or their municipal government’s management of this issue. See all the details here 👉

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Victoria's OCP: Can City Planning Bridge the Divide? This is a short article to bring awareness to the community about the importance of the Official Community Plan that City of Victoria BC has been working on. Equity compels the performance of social contracts. Traditionally, urban planning has balanced the interests of (a) the state, such as politicians and decision-makers; (b) capital, such as corporations, landowners, and real estate developers; or (c) the public. However, I’ve seen rising concerns about how these interests perpetuate inequality in our communities. What can the OCP bring to those underrepresented groups and communities at the margins of these planning proccess? Let's talk.

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Next up in our grantee profiles is: Planetary's Halifax Area Climate Change Empowerment project! 🌊 With help from HCi3, Planetary underwent a rigorous community consultation process ahead of their ocean alkalinity enhancement (OAE) project in the Halifax Harbour. OAE is the addition of a mild antacid to the ocean which neutralizes acidic, atmospheric CO2 and stores it permanently in the water. Planetary engaged with Indigenous communities, conservation groups, and fishing communities to test the social feasibility of using OAE in Nova Scotian waters. In the photo below, you can see the pink water from a “dye tracer study” which was led by Dalhousie University. This study was conducted to gain an understanding of how the addition of the antacid would disperse in the water. Curious about the work that Planetary is doing? Make sure check out Planetary’s website and social media for frequent updates, and read the full profile: https://lnkd.in/gVrdfUPg #carboncapture

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HELP WANTED: I'm looking for your feedback on what took place over the last 12 months across Canada - Municipally. Biggest Story across Canada, Biggest Story in your Community, Elected Leader Who Made the Biggest Impact in 2024, and what your hopes are for 2025. Fill out the quick survey below and help us fill out our final episode of 2025. #2024InReview #MunicipalitiesinCanada

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I always recommend creating a style guide for written content when I start working with a new client. Members of the Canadian Institute of Planners can find out why in this Plan Canada article! (Or send me a message if you don't have access.) Thanks to the Plan Canada editing committee, and especially Glenn Miller! #urbanplanning #Canadianplanners #ontarioplanners #editing #writing

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Interesting study of how tenants and building owners view retrofit costs/benefits. I'm looking forward to more on this from Pembina. It's for sure different when you own your home (you pay for the retrofit AND get to enjoy the wonder of living in a better building) but the tension between costs and benefits is the same.

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⭐️ New Childcare Roadmap for Municipalities ⭐️ Produced by the Institute on Municipal Finance and Governance and the Urban Planning Institute “Canadian municipalities play increasingly important roles in addressing policy challenges such as tackling climate change, increasing housing affordability, reforming policing, and confronting public health crises. The growing prominence of municipalities, however, has led to tensions over overlapping responsibilities with provincial and federal governments. Such entanglement” between orders of government can result in poor coordination and opaque accountability. At the same time, combining the strengths and capabilities of different orders of government – whether in setting policy or in convening, funding, or delivering services – can lead to more effective action. The Who Does What series gathers academics and practitioners to examine the role municipalities should play in key policy areas, the reforms required to ensure municipalities can deliver on their responsibilities, and the collaboration required among governments to meet the country’s challenges.”

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Successful community-wide climate adaptation means ensuring that no one is left behind. The Why Equity Matters in Municipal Climate Adaptation factsheet offers key insights on how to centre equity in your community’s climate adaptation efforts, helping municipalities address systemic barriers and reduce risks for all.  Ensure your climate resilience strategy is inclusive. https://lnkd.in/gFgr5eug

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Self-determination is key. We embrace the power of equity-deserving communities leading solutions to local and global challenges. 🌱 Founded in 2023, Raven Indigenous Outcomes Funds (RIOF) empowers Indigenous communities across Turtle Island through outcomes-based finance to address pressing health and climate challenges. Learn more about RIOF’s groundbreaking work here: https://lnkd.in/eqFtXQ9j #SelfDetermination #EquityInAction #IndigenousLed #RIOF #OutcomesBasedFinance

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from an embodied carbon perspective, the most sustainable building is the one you already have - retrofits make it operationally sustainable as well... Here's what a BC community is doing to support retrofits for its community members.

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Here are recent news items related to urban walkability: "Montreal Kicked Cars to the Curb and Thrived. The city’s pedestrian revolution should set a new standard across North America," The Walrus (https://lnkd.in/gb5Ut6vD). As of this summer, eleven Montreal streets in total have been transformed into seasonal pedestrian-only destinations, creating almost ten kilometres of walkable car-free surfaces across several boroughs. The experiment has proven so popular that it has drawn praise, and not a little astonishment, from visiting urban planners. "Pedestrians First: Tools for a Walkable City" (https://lnkd.in/gkrW6eMF). the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP) has developed the Pedestrians First online toolkit. This tool will facilitate the understanding and measurement of the features that promote walkability in urban environments around the world at multiple levels. With a better global understanding of walkability, and more consistent and frequent measurement of the walkability of urban environments, decision-makers will be empowered to enact policies that create more walkable urban areas. The city of Paris has led a shift to urban walkability (https://lnkd.in/gK8CxyEJ... ), sometimes called a "15-minute city" because most commonly-used destinations are within a 15-minute walk or bikeride.

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These are going to be fun! Are you looking to give your Councillors a simple, clear explanations of your technology stack and transformation program? Or a detailed and nuanced discussion of the ethics of your smart city and data program? Either way, we've got you covered :-)

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📣 We’re charting a course to secure appropriate funding that will help stabilize Alberta’s nonprofit sector! ✋ Help us by filling out this short survey and telling us what your organization would do with new funding. Your responses will be used to inform funders, governments, and other stakeholders about sector priorities and help create recommendations on how to best allocate funding dollars. This survey is open to all Alberta nonprofits. https://lnkd.in/gHrTAUZ7 #ABNonprofits

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🌱 The recent Future of Good ranking on Canada's most equitable funders aims to inspire action and true transformation. With over $85 billion in assets held by these foundations, where and how funds are distributed truly matters for advancing equity and reconciliation. Some funders are stepping up and towards accessible grantmaking and diversity. But gaps remain, especially among the wealthiest foundations. The call to action is clear: Equity can’t be sidelined. In light of this, one our recent publications on the IPCA Knowledge Basket from Sara Wilbur-Collins, MCL, CFRE offers key insights for funders looking to collaborate meaningfully with Indigenous-led organizations on conservation efforts and beyond. "Giving in a Good Way: Transforming Colonial Funding Practices for Conservation" serves as a starting point for a broader conversation on decolonizing philanthropy. It urges funders to critically assess and address colonial practices and assumptions in their engagements with Indigenous conservation organizations. Check it out here: https://lnkd.in/ge7_mZJq Let’s keep pushing for equity in funding. #Philathropy #Equity #EquitableFunding #IndigenousLedConservation #Reconciliation #IPCAKnowledgeBasket

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The newest issue of the Canadian Journal of Nonprofit & Social Economy Research focuses on the crucial issue of #housing. https://lnkd.in/gnPHQujB

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Toronto’s Housing Crisis is a Story of Social Exclusion by Space, Place, and Race - Spaces and Places of Exclusion - Mapping Rental Housing Disparities for Toronto’s Racialized and Immigrant Communities (Social Planning Toronto et al - November 2020) was a first-of-its-kind study, mapping spatial exclusion by racialized and immigrant status in Toronto’s wards. Disaggregated race-based and other social data from the 2016 Census of Population is used to examine key indicators of rental housing inequality, including core housing need, lack of affordable housing, unsuitable or overcrowded housing, and housing in need of major repair. The analysis reveals the ways in which racialized individuals, specific racialized population groups, newcomers, and refugees are disproportionately affected by the housing crisis in Toronto - and - identifies the intersecting social, racial, and spatial dimensions of Toronto’s housing crisis. One-page Highlight Sheet - https://lnkd.in/etdfSPQT Executive Summary - https://lnkd.in/ePEbUw6X Full Report - https://lnkd.in/eVF8guuA

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