THE RURBAN FRINGE

Canadian Internet Fact Guide 2009 & Canada 3.0

Posted on | February 4, 2010 | No Comments

Ipsos Reid recently released its numbers calculating Canadian internet behaviours and attitudes for 2009.

Highlights include:

  • Increased internet access across the county;
  • Social media/networking continues to grow with 56% of Canadians having some sort of profile in an online network; and
  • Over 3/4 of teenagers (12-17) are online with 93%  having more than one social media/networking profile.

As business – and, increasingly, personal life – is conducted online, this kind of information is useful to determine where service gaps exist and what trends are worth following.

That internet access is increasing is good news as there are still areas – mainly rural or remote – that must rely on dial-up connection or have no connection at all.  Social media, as well, is big.  REALLY big … and is increasingly hard to ignore.  With a sharp rise in teen use, it also shows how ahead of the curve youth are compared to the rest of the population when it comes to online use and social networking. 

Information about online security, banking, travel and other topics is also covered in the report.

Source:  Ipsos Reid, The Canadian Interactive Reid Report, 2009 Fact Guide

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For those interested in furthering Canada’s digital economy, Canada 3.0 – an open, online community and once-a-year forum dedicated to discussing digital media in Canada – has been created.  Click on above link to go directly to their website or visit here for a brief summary.

Category: Creativity
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Growth from Within

Posted on | February 2, 2010 | No Comments

“80% of future jobs and economic growth emerge from assets and talents already in the community.”

- George Latimer, Home Grown Economies

Category: Random Thought of the Day
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Charity Tax Tools Resources

Posted on | January 29, 2010 | No Comments

Earlier this week, Imagine Canada – an organization dedicated to supporting Canada’s charitable sector – launched the Charity Tax Tools website … a site with free information, tools and resources to help small-to-medium sized charities better understand how to meet Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) requirements.

This couldn’t have come at a better time. 

In 2007 – 2008, for instance, over 1,700 Canadian charities lost their charitable status for a multitude of reasons, including the failure to complete the required forms.  Now, these organizations can no longer issue charitable receipts nor receive funding from charitable foundations, not to mention dealing with the public embarrassment and outrage of all this … that is, if they still exist.   

I had the opportunity last fall to partner with a sister Community Futures organization in BC, as well as the BC Centre for Social Enterprise, to address this very issue … ensuring smaller charitable organizations and those working with such agencies (e.g. lawyers, accountants, etc.) understood some of the basic – yet vitally important – aspects of tax management and reporting requirements for CRA.

Smaller and rural charities, especially, face unique difficulties in their day-to-day operations. 

They have few, if any, staff.  Most volunteers aren’t interested in the administrative aspects of the organization, meaning important positions are often filled by individuals ‘taking their turn’ … but not necessarily by those with the skills needed to do the job.  With smaller populations, they face difficulty recruiting and retaining new volunteers.  And they may be geographically isolated, offering less opportunities to interact with other charities on best practices and experiences.

Yet through our regional charitable tax workshop, we found that these charities recognize and accept that they have a key role to play in protecting both their own and the sector’s integrity.  Likewise, CRA has also made strides in adjusting their “one-size fits all” approach.

Through sites like Charity Tax Tools and related learning opportunities, the language of the CRA can be demystified, offering smaller and rural charities the chance to make their taxes less ‘taxing.’

Category: Community Development
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Wanted: A New Vision for First Nations

Posted on | January 28, 2010 | No Comments

“Clearly, the vision of governance and shared community life of First Nations is not working.

Fortunately, some indigenous communities aren’t prepared to wait for Ottawa to provide an alternate vision.”

Joseph Quesnel

An intriguing article by Joseph Quesnel, a policy analyst with the Frontier Centre for Public Policy, where he writes mainly about aboriginal and property rights issues.

Click here to read the entire piece.

Category: Government
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