Hey folks,
On Friday, April 16 approximately 40 people gathered in Dartmouth to
investigate the possibility of establishing a Nova Scotian office of the
Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA.) The CCPA is an
independent, non-profit institute which disseminates the research of
progressives on a broad range of socio-economic issues. In particular the
CCPA is committed to promoting analysis informed by the perspectives and
concerns of people who are typically marginalized in work produced by
commercial or government sources (which is to say, just about everyone
except for rich, white, heterosexual men.)
The CCPA is perhaps best known as the principal sponsor of the Alternative
Federal Budget (AFB.) The AFB annually adumbrates a blueprint for the use
of fiscal and monetary policy by the Canadian government to promote full
employment and enhanced social programs (rather than the debilitated
programs and high unemployment which Ottawa perennially opts for.) In so
doing the AFB at once puts the lie to the claim that "there is no
alternative" to the poor conditions cited above and shows how better
outcomes can be achieved.
In addition to the AFB the Centre publishes books and shorter papers.
Eight times yearly CCPA produces a journal (the _Monitor_) which mainly
deals with economic topics such as globalisation or the "fair trade"
movement. The CCPA also facilitates workshops, conferences and other
public education events and provides briefings upon request. More
information is available online about the Centre for Policy
Alternatives.
An important point about the CCPA is that it has charitable status which
allows it to provide receipts for tax credits in return for donations. It
is able to do this because its work is classified as education, not
advocacy. At the Dartmouth meeting some people seemed to grasp this
principle imperfectly and wrongly supposed that the CCPA could take on a
coordinating role for the activist community in Nova Scotia. It is
essential to understand that mission of the CCPA is to produce material
with which activists can properly inform themselves and the broader public
on matters of consequence - and that in the light of this knowledge people
will take appropriate action. However, the Centre is legally bound to
remain aloof from the political activies pursued by those who moved to
action by CCPA research.
For most of the nineteen years of existence the CCPA operated exclusively
from Ottawa, but more recently provincial offices have been established in
BC and Manitoba. According to Larry Brown, the chair of the CCPA's Board
of Directors, this outreach has been very successful. Addressing those
assembled in Dartmouth to consider a Nova Scotia chapter, Brown reported
that the combination of the depth of understanding of vicinal issues
realized through local input with the prestige and institutional resources
of a national organization has produced dramatic results.
As one measure Brown pointed to the number of occasions on which newsmedia
sought comment from the CCPA compared to how often the rabidly
pro-corporate Fraser Institute was consulted : prior to the establishment
of the BC office CCPA was cited only once for every 30 times the Fraser
Institute was quoted; now the ratio is approaching parity! Obviously a
quick comment from the CCPA cannot properly balance the wall-to-wall
propaganda with which big business blankets our society - and the "sound
bite" approach to reportage is an odious one - but surely this is an
improvement on the previous state of affairs.
Another perhaps more dramatic example concerns the release of a 1997
report prepared by the Manitoba chapter of the CCPA on privatised home
care. Here, no sooner had the damning findings of the publication been
released than the Manitoba provincial government renounced its previous
support for the stripping of health care delivery from the public
sector.
Perhaps spurred on by news of these successes a motion to take steps
towards the creation of a CCPA adjunct in Nova Scotia proved consentaneous
to the Dartmouth plenum. To realize this a steering committee was formed
which will work to canvass supporters for the project.
As it stands the first major hurdle is mustering sufficient funds. The
CCPA will, during the start-up period, make available to the Nova Scotia
chapter all revenues raised within the province; accordingly an initial
goal of doubling the membership of the CCPA within Nova Scotia has been
proposed. While this will not in itself raise all the money required it is
seen as a necessary step towards proving the viability of the project to
institutional sponsors (i.e., unions and faculty associations.) It may
seem that a twofold increase in membership is too ambitious but consider
that participation in the CCPA went up by a factor of six (!) in Manitoba
in the course of the inauguration of that province's chapter.
---Antoni