The CCEDNet team thanks our members for your commitment to the community over the last few weeks as we collectively face this unprecedented health crisis. Whether it’s continuing to provide essential food, health, and social services, finding creative ways to continue enterprising operations, naming and challenging deeply rooted structural inequities that are being laid bare, or just taking care of one another - community is our strength and we are all playing an important part.

To help you find information about various government responses and how communities are advocating and responding at a policy level, we created this COVID-19 Government Response document. 

Over the last few weeks, policy advocacy and change has been happening at an incredibly rapid pace. The CCEDNet team has been advocating alongside you and on your behalf to governments to respond to COVID-19 and consider what comes after.

Federal Advocacy

CCEDNet has:

• Joined with non-profit, co-operative, social enteprise and social economy sector leaders to identify priority recommendations for the economy and post-COVID economy.
• Endorsed Imagine Canada's call for an $8B Emergency Fund for charities, non-profits and social enterprises.
• Endorsed the Just Recovery for All principles.
• Co-signed two letters to federal ministers supporting community benefits in infrastructure projects, one led by Toronto Community Benefits Nework (endorse here) and one led by Manitoba Building Trades.
• Endorsed the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives' call for the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) program to be made available to all charities and community non-profits, without the requirement to experience a revenue loss before becoming eligible.
• Endorsed the Canadian Worker Co-operative Federation's proposal to support business succession to solidarity co-operatives.

Provincial Advocacy

CCEDNet has:

• Sent a letter to the Manitoba government, including the Premier of Manitoba and the Minister of Municipal Relations, calling for the province to convene a non-profit sector table to support the sector through the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Sent a letter to the Manitoba government, including the Premier of Manitoba and eight cabinet ministers, outlining the extensive ongoing work of member organizations, concerns with potential cuts, and reiterating emergency recommendations for the sector. 
• Collaborated with the Manitoba Federation of Non-Profit Organization and other networks to send a letter to the Premier of Manitoba and key ministers, advocating for the immediate needs of non-profit organizations.
• Contributed to the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce's Recovery Playbook 2020 through our membership on the Chamber's Economic Recovery Advisory Committee
• Collaborated with other CED and social procurement leaders to send a letter to the Premiere and Infrastructure Minister with recommendations for maximizing the social impact of Manitoba's $500 million infrastructure stimulus package.
• Supported Make Poverty History Manitoba and the Right to Housing in their call for an immediate halt to all tenant evictions, utility disconnections, and the provision of emergency rental support.
• Supported Make Poverty History Manitoba in their call for an immediate increase to the EIA budget by $300 per person, per month for the duration of the pandemic.

We will continue to work with our members, other networks and coalitions to advocate for the needs of our members and our communities during this challenging time.