Hello Canadian CED Network Members and Friends!

Welcome to the first edition of our new newsletter format. If you haven't already, please visit our new website!

In this issue you will find:

1. What's New in CED
2. CCEDNet News
3. Holiday Greetings from Board President, Natasha Jackson
4. Executive Director's Update
5. Our new website! Click here to read more about its exciting new features.
6. CCEDNet's new policy brochure: Recommendations for revitalizing communities in Canada.
7. 2008 National CED Conference - Registration update
8. Download CCEDNet's Finance Submission for the 2008 budget
9. 2008 membership renewal information
10. About CCEDNet membership

from Board President, Natasha Jackson:

As President of the Canadian CED Network, I am delighted to bring you greetings during this festive time of year. The holiday season offers each of us a special opportunity to come together and be thankful for the blessings in our lives. It is also a time when we reflect on the passing year, look forward to the days ahead and chart new goals.

I wish to take this opportunity to offer thanks to the members and staff of CCEDNet for their commitment to our work of improving Canadian communities. As members of CCEDNet, we share in the desire to act locally to create economic opportunities and better social conditions, particularly for those most disadvantaged. The work of our members has impacted thousands of communities across Canada. I am proud to say that our Network has been successful in bringing these organizations together to increase capacity, share knowledge and build a national focus on CED.

Looking back at 2007, we can celebrate much achievement and recognition, including:

• Our CreateAction program, where we were fortunate to place 59 interns with our member organizations across the country. Their enthusiasm and knowledge strengthened our efforts to address the issues facing our members.
• In November, the first of a series of dialogues with community representatives took place at the Learning Enrichment Foundation in Toronto. With over 250 people in attendance, the leader of the official opposition, Mr. Stéphane Dion, took the opportunity to make a commitment to setting poverty reduction targets for his party - the first such commitment in Canadian history. Following his speech, Mr. Dion and other government members met with CCEDNet representatives for a roundtable to discuss how Dion's commitment to reduce poverty can be done in partnership with community organizations.
• Hosting two of the largest CED events in Canada. The Gathering (Winnipeg, MB) and the National CED Conference (St. John's, NL) each brought together hundreds of community organizations and citizens to share experience, knowledge and inspiration.

In closing, I wish to thank each member of our Network for another year of dedicated effort which has collectively helped to create our success and ground our work. This year we witnessed an unprecedented amount of members actively working with staff and board on key committees, issues and forums. I look forward to watching their valuable contributions being put into action in the coming year.

On behalf of the Board of Directors, I would like to extend best wishes to you, your families and colleagues throughout the holiday season and look forward to a New Year full of collective, deliberate and integrated actions which will help to continue to position our Network as Canada's premier CED resource.

Regards,

Executive Director's Update

The Canadian CED Network's new communities agenda policy framework has been launched. CCEDNet joins with others concerned about worsening conditions in Canada's communities as a result of poverty, homelessness, environmental degradation, inadequate childcare, and gaps in social programming. Community Economic Development offers a holistic, pragmatic approach to tackling these issues.

As always for our member-led network, the important work comes with real engagement of community representatives in advancing that agenda and adapting it to local and regional realities.

Dion's Speech

In November, the first of a series of dialogues with community representatives took place at the Learning Enrichment Foundation in Toronto. With over 250 people in attendance, the leader of the official opposition, Mr. Stéphane Dion, took the opportunity to make a commitment to setting poverty reduction targets for his party - the first such commitment in Canadian history. (To read his speech, click here.) He committed to working with community partners to reduce child poverty by 50% in five years, and the number of overall households in poverty by 30%. Measures to shift tax and benefit structure to advantage poorer Canadians were a major component of his program, reflecting recommendations that CCEDNet made to the House Finance Committee. To read CCEDNet's recommendations, click here.

Following his speech, Mr. Dion and other government members met with CCEDNet representatives for a roundtable to discuss how Dion's commitment to reduce poverty can be done in partnership with community organizations. We took this opportunity to present our new policy framework. Over 20 front and back bench opposition MPs attended the meeting. Community dialogues with the other federal parties are in the works.

Atlantic Tour

In Atlantic Canada, along with our board president and Atlantic coordinator, I spent a week meeting with members, partners and provincial government representatives to discuss how our communities agenda can be used to build on initiatives in the region.

CED approaches to renewable energy, rural revitalization, agriculture and food, youth leadership development and retention, affordable housing, poverty reduction, and immigrant settlement were discussed.

In Nova Scotia, food security issues were the topic of "a lunch and learn" at Mount Saint Vincent University. Students, practitioners and researchers involved in this and other issues in the social economy research program attended. The Government of Nova Scotia hosted a cross department discussion on their policy in CED and a dialogue with CCEDNet followed by a reception and dinner for members and partners.

In New Brunswick, practitioners and researchers in Moncton discussed sustainable communities and agriculture. Students, researchers, and practitioners held an evening discussion on a CED agenda at Renaissance College in Fredericton. CCEDNet members then gathered to discuss how to build on provincial interest in the Task Force on the Community Non-Profit Sector, and the new 'Self-Sufficiency Agenda' in their province. Two meetings were held with provincial government senior officials to discuss how CCEDNet's work can be a resource to new policy directions in the province.

In PEI, researchers, students and community activists met at the University to discuss how social economy research can be connected to a larger policy agenda relevant to rural communities. Meetings with provincial government representatives discussed the linkages between CCEDNet's agenda and the province's interests in rural community development. The tour wrapped up with a reception at the Queen Street Commons attended by over 50 community, political and other representatives who were encouraged to link their work to CCEDNet's campaign and build an active PEI CED chapter of our Network.

In addition to recruiting new members join our Network, the Atlantic meetings have resulted in some important new partnership and policy development opportunities. Further provincial and regional initiatives in other parts of the country are being planned.

Introducing our new website!

Our new website is packed with great features like:

* Online registration for events
* RSS feeds
* Online donation and membership registration
* Regional and national event listings/job postings
* Media Room
* Newly built toolbox
* Document manager
* Expanded regional pages

Please note that we are working hard to make sure the transition from our old website to this one is seamless.

ANNOUNCING CANADA'S PREMIER ANNUAL COMMUNITY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT EVENT!

May 21-24, 2008, University of Saskatchewan
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

Registration will be open in mid-February 2008; please watch your inbox for more details to come, and check www.ccednet-rcdec.ca for regular updates!

Catch the Waves of Change with 400 other community practitioners, civil society representatives, academics, government partners, and citizens from across Canada in vibrant Saskatoon, Saskatchewan!

Key themes for 2008 include:
▪ Building Fairer & Stronger Local Economies
▪ Tackling Poverty & Homelessness
▪ Investing in Sustainable Communities

WHY ATTEND?
Over 30 participatory learning and information sessions, engaging keynote speakers and plenaries, excellent networking opportunities, an opportunity to shape the development of the Canadian CED Network policy agenda, exciting site visit tours and social events, and so much more!

The 2008 National CED Conference is hosted by the Canadian CED Network in partnership with Quint Development Corporation.

CCEDNet's 2007 Submission to the Finance Standing Committee

This brief has been prepared by CCEDNet for the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance. The information contained in this brief is intended to respond to the Committee's pre-budget consultations on Canada's tax policy.

To download the submission click here

Membership Renewal

If you are currently a member of CCEDNet, we hope you will renew your membership and continue to support our work to strengthen Canadian communities. In 2008 we will have new procedures for voting, participating in decision-making and registering for the conference, so it is very important that you renew your membership promptly and don't miss out on opportunities to participate and benefit.

In addition to being part of a national voice and platform for collective action, the Network continues to offer opportunities for peer learning, collaboration, regional and national networking, resources and a space for members to organize around specific issues. Regional and national member newsletters keep you informed of these and other activities, and our new website offers new opportunities for on-line information sharing. Our national conference continues to be a major opportunity for CED practitioners to engage with one another and focus on emerging issues in our work, for which membership provides substantial discounts.

Renew your membership now online!

If you have any questions or concerns about your membership status and the work of the Network please don't hesitate to contact (bmathieu@ccednet-rcdec.ca) or call 1-877-202-2268.

The Canadian Community Economic Development Network (CCEDNet) is a national member-led organization committed to strengthening Canadian communities by creating better economic opportunities and enhancing environmental and social conditions. To learn more about CCEDNet click here.