Directions, the Canadian Race Relation’s journal, provides community-based, action-oriented research, commentary, and perspectives on eliminating racism and discrimination.

Directions- Losing Ground - May 2019

 Information about this month's article

We are pleased to announce that the May submission in Directions comes from Sheila Block, senior economist and public commentator with the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA). “Losing Ground” was first published for the CCPA and examines 15 years of income inequality for families raising children in Ontario from 2000 to 2015. Using national data, this paper explores labour market growth, income earnings, and the need for changing labour laws to correct income inequality and assist lower-middle class and working poor families to regain ground.

Sheila Block is a senior economist and public commentator with the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA). Along with an Honours B.A. in Economics from the University of British Columbia and an MA in Economics from the University of Toronto, Sheila Block has experience working as both a political advisor and public servant in the Ontario government, as well as an economic in the labour movement. Her research and specializations include Canada’s labour market, public finance, and inequality.  You can follow Sheila on Twitter @Sheila_M_Block or email her at .

Looking for past articles? Click here to read! 

About Directions

The Directions journal serves as an important piece of the CRRF’s mission to strengthen Canadian values and build a united Canadian community. In the past, Directions was produced in a traditional journal format; previously unpublished articles, selected based on a central theme, were passed through an editorial board, peer review, and translation. The final product was a printed journal that could be either purchased or freely accessed in PDF format online. In recent months, we changed our parameters to the following:

• Authors will have the choice regarding whether or not they would like to submit their article for peer review.
• We will accept articles that have been published elsewhere, so long as they are aligned with the articulated themes of race, racism, and discrimination - in all forms - in Canada.
• Approximately one article will be published per month.

Interested in Submitting an Article to Directions?

The theme for the 2018 issue is Race Relations in the 21st Century: Challenges and Solutions. We welcome submissions that focus on the ways in which communities relate, combine, ally or find themselves in opposition. What are the most effective ways in which we can work together? What are the impediments to respectful and productive relationships? While there is much focus on the value of apology and reconciliation, is there an argument be made (to use the title of David Rieff’s book) in praise of forgetting? Are we, as Canadians, too polite to engage in the hard conversations necessary to take us past interfaith and intercommunal sharing of diet, dress and dance?

We look forward to receiving your experiences, best practices and even glorious failures. We hope you will share what you have learned.