Inclusive Cities Canada
Inclusive Cities Canada: A Cross-Canada Civic Initiative is a unique partnership of community leaders and elected municipal politicians working collaboratively to enhance social inclusion across Canada. The goals of Inclusive Cities Canada (ICC) are to strengthen the capacity of cities to create and sustain inclusive communities for the mutual benefit of all people, and to ensure that community voices of diversity are recognized as core Canadian ones.
A concern about children, youth and families, particularly those from diverse and vulnerable populations, is at the heart of the initiative.
Who We Are
In November 2003, five social planning organizations across Canada and the Standing Committee on Social Infrastructure of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities embarked on a multi-year initiative to enhance social inclusion in Canada. Inclusive Cities Canada receives multi-year core funding from Social Development Canada, as well as supplementary start-up funds from the Laidlaw Foundation.
Project funding allows ICC to put in place a National Coordinator and Regional Coordinators in the participating social planning partners. It also provides support for external consultants to ICC for fieldwork and policy development. The national coordinator and external consultants act as a central resource team.
The strategic direction for the cross-Canada initiative comes from a National Steering Committee with members drawn from the partners. They are: Social Planning and Research Council of British Columbia; Edmonton Social Planning Council; Community Development Halton; Community Social Planning Council of Toronto; and Human Development Council of Saint John, NB; in collaboration with the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM).
The social planning partners have established Civic Panels to provide leadership and direction to the initiative locally. Civic Panels are made up of municipal and community leaders.
This initiative builds on previous collaborative work between the Laidlaw Foundation, the FCM and several regional social planning councils. Community soundings were held in 11 cities in the fall of 2002 with community and civic leaders. These soundings showed that there were common areas of vulnerability and exclusion in urban communities across Canada, as well as distinct issues. The findings and recommendations for action are contained in the 2003 report, Building Inclusive Communities: Cross-Canada Perspectives and Strategies.