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Here are some practical resources
for community-based groups as they gear up their social
policy development and lobbying initiatives.
Some Web-based Resources for
Lobbying and Policy Options
Click
here for a copy
Lobbying Your Provincial Politician
One-on-One
prepared by Jennifer Ramsay, Advocacy
and Outreach Coordinator, Advocacy Centre for Tenants Ontario
(ACTO)
Click
here for a copy
Making a Case to the Public:
Social Assistance Advocacy, the ‘905 Belt’ and
the “Next 100 People Walking Down Yonge Street”
John Stapleton, Community Undertaking
Social Policy Fellow, St. Christopher House, Toronto
Click
here for a copy
Understanding Civil Servants:
A Short User's Guide for Advocates
John Stapleton, Community Undertaking
Social Policy Fellow, St. Christopher House, Toronto
Click
here for copy
These resources were presented at
a workshop sponsored by the Centre for Urban and Community
Studies, University of Toronto. The workshop focused on
the most effective ways to reach key elected officials and
senior civil servants on social policy issues. The session
was organized by Michael Shapcott. There were three main
presenters: David Donnelly, Jennifer Ramsay, and John Stapleton.
David Donnelly
is Environmental Defence Canada's Legal Advisor. He has
acted as counsel to citizens groups fighting development
on the Oak Ridges Moraine, and appeared before the Walkerton
Commission of Inquiry. He has been an advisor to numerous
governments on law reform, including the Canadian Environmental
Assessment Act and the Ontario Environmental Bill of Rights.
David also served as the Executive Director of the CEDF
for eight years until 1996. During this time, he has also
worked with many citizens groups to develop and implement
media strategies for both local and national markets.
Jennifer Ramsay
is the Advocacy and Outreach Coordinator at the Advocacy
Centre for Tenants Ontario (ACTO). ACTO is a province-wide
legal clinic that engages in test case litigation, law reform,
education and advocacy on housing and homelessness issues
affecting low-income Ontarians. Jennifer has worked as an
advocate and educator for twenty years in a variety of settings,
including the Centre for Equality Rights in Accommodation
and the former City of Toronto. For the past four years,
Jennifer has been actively lobbying all three parties at
the provincial level on housing and income security issues.
John Stapleton worked
in social assistance policy and programs for 28 years with
the Ontario Government. During this time, he worked on the
implementation of the National Child Benefit and was government
senior policy advisor to the Social Assistance Review Committee
and the Minister's Advisory Group on new social assistance
legislation in the late 1980's and early 1990's. John left
government last year and is now self-employed. His most
recent work has been as Community Undertaking Social Policy
fellow at St. Christopher House. While continuing his relationship
with St.Christopher House and a number of other agencies,
John is also working with the Caledon Institute for Social
Policy and as a part time consultant to government.
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