Atkinson Field Notes
Learning Through Action
News, presentations and reflections from Atkinson’s Chief Executive Officer Colette Murphy and the rest of the Atkinson team.
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25 Apr 19
I turned 30 last year. As my birthday approached, my loved ones gently asked “and how are you feeling about it?” Any important date - a birthday, an anniversary, a milestone - is a moment to ask hard existential and practical questions. Read more >
1 Apr 19
This weekend we learned Donna Wood died a couple of weeks ago in Victoria, British Columbia after a long illness. Donna was a private person about her health, but a fiercely public person when it came to the health of Canadian society. That’s why only a few of us had any idea that the paper we published together on Employment Insurance at the end of January would be one of her last. Read more >
18 Mar 19
When I am asked how I first became interested in social justice, I share my memory of being 10 years old and tagging along with my parents to community meetings. Born and raised in Montréal to Afro-Peruvian parents with little family in Canada, I went where they went; to someone’s living room or community centre. Read more >
21 Jan 19
I’ve been thinking about the merits of good insurance ever since the tornado touched down in the Ottawa area in September. Those who paid higher premiums are in a dramatically different position than others today, but everyone benefited from the community rallying to support victims and to avert a disaster that could have been much worse. Read more >
17 Jan 19
Last fall, I was extremely lucky to have the opportunity to hear Gloria Steinem speak. In a panel discussion, she was asked about the challenge of right wing populism and the threat to social justice. Read more >
19 Dec 18
Almost four years ago, I became a member at Karma Co-op Food Store—a small, historic food co-op in Toronto’s Annex neighbourhood. The co-op began as a cost-effective way for the residents of the area to access high-quality, local, fair-trade, organic produce and health products in the early 70s, back when such things weren’t readily available at your local grocery store. Read more >
3 Dec 18
With the support of the Atkinson Foundation, Meg Ronson and I published a new paper called The Co-operative Opportunity: A Strategy for Small Business Succession in Ontario this fall. Our research pursued signs of massive generational change in this sector. Read more >
2 Nov 18
It takes courage, patience, resilience and determination to start a new life as a stranger in a new country. I cannot talk about my journey to and within Canada without mentioning Bethlehem United Shelter. Read more >
11 Sep 18
In my first year of journalism school I was given an assignment to write about a great moment in Canadian journalism. I submitted an essay on how Joseph Atkinson paved the way for socially responsible journalism with the creation of what is known today as the Toronto Star. Read more >
13 May 18
I’m thrilled to share the news that Armine Yalnizyan, one of Canada’s leading economists, has accepted a two-year fellowship with the Atkinson Foundation, aimed at policy innovation for inclusive economic growth in an era of rapid technological change. Read more >