Decent Work

Opening remarks for a panel discussion on "making economies work for everyone" at the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) Global Conference of Young Parliamentarians on Friday, November 17, 2017 in Ottawa by Atkinson’s Executive Director Colette Murphy. Read more >

We’re here tonight to celebrate the good fight. The fight for a better world. No one can reach the age of 75 without having to think about what makes some fights good and others not. The Atkinson Foundation is no exception. We’ve had our fair share of both. Read more >

If you know the history of the Toronto Star, you’ll know Joseph Atkinson expected his reporters to “Get the news first, sew it up, pursue every detail, and play it big.” The fight for decent work benefits from the Star’s passion for investigating, reporting and effecting change in countless ways. One way stands out tonight. News gatherers are fighting for the future of journalism these days. Read more >

I was a kid who loved the weekend comics but who never quite became a comic book nerd. I discovered Chester Brown's now acclaimed graphic novel on Louis Riel while in university. It was a revelation to me to see such serious information delivered in an entertaining and sensitive way. While the playful illustrations pulled me in Read more >

On a unseasonably hot and sunny mid September morning, an Ontario-based group of community leaders travelled to Buffalo, New York. Our mission was to see first hand how organizers are building coalitions to support public policy advocacy for community benefits Read more >

Anchor strategies mobilize resources, deliberately and strategically, to improve the lives and livelihoods people who are not benefiting from traditional approaches to economic development. Anchor strategists are not necessarily motivated by the charity impulse.  Generally, they simply want better results for their institutions... Read more >

Last month I travelled to Buffalo for a conference that brought together community organizers, advocates and academics to talk about strategies for a people and planet-centre economy. Buffalo, only two hours south of my home in Toronto, is making an ambitious comeback after a long economic decline. Read more >

Today, Jenn Miller and I are attending the Responsible Investing Association (RIA) Conference on behalf of the Atkinson Foundation. The conference has brought together more than 300 investment professionals from Canada and around the world to Toronto. Read more >

At the heart of the internet, if you look closely, people are having a conversation. Whether it’s asking Google a question, on anything and knowing you’ll get a decent answer quickly, or chiming in on a Facebook comments thread around the breaking news story of the day ... Read more >

Black Lives Matter Toronto's camp was disbanded on Monday following a powerful exchange between the Premier and organizers outside Queen's Park. Organizers remain committed to their demands. Read more >