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Principal Project
Project Leads: Wayne Lewchuk (McMaster), Susan MacDonnell (UWT), and Jamie Robinson (UWT)
Research Team: Diane Dyson (WoodGreen Community Centre), Kim Fraser (Davenport-Perth Neighbourhood and Community Health Centre) Karen Lior (TWIG), Alan Meisner (City of Toronto), Peter Viducis (City of Toronto), Dan Rosen (City of Toronto), Jo-Ann Hannah (CAW), Luin Goldring (York), John Shields (Ryerson), Jim Dunn (McMaster), and Jean Pignal (Statistics Canada)
Student Researchers:
Objective: The core of the CURA project is a population-based survey of households in the GTA including Oshawa and Hamilton. Its objective is to assess the relationship between precarious employment and community and household well-being including family stability, parent-child relationships, future population trends, and citizenship.
Key Research Activities and Methodologies: Develop a long survey (100 questions) administered by Statistics Canada in the fall of 2011 based on the 2011 census sample frame. The survey will be based on a pilot survey already developed by PERG. It will involve 4,000 households (8,000 individuals) and will include questions on: the form and prevalence of precarious employment; indicators of precarity (discrimination, harassment, training); household structure & employment; indicators of household and community well-being (participation in household activities, support for family members, socializing, child care, volunteering, community participation, housing, budgets, use of community services, burden on public social support systems); household formation/reproduction (single parent families; timing of household formation; attitudes to starting a family; and individual well-being. PERG has begun work on a pilot survey and has held discussions with Statistics Canada on how to administer the survey.
Supplementary Project: Short Survey: Project leads and team same as above.
Objective: Assess trends in the prevalence of precarious employment in the area defined above.
Key Research Activities and Methodologies: A short survey of 20 questions to be conducted by Statistics Canada in 2014. Questions to be drawn from the long survey described above and will provide an opportunity to track trends over the life of the project. It will focus on basic socio-demographic indicators (gender/race/immigration status); form of the employment relationship; and indicators of precariousness. The sampling frame will be the same as above. The short survey is meant to demonstrate the usefulness of gathering data on trends in employment precarity and to make this a permanent component of data collection in Canada.
