The Toronto Star
January 9, 2015

Payday lenders sub in for banks in poor areas, by Sara Mojtehedzadeh 

Toronto is divided not only by income, but by access to formal banking – which impacts the financial and physical health of the city’s poor.

The payday loan shops of Jane and Finch are friendly places. Tellers chat with customers about their latest health woes, send greetings to clients’ families, and lament the slow holiday work season.

“After Christmas, we’re all broke,” commiserates one.

In a city ever more starkly divided by income, Torontonians are also split by where they can turn for financial help. Experts warn that low-income communities are underserved by formal banks, who rarely offer the kind of small-sum, short-term loans best suited to making meager ends meet. And in the city’s underprivileged areas, payday lenders are filling the void.

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CTV News
October 10, 2014

Jobless rate falls to 6.8 per cent, lowest level in nearly 6 years

OTTAWA — The latest Canadian labour data suggests the job market bounced back in a big way last month, generating 74,100 net new positions and knocking the unemployment rate down to its lowest level in nearly six years.

The September gain, which follows a loss of 11,000 jobs in August, includes the creation of 69,300 full-time positions, according to the monthly Statistics Canada employment report released Friday.

The job data came out the same day the Bank of Canada released survey results that found Canadian businesses expected to hire more workers and boost equipment investments during the coming year.

Economists had expected the economy to create 20,000 jobs in September and the unemployment rate to hold steady at seven per cent, according to Thomson Reuters.

“I think there’s no doubt that it’s a strong report in September, which is encouraging,” said Leslie Preston, an economist with TD Economics.

“Overall, hiring in the third quarter was actually pretty strong, it was one of the strongest quarters we’ve seen in a couple of years. So, we’re encouraged that momentum, after a year of flat hiring, is starting to build in Canada’s job market.”
Canada’s statistical agency said the unemployment rate for September fell by 0.2 percentage points to 6.8 per cent – its lowest since December 2008.

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The Toronto Star
September 27, 2014

Jewelry designer aims to empower women by paying living wages, by Susan Minuk

“I give people a fishing rod instead of a fish. I train people with skills and then compensate them fairly for their work,” says designer Kim Smiley.

Kim Smiley is embracing social justice with beautiful bangles and delicate necklaces.

Smiley started up a side business 18 months ago, creating Sapphô by Kim Smiley. She designs handmade wearable works of art and hires marginalized women to make the jewelry. Her goal is to copy this model around the world, helping women earn a living wage as her business grows.

“We call it beauty for the public good, and poetry for the people,” she says.

Montreal-born Smiley studied Asian religion, philosophy and women’s Studies at McGill and Harvard, moving to Toronto after completing a postgraduate fellowship in Japan. She decided to switch gears from academia to the non-profit sector, focusing on empowering marginalized populations to rise to their fullest potential, whether through meaningful employment, educational advancement, or affordable housing.

That passion inspired Smiley to create Sapphô.

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