[xtypo_dropcap]A[/xtypo_dropcap] new parliamentary committee report calling for a federal poverty reduction plan has drawn praise from anti-poverty groups for its focus on planning and “significant actions” that can be taken immediately.
“Federal Poverty Reduction Plan: Working in Partnership Towards Reducing Poverty in Canada,” released by the Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills, and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities, is the result of a three-year study on the federal role in addressing poverty.
The report makes a number of recommendations, including implementing a long-term national housing and homelessness strategy, raising the Child Tax Benefit and supplement to $5,000 within five years, and introducing measures to help the most vulnerable, such as increasing the Guaranteed Income Supplement for seniors and easing Employment Insurance qualification requirements.
It also recommends more support for Aboriginal Canadians in the areas of housing, education, and social services, and establishing a specific poverty reduction office to oversee the creation and implementation of a federal action plan to reduce poverty.
“We are encouraged not only by the content of the report, but by the collaborative approach of parliamentarians that defined much of the work that went into its completion. Now, the consensus among MPs involved in this study must be leveraged into immediate action,” said Karri Munn-Venn.
Munn-Venn is a policy analyst with Citizens for Public Justice and coordinator with Dignity for All, an umbrella group that comprises 430 anti-poverty organizations across Canada.
While the government has 120 days to respond to the report, Dignity for All said in a press release that “it is imperative that the government response be substantive.”
“A ‘non-response’ such as was issued to the excellent 2009 Senate report ‘In from the Margins’ is simply unacceptable,” said Dennis Howlett, coordinator with Make Poverty History.
“A potential spring election makes it equally important that all of the parties provide a clear statement on how they intend to act on recommendations—particularly if they form the next government.”
The report notes that the rates of family and child poverty are “unacceptably high taking into account Canada’s high quality of living standard.”
As of 2008, 9.4 percent of Canadians lived on a low income, according to Statistics Canada. Although this is significantly lower than the high of 15.2 percent observed in 1996 and slightly higher than the 9.2 percent in 2007, the committee argues low income still remains a significant challenge for 3.1 million Canadians and the government must focus on “the individuals who face this reality each day.”
Geraldine King of the Gull Bay First Nation and president of Canada Without Poverty said that although poverty rates are particularly among Aboriginals and people with disabilities, “they are not alone.”
“Millions of people in Canada are trapped in low-paying jobs without benefits. Reducing and eventually eliminating poverty will require much more than job creation.”
“Federal Poverty Reduction Plan: Working in Partnership Towards Reducing Poverty in Canada,” released by the Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills, and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities, is the result of a three-year study on the federal role in addressing poverty.
The report makes a number of recommendations, including implementing a long-term national housing and homelessness strategy, raising the Child Tax Benefit and supplement to $5,000 within five years, and introducing measures to help the most vulnerable, such as increasing the Guaranteed Income Supplement for seniors and easing Employment Insurance qualification requirements.
It also recommends more support for Aboriginal Canadians in the areas of housing, education, and social services, and establishing a specific poverty reduction office to oversee the creation and implementation of a federal action plan to reduce poverty.
“We are encouraged not only by the content of the report, but by the collaborative approach of parliamentarians that defined much of the work that went into its completion. Now, the consensus among MPs involved in this study must be leveraged into immediate action,” said Karri Munn-Venn.
Munn-Venn is a policy analyst with Citizens for Public Justice and coordinator with Dignity for All, an umbrella group that comprises 430 anti-poverty organizations across Canada.
While the government has 120 days to respond to the report, Dignity for All said in a press release that “it is imperative that the government response be substantive.”
“A ‘non-response’ such as was issued to the excellent 2009 Senate report ‘In from the Margins’ is simply unacceptable,” said Dennis Howlett, coordinator with Make Poverty History.
“A potential spring election makes it equally important that all of the parties provide a clear statement on how they intend to act on recommendations—particularly if they form the next government.”
The report notes that the rates of family and child poverty are “unacceptably high taking into account Canada’s high quality of living standard.”
As of 2008, 9.4 percent of Canadians lived on a low income, according to Statistics Canada. Although this is significantly lower than the high of 15.2 percent observed in 1996 and slightly higher than the 9.2 percent in 2007, the committee argues low income still remains a significant challenge for 3.1 million Canadians and the government must focus on “the individuals who face this reality each day.”
Geraldine King of the Gull Bay First Nation and president of Canada Without Poverty said that although poverty rates are particularly among Aboriginals and people with disabilities, “they are not alone.”
“Millions of people in Canada are trapped in low-paying jobs without benefits. Reducing and eventually eliminating poverty will require much more than job creation.”
