From the Caledon Institute of Social Policy:

Newfoundland and Labrador: Innovative Strategies in Government-Community Collaboration (PDF - 85K, 9 pages)
By Fran Locke, Penelope Rowe and Anne Makhoul
April 2009
An ambitious experiment, Newfoundland and Labrador’s Strategic Social Plan (SSP) – unveiled in 1998 – called for involvement of the voluntary, community-based sector and citizens in policy formulation. Dismantled in 2004, it also provided the foundation for Newfoundland and Labrador’s current Rural Secretariat and its celebrated Community Accounts database.

Comprehensive Strategies for Deep and Durable Outcomes (PDF - 87K, 20 pages)
By Eric Leviten-Reid
April 2009
This paper is part of Vibrant Communities’ continuing effort to strengthen the knowledge and practice of comprehensive, multisectoral approaches to poverty reduction. It explores the idea of ‘comprehensiveness’ in order to clarify some of the conceptual and practical issues it involves. What are the different ways to pursue comprehensive approaches to poverty reduction? What are the strengths and limitations of such approaches in achieving deep and durable outcomes? More than a discussion paper, this publication helps set the stage for a series of case studies to be undertaken with local partners in Vibrant Communities.

Hamilton Roundtable for Poverty Reduction: Setting the Table for Change (PDF - 215K, 11 pages)
Liz Weaver and Anne Makhoul
March 2009
The Hamilton Roundtable for Poverty Reduction’s work to make a serious dent in poverty began in 2006. Its record of success is now inspiring communities across Ontario to consider similar action. Find out how this organization is influencing policy makers and bringing out the best in its citizens.

The federal role in poverty reduction (PDF - 78K, 19 pages)
Presentation to the Standing Committee on Human Resources,
Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities
by Ken Battle and Sherri Torjman
March 10, 2009
"(...)This morning, we will briefly discuss some examples of federal programs that can help reduce poverty, and offer some suggestions for improving their poverty reduction capacity [bolding added]. We distinguish between incremental improvements to existing programs and deeper changes to the architecture of social policy. Although the federal role in poverty reduction takes mainly the form of income security programs, it also has roles to play in financially supporting services provided by provinces and territories."
- incl. proposals to improve/support:
* Seniors’ benefits * Child benefits * Help for the working poor * Employment Insurance
* Disability income * Early learning and child care * Social housing * Social infrastructure * Enabling environment

Related link:

Standing Committee on Human Resources,
Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities
(40th Parliament, 2nd Session : January 26, 2009 - Present)

See also:

Poverty Policy (PDF - 119K, 36 pages)
By Sherri Torjman
October 2008
This paper discusses ten major policy areas that comprise the core of a comprehensive poverty reduction strategy:
* affordable housing * early childhood development * high school completion and improved literacy proficiency * demand-driven customized training * improved minimum wages and enhanced supplementation of low earnings and of income * a restored and improved unemployment insurance system * adequate income and appropriate supports for persons with disabilities * assistance with the creation of assets for low- and modest-income households, support for the social economy * strong social infrastructure * place-based initiatives that fashion integrated approaches to intervention and that create effective responses to tackling poverty through creative combinations of resources and approaches.

From the Canadian Council on Social Development:

From the National Council of Welfare:

Solving Poverty: Four cornerstones of a workable national strategy for Canada (PDF file - 1MB, 29 pages)
Winter 2007
"(...) When the National Council of Welfare started looking into anti-poverty strategies, it became quickly apparent to us that if there is no long-term vision, no plan, no one accountable for carrying out the plan, no resources assigned and no accepted measure of results, we will continue to be mired in poverty for generations.
The four cornerstones:
1) creating a national anti-poverty strategy with targets and timelines;
2) developing a coordinated plan of action;
3) ensuring accountability; and
4) establishing official poverty indicators.
[ Related Press Release - January 25, 2008 ]
[ related reports ]
[ media coverage of the concept of an anti-poverty strategy ]

Source:
National Anti-Poverty Strategy
- incl. links to * Recent Reports * Anti-poverty and Income Security Questionnaire * Recent Developments

The National Council of Welfare is an arm's length advisory body to the Minister of Human Resources and Social Development on matters of concern to low-income Canadians.

Related links found on the Council's website:

Senate committee recommends that the federal government
develop a federal strategy to combat child poverty
April 26, 2007
(...)
Recommendation 14 : Pursuant to articles 26 and 27 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Committee recommends that the federal government develop a federal strategy to combat child poverty that should be put into effect as soon as possible, accompanied by clear goals and timetables. Among other things, such a plan should include preventative measures aimed at high-risk families and a comprehensive housing strategy.

Debate in the House of Commons on a national anti-poverty strategy
(Private Member's Bill - Tony Martin, NDP)
February 20, 2007

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The New Poverty Agenda:
Reshaping Policies in the 21st Century
Conference (Kingston)
August 18-20, 2008
Excerpt from the Conference theme:
"The new poverty agenda demands new policy responses. An effective anti-poverty strategy depends on a wide range of instruments: income transfers, tax policy, asset-building strategies, early childhood interventions, education, labour market programs, housing and social services. An effective response also requires a judicious balancing of general programs and targeted initiatives for particular vulnerable groups, such as children in care, recent immigrants, single-parent families, Aboriginal peoples, people with disabilities, and displaced workers."

- click the link above to access all 20+ presentations made at the event.
[The download format is PDF, but the presentations are in Powerpoint format.]

Sessions:
* The New Poverty Agenda * Income Transfers and Asset Building * The Tax Regime * Early Childhood Initiatives and Education * Addressing Poverty and Other Social Policy Challenges through Social Risk Management: A New Conceptual Framework? * Employment and Training Programs * Integrated Approaches in Communities: Place-based Interventions * Roundtable on the Politics of Poverty: Can Poverty be a Priority?

Sample content:

* Fighting poverty and social exclusion in the European Union (PDF - 1.7MB, 27 pages), by Isabelle Maquet Engsted, European Commission
* Tackling Poverty and Low Income in New Zealand : Approaches and Lessons Learned (PDF - 522K, 20 pages), by Marcel Lauzière, Canadian Council on Social Development
* Low-Income in Canada, 1980 to 2006 (PDF - 162K, 19 pages), by G. Picot and S. Michaud, Statistics Canada
* Income transfers and labor market integration in Québec (PDF - 86K, 22 pages), by Alain Noël, Université de Montréal
* Poverty, poverty dynamics and asset-based welfare (PDF - 908K, 58 pages), by Robert Walker with Mark Tomlinson, Oxford University (U.K)
* Neoliberal Poverty Governance: U.S. Welfare Policy in an Era of Globalization (PDF - 17K, 3 pages), by Sanford F. Schram, Bryn Mawr College (Pennsylvania)
* High marginal effective tax rates, intersecting rules, and how they affect Low income Adults (PDF - 934K, 26 pages), by John Stapleton, Open Policy (Canada)
*** The Story of Ali (PDF - 98K, 3 pages) --- how social programs work against each other...
* Early childhood services and the new poverty agenda (PDF - 706K, 32 pages), by Thomas Coram Research Unit (U.K.)
* The New Poverty Agenda: Place-Based Interventions (PDF - 1.5MB, 14 pages) , by Sherri Torjman, Caledon Institute of Social Policy
* Making Poverty Count in our National Politics (PDF - 120K, 7 pages), by Senator Hugh Segal, Senate of Canada
* The New Poverty Agenda: Reshaping Policies in the 21st Century (PDF - 241K, 2 pages), by Laurel Rothman, Campaign 2000
[ complete list of presentations with links ]

Source:
Queen's School of Policy Studies

NOTE: if you click on the link to the conference home page (The New Poverty Agenda), you'll find links to every presentation, but they're only identified by author rather than title.

From the Parliamentary Research Library:
(Government of Canada)

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Senate Convenes Roundtable on Guaranteed Income
On 13 June 2008, the Senate Sub-Committee on Cities held a Roundtable on the topic of "Guaranteed Annual Income: Has Its Time Come?"

Transcript of the proceedings of the roundtable (51 printed pages)
June 13, 2008
Highly recommended reading --- valuable insights on guaranteed income from recognized experts in the field of guaranteed annual income, including Derek Hum (father of Mincome Manitoba), Senator Hugh Segal, Sheila Regehr (Director, National Council of Welfare), Rob Rainer (Executive Director, National Anti-Poverty Organization), professors Lars Osberg and Jim Mulvale, Michael Mendelson of the Caledon Institute of Social Policy, Marie White (Council of Canadians with Disabilities) and many others.

Related links:

Weighing trade-offs on poverty
June 20, 2008
By Carol Goar
OTTAWA–The longing for a simple, affordable plan to reduce poverty runs deep. It has propelled the idea of a guaranteed annual income onto the national agenda no fewer than five times since the 1970s. But no proposal has ever had enough momentum to overcome the political and practical barriers that stand in the way of implementation.Senator Hugh Segal believes Canada is close to the breakthrough point. "Our current programs haven't made a jot of progress (in reducing poverty)," he says. "We've tried everything else. Why don't we try a basic income floor?" Segal, a Conservative, was addressing the Senate committee on cities chaired by Art Eggleton, a Liberal. Despite Ottawa's fiercely partisan climate, the Senate remains an oasis of civil and informed debate.
[ more columns by Carol Goar ]
Source
The Toronto Star

Related link:

Guaranteed annual income:
why Milton Friedman and Bob Stanfield were right (PDF - 172K, 6 pages)
By Hugh Segal
April 2008
Source:
Policy Options - April 2008 issue (free online magazine)
[ Institute for Research on Public Policy (IRPP) ]

- Go to the Guaranteed Annual Income Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/gai.htm

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Provincial Anti-Poverty Initiatives

Newfoundland and Labrador
Poverty Reduction Strategy
The Poverty Reduction Strategy is a Government-wide approach to transform Newfoundland and Labrador from a province with the most poverty to one with the least over a ten year period. The strategy includes initiatives and programs which target the groups most vulnerable to poverty.
- includes * Poverty Reduction Initiatives * Guiding Principles * Documents and News Releases * Partner Departments and Agencies
Source:
Human Resources, Labour and Employment

Income Support Benefits Enhanced as Part of Poverty Reduction Strategy
April 9, 2009
The Williams Government has increased basic income support benefits by $4.3 million annually. This increase, effective April 1, is part of Budget 2009’s $132.2 million investment in poverty reduction initiatives and is in line with the Consumer Price Index (CPI). In March 2006, the Provincial Government announced it would tie income support rates to the CPI to ensure that cost of living increases are factored into the amount an individual or family receives through basic income support benefits. In doing so, Newfoundland and Labrador became one of only two provinces in Canada at the time to link its income support rates to cost of living increases.
Source:
Human Resources, Labour and Employment

Standing Strong in the Fight Against Poverty
March 26, 2009
News Release
The Williams Government continues to stand strong and lead the way in its fight against poverty by investing $132.2 million in Budget 2009 to help individuals and families with low incomes. The 18 new significant initiatives announced today will help realize the provincial Poverty Reduction Strategy’s commitment of becoming the jurisdiction with the lowest poverty rates in Canada by 2014.
Source:
Newfoundland and Labrador Budget 2009

Budget 2007 - A vision of opportunity with New Actions to Address Poverty

Budget 2006 - The Right Choices: Reducing Poverty; Increasing Self Reliance

Related Documents
(including a summary of strategy development workshops held in the fall of 2005, the background report and workbook and a link to the Action Plan itself (copied immediately below).

Reducing Poverty : An Action Plan for Newfoundland and Labrador, June 2006 (PDF file - 1.6MB, 60 pages)
The final report
"The 2005 Speech from the Throne (PDF file - 266K, p. 22) affirmed Government’s Blueprint commitment to transform Newfoundland and Labrador over a ten-year period from a province with the most poverty to a province with the least poverty."

Reducing Poverty in Newfoundland and Labrador
- Background Report and Workbook (2005)

News Releases - links to dozens of news releases on the Poverty Reduction Strategy from 2005 to 2008

Consultations Helping to Advance the Poverty Reduction Strategy
November 13, 2008
Over the past month, the Provincial Government hosted consultations on the poverty reduction strategy across the province. There were 32 public and community roundtable stakeholder sessions held. Local residents and community group leaders attended the sessions and provided a significant contribution of their time and thoughtful insight in support of the further advancement of the Poverty Reduction Strategy. This marks the end of this phase of the consultations. However, consultation submissions are being accepted up to December 15, 2008. All residents are encouraged to share their views by calling 1-866-883-6600 or going to www.hrle.gov.nl.ca/poverty/index.html
Source:
Human Resources, Labour and Employment

Province of Newfoundland and Labrador
Launches Poverty Reduction Consultations
October 16, 2008
The Provincial Government is planning a series of public consultations to strengthen its Poverty Reduction Strategy. This will include a series of public sessions, round tables, focus groups, and a website. These consultations are designed to engage individuals living in poverty, the community and the general public in a dialogue on the strategy’s themes, goals and objectives. (...) The Provincial Government will hold public consultation sessions and roundtables in 15 communities across the nine rural secretariat regions of the province. Individuals and groups can also provide their feedback and views. [click the link above for other means of providing input into the consultation]
The deadline for consultation submissions is December 15, 2008.

2008 Consultations
In 2006, the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador released Reducing Poverty: An Action Plan for Newfoundland and Labrador (PDF file - 1.6MB, 60 pages). This Action Plan was developed with input from community-based organizations, business, labour and people living in and vulnerable to poverty. The Poverty Reduction Strategy outlines Government’s plan to transform Newfoundland and Labrador from a province with the most poverty to one with the least, within 10 years. Over three budget cycles, and on an ongoing yearly basis, the Provincial Government is investing over $100 million in initiatives aimed to prevent, reduce and alleviate poverty. The Provincial Government has also improved many programs and services. The Provincial Government is now planning for the next phase of the strategy.
- incl. links to more info on:
* Understanding Poverty * Role for the Provincial Government * Progress to Date * Key Themes * Review of Goals and Objectives * Questions for Consideration * Participate in the Consultation Process * * Annex 1 - Groups Helped by Poverty Reduction Strategy * Annex 2 - Description of Poverty Reduction Strategy Initiatives

Poverty Reduction Strategy
2008 Consultation Booklet (PDF - 792K, 36 pages)

Source:
Dept. of Human Resources, Labour and Employment
[ Govt. of Newfoundland and Labrador ]

New Poverty Reduction Benefits Now in Effect
News Release
July 7, 2008
The Provincial Government is moving forward with a series of investments to improve social benefits and improve equality for individuals and families. Effective July 1, an additional $2 million in benefits under the Poverty Reduction Strategy are being provided to strengthen the social safety net. In Budget 2008, the Provincial Government announced an investment of $12 million in new poverty reduction initiatives. That brings the total ongoing annual investment in poverty reduction to more than $100 million.
Source:
Human Resources, Labour and Employment

Newfoundland and Labrador Continues to
Invest to Lead the Country in Poverty Reduction Initiatives
The Williams Government continues to act on its commitment to alleviate, prevent and reduce poverty in the province with new measures that focus on improving earned incomes, strengthening the social safety net and supporting youth at risk. Budget 2008 provides an additional $9.6 million in new Poverty Reduction Strategy initiatives and this funding is in addition to the $2.4 million announced April 1 to index basic income support rates. That brings the total investment in the current fiscal year to $12 million and once fully implemented in 2009-10, the Provincial Government’s annual investment in poverty reduction will be more than $100 million.
Source:
News Releases - links to 11 news releases related to Budget 2008
[ Newfoundland and Labrador Budget 2008 April 29, 2008 ]

New Poverty Reduction Benefits Now in Effect
News Release
July 7, 2008
The Provincial Government is moving forward with a series of investments to improve social benefits and improve equality for individuals and families. Effective July 1, an additional $2 million in benefits under the Poverty Reduction Strategy are being provided to strengthen the social safety net. In Budget 2008, the Provincial Government announced an investment of $12 million in new poverty reduction initiatives. That brings the total ongoing annual investment in poverty reduction to more than $100 million.

Government Increases Income Support Benefits
April 1, 2008
In accordance with the Consumer Price Index (CPI), effective today April 1, the Williams Government, as part of the Poverty Reduction Strategy (PRS), is increasing basic income support benefits by $2.4 million annually. (...) The PRS is focused on reducing, alleviating and preventing poverty in the province. Over a 10-year period, Newfoundland and Labrador intends to move from the jurisdiction with the highest poverty rates to one with the lowest in Canada.

Province Supports Tax Measures and Support Trusts for People with Disabilities
News Release
March 31, 2008
The Provincial Government has amended regulations to support improvements to the tax system for individuals with low incomes, and people with disabilities and their families by exempting both the federal Working Income Tax Benefit and the Registered Disability Saving Plan from the calculation of Income Support benefits. The two exemptions are effective April 1, 2008.

Opposition Fails to Understand Poverty Reduction Strategy
June 14, 2007
News Release
The Honourable Shawn Skinner, Minister of Human Resources, Labour and Employment, said he is disappointed with claims by the Opposition that government is failing in the fight against poverty in our province.

Government Increases Basic Income Support Benefits
March 30, 2007
Effective April 1, government will fulfill another key commitment to poverty reduction by providing an additional $3 million annually to further increase basic income support. This will be accomplished by tying the basic income support rate to the provincial consumer price index (CPI) which means an increase of 1.8 per cent.

Province reaffirms commitment to poverty reduction
News Release
May 26, 2006
Paul Shelley, Minister of Human Resources, Labour and Employment, is pleased to announce the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador has decided that Income Support (social assistance) payments will not be affected by the introduction of the new federal Universal Child Care Benefit. (...) The Government of Newfoundland and Labrador is developing an integrated poverty reduction strategy. Budget 2006 included a significant investment to help people move ahead and break the cycle of poverty. (...) The full strategy will be released later this spring.

Increased income support rates will add up to reduced poverty: Minister*
March 29, 2006
News Release
Budget 2006 will make major investments in a broad range of programs and services that will help the working poor, youth-at-risk, and families with low incomes, says Paul Shelley, Minister of Human Resources, Labour and Employment, and the lead minister for government’s poverty reduction strategy.
[*NOTE: as part of its increased supports to people in need, the provincial govt. will start indexing welfare benefit levels as of 2007-08; rates will be tied to the Newfoundland and Labrador Consumer Price Index. Québec is the only other Canadian jurisdiction that indexes its rates every year based on the prevailing rate of inflation. This is a sound policy that prevents households receiving welfare from falling further behind because of ongoing increases in the cost of living. Congratulations, Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, on this progressive social policy!]

March 30, 2006
The Right Choices: Reducing Poverty; Increasing Self Reliance
(part of Budget 2006 - March 30/06)
Departments of Human Resources, Labour and Employment, Health and Community Services and Education
- includes a backgrounder with more detailed info
"The Williams government is removing barriers to employment and providing assistance to those who need it most through a sweeping investment in initiatives designed to combat poverty, announced Paul Shelley, Minister of Human Resources, Labour and Employment, and the lead minister for government’s poverty reduction strategy. Budget 2006 outlines government’s integrated approach to poverty reduction, unveiling investments of over $30.5 million in 2006-07 and $62 million annually to support an expanded eligibility for the prescription drug program, the elimination of school fees, increases to income support programs, and enhanced Adult Basic Education (ABE) offerings. This initial phase of the poverty reduction strategy is a strong basis for meeting government’s pledge to significantly reduce poverty in Newfoundland and Labrador."

Poverty Reduction Strategies in Quebec and in Newfoundland and Labrador
26 October 2007
Source:
Parliamentary Research Library
(Government of Canada)

Report on poverty reduction workshops rich with insights
News Release
December 20, 2005
"A report on what was heard in workshops about poverty across Newfoundland and Labrador illustrates how broad and complex the challenge of reducing poverty is, says Paul Shelley, Minister of Human Resources, Labour and Employment. (...) In the 2005 Speech from the Throne and Budget, the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador committed to develop a comprehensive, government-wide poverty reduction strategy. Funding of $200,000 was committed in March 2005 to develop this strategy. The consultants’ report on workshops held this summer is one component of this work."

Complete report:

Report on Workshop Sessions on the Development of a Poverty Reduction Strategy (241K, 61 pages)
October 2005
Prepared by management consultants Goss Gilroy Inc.

Related Link:

Building pathways to poverty reduction - (backgrounder about the government’s strategic approach to reducing poverty)
March 21, 2005
Human Resources, Labour and Employment
"Joan Burke, Minister of Human Resources, Labour and Employment, said today that several Budget 2005 measures help lessen poverty in Newfoundland and Labrador, including funding for the development of a strategic plan on addressing the issue of poverty."
- highlights include a two-part increase in income support (welfare) for couples and single clients without children (1% in July 2005 and 1% in January 2006), a 10% increase in the earnings exemption level and more funds for employment-related activities for people with disabilities, for the Newfoundland and Labrador Child Benefit and for "a second pilot project to assist single parents in receipt of income support prepare for, find and keep employment."

-------------------------------------------------

Reducing Poverty in Newfoundland and Labrador - Background Report and Workbook (PDF file - 1.5MB, 44 pages)
Government of Newfoundland and Labrador
June 2005
"In the 2005 Speech from the Throne, the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador committed to refine and implement a comprehensive poverty reduction strategy in collaboration with stakeholders both within and outside the government. This document is designed to provide readers with background information on poverty in the province, current initiatives being undertaken by the provincial government and ideas for future action."
Selected content from the background report:
Poverty and its Determinants - Profile of those Living in Poverty - Low income in Newfoundland and Labrador - Incidence of Poverty - Rural and Urban Poverty - Depth of Poverty - Persistence - Factors Influencing Poverty - The Provincial Labour Market - Current Initiatives of the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador - Income Support (welfare) Program - Career, Employment and Youth Services - Newfoundland and Labrador Child Benefit (NLCB) - Low Income Tax Reduction Program - Initiatives for Children and Families - Initiatives to Increase Women’s Economic Security - Minimum Wage - Housing Supports - What Are other Jurisdictions Doing to Reduce Poverty? (Quebec, rest of Canada, Ireland, Scotland) - Recommendations from Community-Based Groups - Tax Relief - Asset Building Approaches - Finding the Right Policy Mix - more...
+ workbook for citizens to complete and return to the provincial government.

Work on the development of a provincial poverty strategy kicks into high gear
News Release
June 24, 2005
Joan Burke, Minister of Human Resources, Labour and Employment, announced that workshops will begin today on the development of a strategy to reduce the level of poverty in Newfoundland and Labrador. The sessions, to be held in approximately 10 communities over a two-week period, will engage those working with community-based, labour and business organizations and is just one of several activities planned to gather input on how best to reduce poverty in the province."

Building pathways to poverty reduction
March 21, 2005
Human Resources, Labour and Employment
"Joan Burke, Minister of Human Resources, Labour and Employment, said today that several Budget 2005 measures help lessen poverty in Newfoundland and Labrador, including funding for the development of a strategic plan on addressing the issue of poverty."
- highlights include a two-part increase in income support (welfare) for couples and single clients without children (1% in July 2005 and 1% in January 2006), a 10% increase in the earnings exemption level and more funds for employment-related activities for people with disabilities, for the Newfoundland and Labrador Child Benefit and for "a second pilot project to assist single parents in receipt of income support prepare for, find and keep employment."

Preparing our youth for success
March 21, 2005
Human Resources, Labour and Employment
"Joan Burke, Minister of Human Resources, Labour and Employment, says Budget 2005 places a renewed focus on the young people of Newfoundland and Labrador, especially those youth who live in poverty and who rely on income support. 'Low education levels, a lack of a high school diploma and limited work experience are key characteristics of a dependence on income support from one generation to the next and a cycle of poverty,' said Minister Burke. 'In 2003 youth, 18 to 29 years old, represented one-quarter of the income support caseload and almost 50 per cent of all new entrants. These numbers are alarming and are an indication of many complex issues that require a focused, coordinated approach.'"

Minimum wage earners in Newfoundland and Labrador to see increase in pay
News Release
January 6, 2005
"Joan Burke, Minister of Human Resources, Labour and Employment, announced today that government has approved a $1 increase to the province’s minimum wage. The increase will be implemented in four 25 cent increments over a two-year period. (...) The minimum wage in Newfoundland and Labrador is currently $6 per hour. That wage will increase by 25 cents to $6.25 effective June 1, 2005, to $6.50 effective January 1, 2006, to $6.75 effective June 1, 2006 and to $7 effective January 1, 2007."
Related Links: go to the Minimum Wage Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/minwage.htm

New Income and Employment Support Act and Regulations
News Release
December 7, 2004
"The new Income and Employment Support Act and the accompanying Income and Employment Support Regulations (...) replace the outdated Social Assistance Act and Regulations which have been in effect since 1977. The new act better reflects the Department of Human Resources, Labour and Employment’s two major areas of responsibility: providing income support in a stable dignified manner to eligible individuals and families; and delivering programs and services that support individuals in achieving their employment and career goals.

Income and Employment Support Act, S.N.L. 2002, c. I-0.1
(proclaimed November 30, 2004)

Income and Employment Support Regulations
(O.C. 2004-461 - Filed November 26, 2004 )

Related Links:

Income and Employment Support Act introduced in House of Assembly
November 19, 2002
- incl. backgrounder : the consultation process, key changes, next steps

Department moves to next step of Redesign Initiative
News Release
May 11, 2004
- consolidation of 20 district welfare offices, redeployment of staff, total number of actual layoffs ~30 staff throughout the province

Mothers and families encouraged to take advantage of Mother Baby Nutrition Supplement
New Release
July 7, 2003

Newfoundland and Labrador Child Benefit rate increase
July 4, 2003

Pilot project great support for single parents
News Release
March 18, 2003
"An evaluation of the Single Parent Employment Support Program (SESP), a five-year pilot project administered by the Department of Human Resources and Employment and the Single Parent Association of Newfoundland and Labrador and open to clients in seven HRE offices in the North East Avalon region, concludes that the innovative project is a great asset in assisting single parents in receipt of income support to enter and remain in the workforce."
Complete report:
Summative Evaluation of the Single Parent Employment Support Program (SESP) Final Report (PDF file - 160K, 93 pages)
June 2002

Income and Employment Support Act introduced in House of Assembly
November 19, 2002

Minister announces changes to current income support regulations
November 19, 2002

Minister announces consultation findings
August 5, 2002
News Release
Human Resources and Employment
"Ralph Wiseman, Minister of Human Resources and Employment, released today the Report of a Consultation on the Social Assistance Act. The report is a summary of the department’s community consultations concerning the review of the Social Assistance Act and Regulations. The findings from these consultations will assist the Department of Human Resources and Employment as it drafts the new legislation."
- this news release includes a detailed backgrounder
Report of a Consultation on the Social Assistance Act (PDF file - 317K, 66 pages)
Related Links - links to the above report, plus the January 2002 discussion paper, Workbook ("Tell Us What You Think") and relevant legislation

Minister releases report on supported employment (for persons with developmental disabilities)
May 9, 2002
Human Resources and Employment
"Ralph Wiseman, Minister of Human Resources and Employment, today released an evaluation of his department’s Supported Employment Initiative."
Summative Evaluation of the Supported Employment Initiative (PDF file - 412K, 142 pages)

Budget 2002-2003 News Releases
March 21, 2002
Changes to NLCB help low income families
For the second consecutive year, low income families with children will be able to earn more money and still qualify for the Newfoundland and Labrador Child Benefit (NLCB). Department’s innovative changes continue
With a series of recent initiatives, the Department of Human Resources and Employment continues its major redesign of programs and services to assist persons on social assistance achieve independence and extend support to low income working families.
Backgrounders

- Social Assistance Review - province-wide public consultations now underway, scheduled for completion in April - new legislation to be tabled in the fall 2002
- Employment Assistance Programs - info about NewfoundJOBS - Linkages Youth Employment - Supported Employment - Single Parent Employment Support Program - Employability Assistance for People with Disabilities - more...

Review of Social Assistance Act under way
Press Release
January 7, 2002
"Gerald Smith, Minister of Human Resources and Employment, announced today the beginning of a review process which will help in updating the department's Social Assistance Act and Regulations. This is the first review of the legislation in its entirety since 1977.
(...)
Following the consultation process, which should conclude early this spring, the information gathered will be used when drafting the new Social Assistance Act and Regulations. The new legislation is expected to be introduced in late 2002."

Government committed to reducing child poverty in province
News Release
December 7, 2001
"... government’s commitment to addressing the issue [of child poverty] as demonstrated by the significant range of initiatives undertaken in recent years..."
- includes a brief snapshot of almost a dozen such initiatives - social assistance redesign, the Newfoundland and Labrador Child Benefit, Early Childhood Development and other health and literacy programs for children

Changes in legislation benefit people living with disability
News Release
October 26, 2001
Government has approved the necessary regulatory changes recommended by the Departments of Human Resources and Employment and Health and Community Services to exempt support trusts when determining eligibility for social assistance and supportive services for people living with a disability.

Minister gives update on redesign initiatives
Human Resources and Employment 
October 10, 2000 
Julie Bettney, Minister of Human Resources and Employment, announced today the latest details on initiatives designed to improve service for income support clients. The initiatives, which went into effect on October 1, include an extended drug card for singles and families without children, a new liquid assets policy, and a revised rate structure for singles over 29. On an annual basis, these supports are valued at $1.7 million. More...

Implementation of Province’s Strategic Social Plan–on target, on time, says Bettney
July 7, 2000 
The SSP is a vision for social change developed by and for the people of Newfoundland and Labrador

New initiatives announced
Human Resources and Employment 
May 15, 2000 
"...three new initiatives designed to help reduce barriers to employment and make it easier for people on income support to enter or return to the workforce"
- incl. an extended drug card for singles and families without children, a new liquid assets policy, and a revised rate structure for singles over 29. 
All three measures are effective October 1, 2000 

Strategic Social Plan demonstration projects approved 
July 23, 1999 
Funding available for Strategic Social Plan demonstration projects
May 4, 1999 
Statement by the Minister of Human Resources and Employment concerning
Demonstration Projects under the Strategic Social Plan
May 4, 1999 

March 1999 Budget: 
- Income support and employment initiatives
- New Low Income Seniors' Benefit introduced

Initiatives to improve the financial position of social assistance clients
(January 29,1999) 

Strategic Social Plan (December 1, 1998 Press Release) 

First meeting of Premier's Council on Social Development
Strategic Social Plan Welfare Reform - October 26, 1998 (Executive Council) 

Premier Unveils Strategic Social Plan
(Press Release, August 31, 1998) 

The Strategic Social Plan (SSP) - 1998 blueprint for welfare reform
- includes links to the full report (large file, available only in .PDF format), the press release, application forms for funding of demonstration projects under SSP and the SSP newsletter 

Report of the Social Policy Advisory Committee (April 1, 1997)

- Go to the Newfoundland and Labrador Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/nfbkmrk.htm

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Social advocate encouraged by
commitment to poverty eradication strategy
February 24, 2009
By Jim Day
Talk is cheap when poverty eradication is on the table.
Yet Mary Boyd, one of the province’s most determined social advocates, liked what she heard from those in power last week.
Premier Robert Ghiz and Health and Social Services and Seniors Minister Doug Currie made a brief appearance Thursday at a workshop held by Island organizations Poverty Bites and the MacKillop Centre for Social Justice aimed at renewing efforts for action on the seemingly insurmountable goal of eliminating poverty in P.E.I.
Ghiz urged the group to not let up on government in pushing for change.
“It is important to stay at the forefront of issues,” he told the gathering that consisted of many people Boyd described as the voice of those suffering in poverty.
Source:
The Charlottetown Guardian

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Nova Scotia Poverty Reduction Strategy
April 2009
The Nova Scotia government released its Poverty Reduction Strategy on April 3, 2009.
The strategy provides a framework for addressing the needs of those most vulnerable and those at risk of falling into poverty, while promoting the prosperity necessary for Nova Scotia to grow. The vision for 2020: to break the cycle of poverty by creating opportunities for all Nova Scotians to participate in the prosperity of the province and enjoy a better standard of living.

The three main goals of the strategy are:
1. Enable and reward work
2. Improve supports for those in need
3. Focus on our children
4. Collaborate and coordinate

Poverty Reduction Strategy Released
News release
April 3, 2009
Training low-skilled workers, increasing affordable housing and improving benefits for low-income families are the focus of Nova Scotia's $155 million Poverty Reduction Strategy. Community Services Minister Chris d'Entremont and Labour and Workforce Development Minister Mark Parent introduced the strategy today, April 3, in Kentville. It responds to a series of recommendations from the Poverty Reduction Working Group, which was mandated through legislation supported by all three parties.

Nova Scotia’s Poverty Reduction Strategy:
Preventing Poverty, Promoting Prosperity (PDF - 1.4MB, 45 pages)
- April 2009

Background Information
- includes a brief overview of the 16-month process that preceded the release of the Poverty Reduction Strategy in April 2009, along with links to the Poverty Reduction Working Group Report, the Poverty questionnaire results and a news release on the Working Group's recommendations.

Quotes, quick facts and summary of investments
- includes links (down the right-hand margin of the page) to audio commentary on the Poverty Reduction Strategy by both ministers responsible.

Source:
Community Services
Labour and Workforce Development

Related link:

N.S. anti-poverty plan focuses on housing, retraining
April 3, 2009
The Nova Scotia government is promising to spend millions of dollars on new housing and retraining as part of a multi-year strategy to reduce poverty. Community Services Minister Chris d'Entremont said the idea is to help low-income Nova Scotians by giving them proper shelter and a chance to get a job. Under the $155-million plan, people on income assistance only get a modest increase to offset the cost of living.
Source:
CBC Nova Scotia

---

The Poverty Reduction Strategy Working Group has handed
government its recommendations on how to best tackle poverty in Nova Scotia
News Release
June 26, 2008
Group members come from organizations representing diverse interests, many of which work with people struggling with poverty. The group met every two weeks over the winter and spring to develop recommendations for the province's poverty reduction strategy. It presented its recommendations to Judy Streatch, Minister of Community Services, and Mark Parent, Minister of Labour and Workforce Development, co-leads for the strategy, at a meeting today, June 26.
(...)
Recommendations from the group include improving access to transportation, education and training for low-income Nova Scotians, more support for the disabled, a continued increase in supports to families during the early years of a child's life, a consolidation and enhancement of low-income pharmacare programs, and a change in description of the Employment and Income Assistance Program from a program of last resort to a simple program of support.

Complete report:

Report of the Nova Scotia
Poverty ReductionWorking Group (PDF - 129K, 41 pages)
Draft dated June 26
Target Areas for Action:
* Awareness and Engagement * Employment Supports and Income * Disability Issues * Transportation
* Education and Skills Training * Housing * Child Care and Early Childhood Development * Health

Results of the Poverty Reduction Strategy Questionnaire:
A summary of the public consultation on
poverty reduction in Nova Scotia (PDF - 333K, 17 pages)
May 2008

Source:
Department of Community Services

Related link:

Fighting poverty: Major attitude shift needed
By Katherine Reed
July 10, 2008
The Working Group on Poverty Reduction appointed by the province last December released its draft report recently and immediately invoked the ire of activists by insisting on waiting for a year to actually take action. In a July 1 article in The Chronicle Herald, Wayne McNaughton, co-chair of Community Action on Homelessness, pointedly asked why this was the case and why the government was not ready with costed-out proposals to respond to the report. Why indeed? The measures required to meaningfully address poverty in Nova Scotia are substantial and would only come about as a result of a massive change of attitude and approach. I wonder if anyone has the stomach for it, frankly.
Source:
The Chronicle-Herald (Halifax)

-----------------------------------------

From the Nova Scotia Department of Community Services:

Government Seeks Public Input on Poverty Strategy
News Release
March 5, 2008
The province is inviting the public to share ideas on how to best tackle poverty in Nova Scotia. People are encouraged to fill out a questionnaire on what types of actions can be taken to reduce poverty. The public consultations will help government develop a long-term poverty-reduction strategy for Nova Scotia. The initiative is being co-led by the departments of Community Services and Environment and Labour, in co-operation with a poverty-reduction strategy working group. The group, made up of organizations with diverse interests, will make recommendations on strategy content and implementation.

There are three ways the public can share comments:
-- Fill out a short questionnaire at http://gov.ns.ca/coms/poverty.
-- Fill out the questionnaire at any provincial government building, Department of Community Services office or Access Nova Scotia location.
-- Request a questionnaire or share thoughts by calling, toll-free, 1-888-825-2111.

In November, the first phase of consultations was held with representatives from a diverse range of provincial organizations interested in the fight against poverty. The questionnaire is phase two of the consultations. The public's comments will be added to information gathered from consultations across government on a variety of issues that affect poverty.

NOTE : The consultation ended in March, 2008.

Nova Scotia Poverty Reduction Strategy:
A request for input on how to tackle poverty in Nova Scotia
[ version française ]

A message from the Honourable Judy Streatch,
Minister of Community Services

A message from the Honourable Mark Parent,
Minister of Environment and Labour

Poverty Backgrounder
Research and statistics about poverty in Nova Scotia, including:.
* How is poverty measured in Canada? * What is the low-income cut-off (LICO)? * In Nova Scotia, how many people live in low-income? What about children? * How do Nova Scotia's low-income statistics compare with the rest of Canada? * What are some characteristics of Nova Scotia's low-income population? * Where does Nova Scotia's low-income population live? * Is there any way to tell how poor low-income Nova Scotians are? * Social Trends in Nova Scotia - 2007 * Statistical Links

Related links:

Our Kids Are Worth It: Strategy for Children and Youth
December 3, 2007

Our Framework for Social Prosperity - Weaving the Threads: A Lasting Social Fabric
November 30, 2007

Government to Hold Poverty Reduction Consultations
October 10, 2007
(starting November 1)
The provincial government will hold a series of consultations this fall designed to get the community's input on how to best tackle poverty in Nova Scotia. The consultations will be part of the government's development of a poverty strategy for Nova Scotia. The initiative will be co-led by the departments of Community Services and Environment and Labour.
Source:
Department of Community Services

Poverty fight needs credibility
October 15, 2007
Many Nova Scotians would agree that the province needs a comprehensive anti-poverty strategy, especially to improve the lot of the 19,000 children living below what’s conventionally regarded as the poverty line. But now that the government is promising to develop, one the question is how sincere the Tories are and when we might see such a thing implemented.
The government is planning a two-day consultation with anti-poverty groups and other experts for Nov. 1 and 2, after which a public consultation is planned as well. The government has been studying anti-poverty strategies in jurisdictions such as Newfoundland and Labrador, Quebec and Ireland.
Source:
The Cape Breton Post

Framework for a Poverty Reduction Strategy in Nova Scotia (PDF - 351K, 38 pages)
October 17, 2007
"(...) The framework includes the context, key concepts and strategies that will be necessary to reduce poverty in Nova Scotia."
Source:
Nova Scotia Poverty Reduction Strategy Coalition

- Go to the Nova Scotia Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/nsbkmrk.htm

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Saint John poverty reduction session to be held March 23
March 5, 2009
SAINT JOHN (CNB) - Saint John-area residents have another opportunity to take part in the New Brunswick Poverty Reduction Initiative. An additional dialogue session will be held on Monday, March 23, 6:30-9:30 p.m., at the Somerset Community Centre, 100 Ropewalk St., in Saint John. (...) The dialogue sessions are part of Bringing the pieces together, a comprehensive public consultation enabling New Brunswickers to become involved in reducing and preventing poverty. The initiative is being carried out in three stages: a dialogue phase; a round-table phase; and a final forum phase. The process is expected to be completed later this year. The result will be a plan to reduce and prevent poverty. Thirteen sessions have been held during the past six weeks. About 1,500 persons have participated, either by attending the sessions or providing input through the website, http://www.gnb.ca/poverty.
Source:
New Brunswick Social Development

-----------------------------

From New Brunswick Social Development:

Public engagement initiative:
Developing a poverty reduction plan
Launched October 17, 2008
The provincial government is bringing people together to find ways to reduce poverty in New Brunswick. It is acting as a co-ordinator by providing logistics and resources to enable a dialogue to take place.
Government will participate as an equal partner in the dialogue. Issues will be debated. Solutions will be identified. A consensus will develop on the appropriate actions to reduce poverty in New Brunswick.
New Brunswickers, community non-profit organizations and the business sector are invited to be a partner and participate in the dialogue.

- includes links to:
1. Getting Started - Questionnaire - Fall 2008 to Fall 2009
2. Your Views on Poverty - Fall 2008 to March 31, 2009
3. Dialogue Sessions - Winter 2009
4. Round Table Sessions - Fall 2009
5. Final Forum - Fall 2009
* much more...

News Release:
New Brunswickers invited to help reduce poverty
October 17, 2008
MONCTON (CNB) - The provincial government is inviting New Brunswickers to become involved in the development of a poverty reduction plan. (...) The province is launching a public engagement initiative called Bringing The Pieces Together, which will give New Brunswickers the opportunity to become involved in reducing and preventing poverty. This initiative, to be completed by the end of 2009, will be conducted in three stages: a dialogue phase; a round table phase; and a final forum phase. The result will be the publication of a poverty reduction plan for New Brunswick.

Booklet - A Poverty Reduction Plan (PDF - 267K, 8 pages)
October 2008
Background

Fact Check - Poverty in New Brunswick
October 2008
* People * Income * Costs * Employment / Pensions * Community Services

A snapshot of New Brunswick
October 2008
* People * Work * Education * Housing * Health * Community Services

---

Common Front for Social Justice (CFSJ) Press Conference (PDF - 113K, 3 pages)
October 30, 2008
"The Common Front for Social Justice [is] interested in the initiative presented by the Minister of Social Development in her endeavour to launch a Poverty Reduction Plan and for her decision to have public participation, including people living in poverty. However, let us be clear, the process to develop this plan will take over one year and there is nothing right now to address immediate problems. (...) We urge the present government to adopt immediate measures to alleviate the sufferings of people and to allow them to have a minimum amount of comfort throughout the winter months. In our view, the government must adopt measures, as soon as possible, in four specific areas:
- heating costs,
- current legislation regarding minimum wage,
- basic welfare rates, and
- housing assistance."
Source:
Press releases (links to 30 releases going back to 2003)
[ Common Front for Social Justice ]
The Common Front for Social Justice is fighting to build a more human society based on the respect and dignity of all. We want a New Brunswick without poverty. We want a society which give each and everyone a decent living, in particular by having a minimum wage and social income on which citizens can to live on and not just exist.
[ more CFSJ Documents ]

Poverty is everybody's business in N.B.
October 2, 2008
By Elsie Hambrook
Nasty prejudices still get in the way of concerted action on poverty. Some people paint all the poor with the same brush. They think the poor are "lazy" or "irresponsible", that if they made different choices, worked harder or "smarter", they could pull themselves out of poverty. Denial is also a stumbling block, as in "I'd never go on welfare, it'll never happen to me." The reality is that many people work full-time but earn less than the poverty line, juggle part-time or seasonal jobs, education and training along with family responsibilities and still can't make ends meet. For some New Brunswickers, poverty is as close as a few missed paycheques, the result of a separation or divorce for women, or of an illness or disability that strikes before the Old Age Pension kicks in.
Source:
Times & Transcript
[ Author Elsie Hambrook is the new Chairperson of the
New Brunswick Advisory Council on the Status of Women ]

Related link:

Shouldn't we have a plan to reduce poverty?
A Woman's View (PDF - 63K, 2 pages)
We should be hard-headed about poverty in New Brunswick – “hard-headed” as in focussed and scientific about finding and doing what works to eliminate poverty. Some current poverty programs, here and in other jurisdictions, may have the effect of keeping people poor, for all the care that goes into what gets called a “poverty program”. What is worse, effective programs may be undone by other initiatives, given the lack of coordination and of monitoring.
From the column by Ginette Petitpas-Taylor
Former Chairperson of the
New Brunswick Advisory Council on the Status of Women
in the Times & Transcript, July 17, 2008.

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NOTA: vous trouverez les liens ci-dessous en français sur la page de liens du Québec pour francophones:
http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/qcbkmrk.htm

----------------------------

National Strategy to Combat Poverty and Social Exclusion
With its National Strategy to Combat Poverty and Social Exclusion, under the theme, “The Will to Act, The Strength to Succeed”, the Québec government intends to progressively transform Québec, over a ten-year period, into one of the industrialized societies with the least poverty.
- incl. links to: * Summary of consultation process * Bill * Parliamentary committee * Useful links * Policy statement * Summary of policy statement * Report on government action

Source:
Ministère de l'Emploi et de la Solidarité sociale (English home page)

Among its many provisions, the statute establishes two related entities: a multisectoral advisory body to oversee the implementation of the Action Plan and an "observatory" where information on poverty and social exclusion is collected and disseminated. These two entities are discussed below.

Comité consultatif de lutte contre la pauvreté et l’exclusion sociale
(Advisory committee in the strategy against poverty, set up under the National Strategy)
- incl. links to : Comité consultatif (About) - Initiatives to combat poverty and social exclusion - Feedback - Press releases - Publications - Useful links
---
NOTE: The Comité consultatif is a public body whose role is to advise the Québec Minister responsible for the application of the Action Plan to combat poverty and social exclusion. This mission is not unlike that of the National Council of Welfare (NCW) at the federal government level with respect to the Minister responsible for Human Resources and Social Development Canada, that is, to represent the interests of all Canadians in offering counsel to the HRSDC Minister in all matters relating to social development. Both the Comité consultatif and the NCW carry out evaluations and other studies, and they present their views and and recommendations directly to the Minister responsible and also to the public. Both groups also monitor the social policies of their respective governments with a special focus on the impacts of new policies on the incidence of poverty and social exclusion.

Centre d’étude sur la pauvreté et l’exclusion (CEPE)
(Centre for the study of poverty and exclusion)
The Centre d’étude sur la pauvreté et l’exclusion is an observation, research and discussion centre entrusted with providing reliable and rigourous information, notably of a statistical nature, on poverty and social exclusion issues. Created within the context of the Act to combat poverty and social exclusion, the CEPE acts under the aegis of the Ministère de l'Emploi et de la Solidarité sociale (MESS) and is managed in collaboration with a steering committee composed of members working in the academic research or government sector, or working with people who are experiencing poverty or social exclusion.
- incl. links to:
* Introduction to the CEPE * Statistics * Research activities * Publications * Lexicon * Useful links

Comité consultatif de lutte contre la pauvreté et l’exclusion sociale (CCLP) - English page
[Consultative Committee on the Strategy to Combat Poverty and Social Exclusion]
"...The primary role of this committee is to advise the Government of Québec on the actions implemented under the National Strategy to Combat Poverty and Social Exclusion."

More selected reports from the
Centre d’étude sur la pauvreté et l’exclusion and the
Comité consultatif de lutte contre la pauvreté et l’exclusion sociale

Release of the first recommendation of the
Comité consultatif de lutte contre la pauvreté et l’exclusion sociale
April 3, 2008
Rates that exclude, solutions that unite
The advisory committee makes its first recommendation
Today, April 3, 2008, in Montréal, the chair of the Comité consultatif de lutte contre la pauvreté et l'exclusion sociale, Mr. Tommy Kulczyk, addressed the repercussions of rate increases on the living conditions of low-income individuals with the release of the advisory committee’s first recommendation. The committee illustrates how rate increases on basic commodities like heating, electricity and transportation compromise the ability of the impoverished and socially excluded to integrate society. These increases contribute to social exclusion by forcing these people to spend too much of their meagre resources on basic commodities and increasing their isolation.
The members of the advisory committee feel there is an urgent need to act on a situation that is creating a breach in the efforts made by Québec to fight poverty and social exclusion. The committee has drawn up eleven unifying recommendations comprising short-, medium- and long-term actions that are fully sustainable in approach.

L’urgence d’agir relativement aux répercussions des hausses tarifaires (PDF - 46K, 2 pages) - available in French only.
Communiqué
Montréal, le 3 avril 2008 – Le président du Comité consultatif de lutte contre la pauvreté et l’exclusion sociale, M. Tommy Kulczyk, a rendu public aujourd’hui le premier avis de cet organisme créé pour conseiller le ministre responsable de la mise en œuvre de la Loi visant à lutter contre la pauvreté et l’exclusion sociale sur les actions à entreprendre pour lutter contre la pauvreté et l’exclusion sociale. Cet avis s’intitule « Des tarifs qui excluent… Des solutions qui rassemblent ».

Les répercussions des hausses tarifaires sur les
conditions de vie des personnes à faible revenu (PDF - 1.1MB, 28 pages) - currently (April 6/08) available in French only (although a note on the inside cover page states that "this document is available in English; check the Committee's English home page to see if the English has now been posted on their site.)

Source:
Comité consultatif de lutte contre la pauvreté et l’exclusion sociale (CCLP) - (English home page)
[Consultative Committee on the Strategy to Combat Poverty and Social Exclusion]

Related link:

Quebec poor getting poorer: report
April 3, 2008
By Kristy Rich
QUEBEC CITY - The Quebec government must do more to protect the buying power of the poor from the rising costs of living, says a government advisory commitee created to ensure the government is respecting its Anti-Poverty Law. Though the cost of electricity and public transit are increasing, committee Chair Tommy Kulcyzk says the government has not fully indexed welfare payments.(..) The report's 11 recommendations include compensating welfare recipients for the cost of increasing tariffs by comparative increases in their sales tax refund; and cutting the cost of public transit fares in half over the next decade.
Source:
CJAD (Montreal AM radio)

Recent CEPE reports:

February 7, 2008
Report on low incomes in Québec
This document describes poverty trends in recent years and the proportion of low-income family units among Quebecers, the gap between their income and low-income thresholds, the duration of their situation, and their main sociodemographic and economic characteristics. More detailed information is provided about unattached persons and last-resort financial assistance recipients.
Details and document
Press release (PDF, 94 ko) (French)

February 7, 2008
New "Other Documents" section
You can now consult the new Other Documents section, which comprises a number of documents that are considered to provide important information for understanding poverty-related phenomena.

February 7, 2008
Strategic plan for anti-poverty research and knowledge transfer
The purpose of this strategy is to increase research efforts aimed at a fuller understanding of the problem of poverty and to contribute to producing lasting solutions. The strategy insists on the importance of knowledge transfer and appropriation and the need to make research results known and easy to access.
Details and document

Related reports:

-------------------------------------

Éliminer la pauvreté : ce que peuvent faire les gouvernements (PDF - 316Ko, 9 pages)
[Available in French only]
Alain Noël, PhD
Université de Montréal
Le 17 avril 2008
« (...) Collectivement, nous devrons également garder à l'esprit que pour éradiquer la pauvreté, il ne suffit pas de miser sur la croissance économique et sur l'emploi.
Il faut aussi redistribuer le revenu. »
Source:
Petits déjeuners sur la Colline
[ Fédération canadienne des sciences humaines ]

NOTE to Anglophones:

In his April 17 presentation, Éliminer la pauvreté : ce que peuvent faire les gouvernements (What governments can do to eliminate poverty), Political Science Professor Alain Noël offers some interesting insights into poverty reduction/elimination in other countries and in Canada, with a special focus on Québec and Newfoundland and Labrador, the two provinces that already have a poverty reduction strategy in place. He also speaks about the recent resurgence of public interest in poverty reduction in Canada and on the world scene, and he suggests that the federal government needs to step up to the plate in terms of its poverty reduction efforts in areas such as Employment Insurance, income security for Canada's seniors, equalization, taxation and Aboriginal people.

Professor Noël's presentation (PDF - 316K, 9 pages) is available in French only.

Source:
Breakfast on the Hill Series (English home page)
NOTE: click the link above to access 46 presentations in the Breakfast on the Hill series, going right back to 1996.
[ Canadian Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences ]

From the Family Network
[Canadian Policy Research Networks ]

A Focus on Income Support: Implementing Quebec's Law Against Poverty and Social Exclusion
May 28, 2004
Commentary (13 pages)
by Alain Noël
"For the time being, it is probably good to praise an effort that was not expected and that appears, in many ways, well intentioned and valuable. From now on, however, the combat will have to continue, not only against poverty and social exclusion, but also against prejudices and a perennial lack of vision."
- assessment of the Charest government's action plan against poverty and social exclusion in Quebec (which was released on April 2) by Alain Noël, who prepared an essay on the original anti-poverty law late in 2002 (see the link below)
- comprehensive, detailed info on the new action plan, including welfare reforms taking effect over the coming year
[Click on the link above , then (on the next page), on the word "Download" under the author's name to open the document in PDF format]

A Law Against Poverty: Quebec’s New Approach to Combating Poverty and Social Exclusion
by Alain Noël
December 2002
Full Report (PDF file - 554 K, 11 pages)
"On December 13, 2002, the National Assembly in Quebec unanimously adopted a law to “combat poverty and social exclusion.” Bill 112 is a framework law that includes a National Strategy to Combat Poverty and Social Exclusion, a fund to support social initiatives, an “Observatory,” and an Advisory Committee on the Prevention of Poverty and Social Exclusion. This new law is unique in North America, and it constitutes a significant political innovation, if only because it makes poverty reduction an explicit and central policy priority. The bill is also the result of a remarkable process of collective action and public deliberation."

From the Collective for a Poverty-Free Québec

The Collective is a Quebec non-governmental organization whose aim is to promote a law that would eradicate poverty in the province. Visit the Collective's site to see the draft law to eliminate poverty.
[NOTE: the French version is more complete and current]

The Quebec Government Action Plan to combat poverty
Forward, backward, sideways...
April 18, 2004
"Social activists outside Québec will have been impressed by the Action Plan and by the impact of the Act to Combat Poverty and Social Exclusion that mandated its publication. How could it have ever happened without such a law that a right-wing government invests, during its first year in office, the better part of $2.5 billion in direct improvements to the revenues of people living in poverty ?"

From the Canadian Council on Social Development(CCSD):

The fight against poverty: A model law
"An excellent article by Camil Bouchard and Marie-France Raynault on Quebec’s ground-breaking anti-poverty law recently appeared in Le Devoir."
January 22, 2003

Quebec Renews Fight Against Poverty
June 2002
"On June 12, the Government of Quebec tabled a bill in the National Assembly aimed at establishing a strategy for poverty reduction in the province. This is a major step as Quebec takes the lead in putting poverty back on the public (and legislative) agenda."
- incl. links to five key documents

- Rendez-vous à la page de liens de recherche sociale au Québec: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/qcbkmrk.htm

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The links below are, for the most part, organized in reverse chronological order, with the most recent additions at the top.

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Ontario Social Assistance Review
On December 4, 2008, the Ontario government released its Poverty Reduction Strategy. The Strategy made a commitment to “undertake a review of social assistance” (p30). But what this means is still unclear. The government has not yet released any terms of reference for the Review – so there is no indication how it will proceed, who will lead it, or how people with lived experience and local communities can be involved. But we know it won’t be enough for the Review to simply tinker with program rules, changing bits and pieces here and there. Ontario Works and the Ontario Disability Support Program are built on a foundation of ideas that work against the principle of poverty reduction.
- incl. links to: About - Take Action - Tell Your Story - Resources - News
Source:
Income Security Advocacy Centre

Related links:

Are welfare laws oppressing the poor?
Activists say old social assistance rules hurt disabled, drive people further into poverty
June 24, 2009
By Laurie Monsebraaten
"(...) Queen's Park had promised to review the [welfare] system this year as part of its groundbreaking poverty reduction plan, released in December. The government repeated the pledge in its March budget but has yet to say when the review will start, how broad it will be and how the community will participate. A spokesperson for social services minister Madeleine Meilleur, whose ministry will lead the review, said the government is still committed to the initiative and "eager" to get started but has yet to determine its scope. (...) Ontario's social assistance system must be part of the government's strategy for a prosperous Ontario, said Mary Marrone, legal director for the Income Security Advocacy Centre, which staged the forum [Toronto Forum on welfare reform, held June 23].
Source:
The Toronto Star

2009 Research Roundtable Proceedings
June 14, 2009
On Tuesday, March 3, Social Planning Toronto hosted its 2009 Research Roundtable: “Research for Social Change”. The event brought together more than 125 community-based, government and academic researchers, policy analysts and activists to share information on current research initiatives, discuss opportunities for collaboration, and exchange ideas for using research to advance social change and challenge poverty in Ontario. The Roundtable provided an opportunity to share perspectives on poverty-reduction research from our various vantage points – inside and outside of government – broadly focused around Ontario’s Poverty Reduction Strategy (PRS).

Download the full proceedings (Microsoft Word format - 381K, 39 pages)

Source:
Social Planning Toronto
Social Planning Toronto is committed to independent social planning at the local and city-wide levels in order to improve the quality of life for all people in Toronto. It is committed to diversity, social and economic justice, and active citizen participation in all aspects of community life.

Town Hall a success as Toronto families remind MPs: Good jobs and public services reduce poverty
Repairing EI, establishing a national public child care program, good green jobs and investment in affordable housing identified as priorities at community town hall meeting.
June 2, 2009
TORONTO-On Monday evening, more than 100 people participated in a town hall meeting held to get input from community members who will not be given an opportunity to address Parliamentary hearings about the federal role in poverty reduction.

Related link:

Economic road bumps no excuse to slow down on poverty reduction
September 16, 2008
TORONTO - A coalition of over 100 organizations across Ontario (see the next item below from Poverty Watch Ontario) are urging Premier Dalton McGuinty to follow through on his promise to actively and comprehensively address poverty in this province. "The threat of an economic downturn makes leadership on poverty reduction more important than ever," said 25 in 5 spokesperson Jacquie Maund, of Ontario Campaign 2000. "And it's a signal that we can't afford to delay implementation of a plan."
Source:
CNW Group (formerly Canada Newswire)

The report:

Summary Report:
Ontario Poverty Reduction Strategy Consultations
(March-August 2008) (PDF - 101K, 15 pages)
September 8, 2008

Source:
Poverty Watch Ontario
Poverty Watch Ontario is a joint initiative of the Social Planning Network of Ontario, Ontario Campaign 2000 and the Income Security Advocacy Centre. These organizations have partnered since early 2008 to promote a cross-Ontario community dialogue on a poverty reduction strategy for the province.

Related links:

25 in 5 Network for Poverty Reduction
25-in-5: Network for Poverty Reduction is a multi-sectoral network comprised of more than 100 provincial and Toronto-based organizations and individuals working on eliminating poverty. (...) We are asking our government for a plan to reduce Ontario poverty levels by 25% in 5 years and by 50% before 2018

Social Planning Network of Ontario
The Social Planning Network of Ontario (SPNO) is a coalition of social planning councils (SPC), community development councils (CDC), resource centres, and planning committees located in various communities throughout Ontario.

Ontario Campaign 2000
Ontario Campaign 2000 is a provincial partner in Campaign 2000, with 66 member organizations across the province.
[ Campaign 2000 ]

Income Security Advocacy Centre
The Income Security Advocacy Centre works with and on behalf of low income communities in Ontario to address issues of income security and poverty.

From the Government of Ontario:

YOUR TWO CENTS' WORTH, PLEASE!!

1. First, read the poverty reduction brochure:
Growing Stronger Together:
Ontario's Poverty Reduction Plan (PDF - 288K, 9 pages)
"Because together we can make a difference"

2. Then click the link below and complete the short questionnaire
and return it to the government by email, regular mail or fax.

Help Us Tackle Poverty
"Your answers to these questions will help us move forward with a plan that delivers more opportunities for success for Ontario families."
This link takes you to a six-question survey that you can complete and submit for consideration by the Ontario Government Committee that's working on the province's poverty reduction strategy.
PDF version of the questionnaire (24K, 2 pages) - download and complete the questionnaire, then send it in by mail [ Growing Stronger Together, Whitney Block, Room 4620, 99 Wellesley Street West, Toronto, ON - M7A 1A1 ] - or by fax (416-314-0367)

Email: growingstronger@ontario.ca
Telephone (Toll Free): 1-866-614-5953
TTY: 1-800-387-5559

Cabinet Committee on Poverty Reduction
"(...) Members will work to develop poverty indicators and targets, and a focused strategy for reducing child poverty and lifting more families out of poverty. The goal of this committee is to make progress in the fight against poverty over the course of the government's four-year mandate."

New from the Ontario Association of Food Banks:

Ontario's Food Banks present plan to cut poverty in half by 2020
News Release
August 19, 2008
The Ontario Association of Food Banks (OAFB) released a new report today, entitled Our Choice for a Better Ontario, in response to a call for submissions from the provincial government's Cabinet Committee on Poverty Reduction. The report sets a goal of cutting poverty in half by 2020 through a renewed investment by the federal and provincial governments.

Complete report:

Related link:

We must spend to fight poverty: report
Low-fee credit unions for the poor and a plan to help low-income households pay for heat and hydro are among a broad series of initiatives needed to fight poverty in Ontario, say the province's food banks in a report released recently. Cutting poverty in half by 2020 would lift more than half a million Ontarians out of poverty and should be the McGuinty government's "commitment of a generation," says the report by the Ontario Association of Food Banks.
Source:
Sudbury Star
September 2, 2008

- Go to the Food Banks and Hunger Links page:
http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/foodbkmrk.htm

From the 2008 Ontario Budget (March 25, 2008):

Ontario Poverty Reduction Strategy
The government’s Cabinet Committee on Poverty Reduction, chaired by the Honourable Deb Matthews, Minister of Children and Youth Services, will focus on expanding opportunities for those living in poverty. It will develop a focused poverty reduction strategy with measures, indicators and reasonable targets by the end of 2008. The Committee will review how best to organize and align the current system of supports to ensure more effective investment and more efficient administration. The government will work with communities and other governments to expand opportunity for all Ontarians and reduce poverty over the long term.
- includes info on the following early initiatives under the Poverty Reduction Strategy : * Dental Care for Low-Income Families * Student Nutrition Program * Parenting and Family Literacy Centres * Making Education More Affordable
Source:
Budget 2008 Papers, Chapter 1, Section C:
A Better Future for Families: Improving Quality of Life
- also includes info on : * Investing in Social Housing * Asset-Building Strategy for Low-Income Ontarians * Increased Support for Social Assistance * Minimum Wage * Senior Homeowners’ Property Tax Grants * Ontario Property and Sales Tax Credits for Seniors * more...

Supporting Families Receiving Social Assistance (chart and descriptive text)
"(...) proposing to increase the basic adult allowance and maximum shelter allowance by two per cent in 2008–09."

Source:
Ontario Ministry of Finance

From the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty (OCAP)

Ontario: 'Poverty Reduction'? Reforming without Reforms in a Neoliberal World
by John Clarke
June 30, 2008
"(...)Clearly, the present round of Ontario Government consultations on poverty can't be wished away. It is dominating the political landscape in Ontario at the moment. In OCAP, we deplore this fact but have to recognize it. At present, we can only present our point of view and realize that we are not able to transfer community energy from talking with Liberals to mobilizing against them. However, there is one obvious limitation to the government's consultation strategy. At a certain point, the talking has to stop and the results of the process must be revealed. At that time, the striking lack of progress on poverty reduction is going to hit people in the face."
Source:
Centre for Global Research
The Centre for Research on Globalisation (CRG) is an independent research and media group of writers, scholars, journalists and activists. Based in Montreal, the CRG is a registered non profit organization in the province of Quebec.

[ more Canadian content from CRG ]

Related link:

Ontario Coalition Against Poverty (OCAP)
OCAP is a direct-action anti-poverty organization based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. We mount campaigns against regressive government policies as they affect poor and working people.
[John Clarke, author of the above article, is with OCAP.]

From the Income Security Advocacy Centre (Toronto):

Ending Poverty in Ontario:
Building Capacity and Organizing for Change
A Workshop for Engaging Low Income People (PDF - 980K, 116 pages)
Spring 2008
This manual has been developed to assist facilitators to hold community-based workshops with low income people and other community members active in ending poverty. The workshop is designed to encourage discussion about what is needed to end poverty in Ontario, and to identify actions that can be taken within your community. (...) Campaign 2000 and ISAC will be working with community partners to deliver these workshops in Thunder Bay, Ottawa, Sault Ste. Marie, Owen Sound, Windsor, and Toronto, and will be producing a “Call to Action” report at the end of 2008 for government and the community.
NOTE : On the ISAC Resources page, you'll find links to the Word version of individual sections of the manual, along with over three dozen more Public Education Materials, Policy Papers and Legal Documents
Source:
A joint project of the Income Security Advocacy Centre (ISAC) and
Campaign 2000 (a cross-Canada public education movement to build Canadian awareness and support for the 1989 all-party House of Commons resolution to end child poverty in Canada by the year 2000.)

Make your voice heard on Social Assistance (PDF - 36K, 2 pages)
- May 2008

Action Alert: Poverty Reduction Consultations (Word file - 60K, 3 pages)
- May 2008

Action Alert:
Back-to-school and Winter Clothing allowances end in 2008 (Word file - 49K, 2 pages)
- May 2008

OW and ODSP Recipients Should File 2007 Tax Returns (PDF - 32K, 1 page)
- April 2008

Source:
The Income Security Advocacy Centre (ISAC)
ISAC was established in 2001 by Legal Aid Ontario to serve low income Ontarians by conducting test case and Charter litigation relating to provincial and federal income security programs.. (...) ISAC's legal work takes place in the broader context of law reform, public legal education and community development.

Related links:

25-in-5: Network for Poverty Reduction
25-in-5: Network for Poverty Reduction is a multi-sectoral network comprised of more than 100 provincial and Toronto-based organizations and individuals working on eliminating poverty. We have organized ourselves around the call for a Poverty Reduction Plan with a goal to reduce poverty in Ontario by 25% in 5 years and 50% in 10 years.
Source:
Community Social Planning Council of Toronto

From The Toronto Star:

Ontario : 'Have the guts to help,' poor tell the province
June 10, 2008
(...) Some 1.3 million Ontarians live in poverty and the Liberals have promised to have a poverty-reduction strategy – and targets to measure the government's progress – in place by year's end. Ontarians had their first chance to publicly air their views on the government's plans at three meetings yesterday across the city of Toronto attended by Liberal MPPs.

The buzz about bee stings and the poor
June 7, 2008
Laurie Monsebraaten
A provocative new book argues you can't do anything for yourself when you're being swarmed by bees. It's just an analogy, but author and philosopher Charles Karelis's take on poverty is a stinging refutation of generations of social policy.

Child poverty crusade
Editorial
June 2, 2008
The late June Callwood was a tireless activist who until her death last year fought and won many battles. Her last great crusade was to eradicate child poverty in Canada. So it is fitting that her birthday today has been declared June Callwood Children's Day in Ontario. As Premier Dalton McGuinty sees it, we should take the opportunity "to commit ourselves to action."

Gap between passion and revenue
May 23, 2008
Carol Goar
Expectations are running high. Revenues are running low. And Premier Dalton McGuinty has decreed that there will be no deficit and no tax increases. Yet Deb Matthews, who heads the cabinet committee drafting Ontario's poverty reduction strategy, is defiantly sanguine

Determining a deprivation index
Daily Bread Food Bank using survey to develop 'economic strain' guide for poverty in Ontario
April 19, 2008
By Laurie Monsebraaten

Defining poverty
April 19, 2008
As the province grapples with that question, the Star asked dozens of local experts. Here are their answers.

Definition of poverty stalls federal committee
April 16, 2008
By Joanna Smith
OTTAWA–The federal government should hurry up and define poverty so it can move on to doing something about it, said witnesses at a parliamentary committee laying the foundation for a national poverty strategy yesterday.

Getting together to fight poverty
April 15, 2008
A disparate coalition of more than 100 individuals and anti-poverty groups has done what many thought was impossible by agreeing on the broad strokes of a poverty reduction strategy for Ontario.

MPs from all parties set to tackle poverty
Committee plans to look at Regent Park's success with education program
April 4, 2008
By Richard Brennan
OTTAWA–A parliamentary committee is setting out to establish the framework for a national poverty strategy by meeting with groups and individuals across Canada already doing their bit to help the poor. The Human Resources and Social Development Committee decided yesterday it is high time for a plan, which would ultimately require federal government approval, to tackle the growing problem.

Source:
War on Poverty: Special Coverage
[ The Toronto Star ]

Campaign for poverty reduction building momentum
April 5, 2008
By Peter Clutterbuck, Social Planning Network of Ontario
Sustaining employment. Livable Incomes. Strong and supportive communities. When it comes to tackling poverty, these are the core messages that are emerging from communities across Ontario. The Social Planning Network of Ontario is currently traversing the province to build support for a bold poverty reduction vision. Local social planning members and community partners in 12 cities are bringing together Ontarians from all walks of life to discuss the best way to move forward on an anti-poverty plan.
Source:
Social Planning Network of Ontario
The Social Planning Network of Ontario (SPNO) is a coalition of social planning councils (SPC), community development councils (CDC), resource centres, and planning committees located in various communities throughout Ontario. Each of the individual organizations has their own mandates but are connected in the cause of effecting change on social policies, conditions, and issues.
- incl. links to : * Home * News * Reports * Links * FAQs * About Us * Contact Us

New Measures to Tackle Poverty, Build Opportunity:
McGuinty Government Helps More Low-Income Families Get Ahead
News Release
March 17, 2008
Ontario's plan for a strong economy includes supporting low-income families so that everyone can have the opportunity to succeed in the 21st century economy.
- The government will invest $135 million over three years in a dental care plan for low-income families. (...)
- The Student Nutrition Program will be doubled with a three-year $32-million investment to expand existing services. (...)
- repairs to about 4,000 affordable housing units - another $100 million will be provided this year

Related Backgrounder:

McGuinty Government Announces
Three Priority Programs To Kickstart Poverty Reduction Strategy
March 17, 2008
- incl. more detailed info on the three new/enhanced initiatives in the news release above.

Related links:

Income Security Advocacy Centre's Response
to the Ontario Government's Poverty Announcement (PDF file - 36K, 1 page)
Press Release
March 17, 2008
Premier’s Poverty Reduction Announcement:
“A Good Start, but a Long Way to Go”
Toronto – Calling the Premier’s Poverty Reduction announcement “a good start,” Mary Marrone, Director of Advocacy & Legal Services at ISAC, said, “But they’ve got a long way to go.” The Income Security Advocacy Centre is a specialized community legal clinic with a provincial mandate to improve the income security of people living in Ontario through test case litigation, policy advocacy and community organizing. The Premier’s office announced funding for three priority programs this morning as a ‘kickstart’ to a Poverty Reduction Strategy, expected by the end of 2008.
Source:
Income Security Advocacy Centre (ISAC)

Transcript of the Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs
January 21, 2008
Pre-budget consultations, including several presentations dealing with the Ontario Poverty Reduction Strategy.
- incl. submissions by : HUGH MACKENZIE * ONTARIO LONG TERM CARE ASSOCIATION * INCOME SECURITY ADVOCACY CENTRE * CANADIAN BANKERS ASSOCIATION * MYCHOICE.CA * CAMPAIGN 2000 * WELLESLEY INSTITUTE * CANADIAN FEDERATION OF STUDENTS-ONTARIO * ONTARIO NON-PROFIT HOUSING ASSOCIATION * 25 IN 5: NETWORK FOR POVERTY REDUCTION *TORONTO AND YORK REGION LABOUR COUNCIL * more...

Report of the Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs
PRE-BUDGET CONSULTATION 2008 (PDF - 2.4MB, 74 pages)
March 17, 2008
This report is an overview of the main issues raised by presenters during the pre-Budget consultation.

From Campaign 2000:

Work isn't working for Ontario Families
Poverty Reduction requires a Jobs Strategy, says Campaign 2000
News alert
May 12, 2008
Toronto – In the face of mounting evidence on the role of the labour market in family poverty, today Campaign 2000, the coalition working to end child and family poverty, joined with the Toronto & York Region Labour Council and the Canadian Labour Congress (Ontario Region) to call for the inclusion of a good jobs strategy in the provincial Poverty Reduction Strategy. Their joint report, Work Isn’t Working for Ontario Families: The Role of Good Jobs in Ontario’s Poverty Reduction Strategy establishes that many Ontario parents cannot achieve financial security for their families not because they can’t find work, but because they can’t find a good job.

Complete report:

Work Isn’t Working for Ontario Families:
The Role of Good Jobs in Ontario’s Poverty Reduction Strategy (PDF - 180K, 28 pages)

Media release: Campaign 2000 comments on 2008 Ontario Budget
25 Mar 08
The anti-poverty coalition Campaign 2000 is encouraged to see the Ontario 2008 budget include a number of measures that reflect the Government’s commitment to address poverty.

Media release: Poverty Reduction Missing from Budget
26 Feb 08
The federal budget passed up the chance to offer the almost 800,000 children living in poverty in Canada a shot at a better life, says Campaign 2000, the national coalition of over 120 partners working to end child and family poverty in Canada.

Media release:Time for Initial Steps in Poverty Reduction Strategy
20 Jan 08
Campaign 2000 Calls for a Down Payment on Poverty Reduction in the 2008 Budget.

A Poverty Plan for Ontario - from Ontario Campaign 2000
- includes links to Ontario Campaign 2000's pre-budget submission to the Ontario Standing Committee on Finance & Economic Affairs Pre-Budget Hearings(January 2008), the July 2007 discussion paper proposing a poverty reduction strategy for Ontario (see the link immediately below) and the 2006 Report card on child and family poverty in Ontario (plus links to child and family poverty reports for earlier years).

A poverty reduction strategy for Ontario (PDF file - 396K, 14 pages)
July 2007
"This discussion paper outlines what a Poverty Reduction Strategy for Ontario should look like, based on lessons learned from success in the United Kingdom and other jurisdictions. It identifies indicators for measuring poverty, targets and timelines for poverty reduction, and outlines the key components of an action plan."
Source:
Ontario Campaign 2000
- includes links to many more poverty reduction papers from Ontario Campaign 2000.

25-in-5: Network for Poverty Reduction
25-in-5: Network for Poverty Reduction is a multi-sectoral network comprised of more than 100 provincial and Toronto-based organizations and individuals working on eliminating poverty. We have organized ourselves around the call for a Poverty Reduction Plan with a goal to reduce poverty in Ontario by 25% in 5 years and 50% in 10 years.

25-in-5 Resources - links to websites and reports (local, provincial, national and international) on the subject of poverty reduction

Source:
Community Social Planning Council of Toronto

Time for a Fair Deal: Report of the Task Force on
Modernizing Income Security for Working-Age Adults (PDF file - 282K, 67 pages)
May 2006
Recommended income security reforms for Canada and Ontario:
- Reform Employment Insurance to address the significant decline in coverage of the unemployed and the related decline in access to employment supports and training.
- Create a new refundable tax benefit consisting of a basic tax credit for all low-income working-age adults and a working income supplement for low-income wage earners.
- Create a new national disability income support program for persons whose disabilities are so substantial that they are unlikely to enter the paid labour force.
- Increase the National Child Benefit to an adequate level.
- Establish an independent provincial body, with representation from labour and employers, to recommend periodic increases to the minimum wage and monitor the employment and economic effects.
- Implement an integrated child benefit platform for all low-income parents with children that pays benefits outside the social assistance system.
- Provide basic health (prescription drugs and vision care) and dental coverage to low-income workers.

Source:
Task Force on Modernizing Income Security for Working Age Adults ("MISWAA")
MISWAA was formed in the fall of 2004 by the Toronto City Summit Alliance, a broad-based coalition of civic leaders in the Toronto region, and by St. Christopher House, a multi-service neighbourhood centre that works with low-income people in Toronto. The Task Force is a diverse group made-up of over fifty experts and leaders from major employers, policy institutes, labour unions, academia, community organizations, advocacy groups, foundations and governments, as well as individuals with first-hand knowledge of income security programs.

[ More MISWAA papers ]

- Go to the Ontario Government Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/onbkmrk.htm

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ALL Aboard: Manitoba’s Poverty Reduction Strategy
"Our goal is to continuously reduce poverty and increase social inclusion."
On May 21, 2009, Manitoba announced its poverty reduction strategy, ALL Aboard, which formalizes and builds upon poverty reduction efforts underway in the province.
- incl. links to : *ALL Aboard Report * ALL Aboard News Release * HOMEWorks! Homeless Strategy * Housing and Supports for People with Mental Illness * Contacts

AllAboard - Manitoba’s Poverty Reduction Strategy (PDF - 562K, 8 pages)
In Manitoba, we believe that all people deserve a high quality of life and the opportunity to realize their potential.
Taking action to reduce poverty is the right thing to do.
Source:
Manitoba Family Services and Housing

---

Manitoba’s poverty reduction plan:
All Aboard – Destination Unknown (PDF - 500K, 2 pages)
June 22, 2009
On May 21st, the Manitoba government released All Aboard: Manitoba’s Poverty Reduction Strategy. The 8-page glossy document outlines some solid “values and guiding principles” that provide a foundation for a plan, as well as a list of initiatives that the NDP government has introduced since first elected in 1999. (...) However, All Aboard falls seriously short as a comprehensive plan and their “strategy” will be meaningless without a clear destination and a map to get there. The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, Manitoba recently released The view from here: Manitobans call for a poverty reduction plan. Our plan, developed in collaboration with Make Poverty History Manitoba and others brings together several years of research and consultation with individuals and community organizations directly involved with Manitoba’s most vulnerable citizens. Over 70 organizations representing thousands of Manitobans have now endorsed The view from here and more continue to sign on. (...) Our plan is comprehensive, and most importantly it outlines timelines and targets that, if implemented within the context of a legislated framework, would hold governments, present and future, accountable to ensuring that poverty is significantly reduced. But the Doer government has been consistently resistant to setting timelines and targets and they appear unlikely to pass supporting legislation.

Related links from CCPA:

The view from here:
Manitobans call for a poverty reduction plan (PDF - 1.9MB, 76 pages)
June 2009 (file dated May 21)
This report looks at the emergence of poverty reduction plans in other jurisdictions; it outlines the essential components of a meaningful poverty reduction plan; it makes the case for a made in Manitoba poverty reduction plan; it includes the latest poverty statistics for Manitoba; it proposes indicators with targets and timelines to measure progress; and it outlines a large package of policies and programs that should be at the heart of a comprehensive poverty reduction plan, highlighting items for immediate action.

Research for Communities:
The view from here – Manitobans call for a poverty reduction plan - PDF File, 177K, 4 pages)
Spring 2009
This booklet offers information about elsewhere in Canada, what should be included in a poverty reduction plan for Manitoba, common elements of successful poverty reduction programs, etc.
Source:
Manitoba Office - Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives
[ More publications from CCPA-Manitoba ]
[ Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives - National Office ]

From the Government of Manitoba:

PROVINCE MARKS 10 YEARS OF FIGHTING POVERTY WITH NEW STRATEGY CALLED ALL ABOARD
Vision Sets Goals for Affordable Housing, Training, Jobs and Healthy Families: Selinger, Mackintosh
May 21, 2009
A poverty-reduction strategy called ALL Aboard, based on an annual investment of more than $744 million including $212 million of new investments, will focus on long-term solutions to help low-income Manitobans, Finance Minister Greg Selinger and Family Services and Housing Minister Gord Mackintosh announced today.
(...)
The ministers said poverty is about more than a lack of money alone; it is a combination of problems that keep people from participating in the economy or in society. In recognition of this complexity, ALL Aboard has four priorities: to create more affordable housing, strengthen training and income supports, enhance child development, and ease access to co-ordinated services and programs.

Initiatives fall under four pillars:

Safe, affordable housing in supportive communities:
· an expanded HOMEWorks! program,*
· a new vision for Manitoba Housing,*
· a new homeless and mental-health housing strategy,
· Manitoba Shelter Benefit enhancements,*
· more Lighthouses,*
· a SafetyAid expansion for low income seniors,* and
· an expanded Neighbourhoods Alive! program.

Education, jobs and income support:
· a graduation rate initiative including a new northern Aboriginal Youth Internship program;*
· stronger post-secondary education access initiatives through Bright Futures;
· a new strategy for people with disabilities;*
· Rebound, Manitoba’s back to work action plan;*
· new Rewarding Work Initiatives including mental-health support and recreational opportunities pilots;*
· a minimum wage increase in October 2009;
· property and personal tax credit increases and an increase in the low-income threshold;
· the Manitoba Saves! asset building program; and

Strong, healthy families:
· new family resource centres in community schools,*
· a Healthy Foods action fund,*
· a new family-enhancement stream in child welfare,* and
· more affordable, quality child care.*

Accessible, co-ordinated services:
· ServiceLink, a new navigation strategy to help Manitobans access benefits and services;*
· MYTEAM, a youth transition employment assistance program to help youth aging out of child welfare;* and
· the new Career Development Gateway, providing single-window access to help people develop their careers.

(*Full announcement pending.)

(...) The province will consult on the proposed strategy with a view to concluding a series of measures that are expected to be reported in 2010-11.

Source:
Province of Manitoba News Releases

---

Also from the Government of Manitoba:

May 21, 2009
Province launches homeless strategy with focus on mental-health housing
Up to 2,000 Manitobans to Benefit from 285 More Mental-health Housing Units, 600 to Benefit from New Portable Housing Benefit: Ministers
A new strategy to reduce and prevent homelessness will connect homeless people and those with mental-health challenges to stable, secure housing and support services, Healthy Living Minister Kerri Irvin-Ross and Family Services and Housing Minister Gord Mackintosh said today.
The HOMEWorks! homeless strategy includes 10 new initiatives in the following program areas:
* Emergency Shelters * Outreach * Housing with Services * Prevention

For more information on Manitoba's HOMEWorks! Homeless Strategy homeless strategy, go to the
ALL Aboard: Manitoba’s Poverty Reduction Strategy home page, where you'll find links (in the right-hand margin) to:
* Homeless Shelters * Emergency Homeless Shelter Standards * The Salvation Army Project * Cold Weather Strategy * Homeless Outreach Team * Project Breakaway * Housing with Services * Portable Housing Benefit * Community Wellness Initiative * Homelessness Prevention Summit * Housing First * The Mental Health Commission of Canada * Housing and Supports for People with Mental Illness * Contacts

Related links:

A Poverty Reduction Plan in Manitoba
The government of Manitoba has come up with a plan to reduce poverty in the province. But the plan doesn't commit to specific timelines and targets to reduce poverty, nor does it ask for significant input from community groups or those most affected by poverty.
Source:
Make Poverty History

$212 million to battle poverty
Province to place greater emphasis on housing needs
May 22, 2009
WINNIPEG — After years of sniping from left-wing critics that it has done too little to fight poverty, the Doer government fired back Thursday with a new "comprehensive" strategy that brought kudos from social agencies and business leaders alike. The province announced it has earmarked $212 million in new funding this year for bricks-and-mortar projects, as well as programming for low-income Manitobans.
It also signalled a change in how it deals with people with mental-health issues and addictions, placing greater emphasis on housing. The "housing first" approach means the government will try to put a roof over a person's head before offering other supports.
Source:
Winnipeg Free Press

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The view from here:
Manitobans call for a poverty reduction plan (PDF - 1.9MB, 76 pages)
June 2009 (file dated May 21)
This report looks at the emergence of poverty reduction plans in other jurisdictions; it outlines the essential components of a meaningful poverty reduction plan; it makes the case for a made in Manitoba poverty reduction plan; it includes the latest poverty statistics for Manitoba; it proposes indicators with targets and timelines to measure progress; and it outlines a large package of policies and programs that should be at the heart of a comprehensive poverty reduction plan, highlighting items for immediate action.

Research for Communities:
The view from here – Manitobans call for a poverty reduction plan - PDF File, 177K, 4 pages)
Spring 2009
This booklet offers information about elsewhere in Canada, what should be included in a poverty reduction plan for Manitoba, common elements of successful poverty reduction programs, etc.
Source:
Manitoba Office - Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives
[ More publications from CCPA-Manitoba ]
[ Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives - National Office ]

An earlier report from the Manitoba CCPA Office:

Poverty and Social Exclusion
Solving Complex Issues through Comprehensive Approaches (PDF - 249K, 4 pages)
September 2008
* Definitions of social exclusion
* Government strategies to address poverty and social exclusion (Europe - Canada - Newfoundland and Labrador - Québec - Ontario)
* Common features of poverty and social exclusion strategies (targets - timelines - citizen consultations - action plans/strategies - accountability and reporting - evaluation of progress)
* Why Manitoba needs a Strategy

---

United Way commends province for new measures to reduce poverty
May 22, 2009
United Way of Winnipeg is thrilled with a new provincial strategy to reduce poverty, announced May 21, 2009.
(...) Among the organizations acting in conjunction with ALL Aboard is the Winnipeg Poverty Reduction Council.
United Way of Winnipeg is founder of, and provides office space and technical assistance to the council.

------------------------------------------

------------------------------------------

Province acknowledges progress in fight on poverty, but there is more to do: Mackintosh
$4.3 Million to Support Manitobans to Move Into Jobs, Increase Shelter Welfare Rates
May 6, 2008
"(...) Adding to the $27.6-million commitment made last year, the extra $4.3 million in new Rewarding Work initiatives will help people with disabilities, single parents and other low-income people"...
- includes the following:
* Effective 07/08, increases to shelter rates and rooming house rates directly from the Manitoba Shelter Benefit (see the link below)
* Effective 11/08, Rewarding Work Rent Allowance, a $50-per-month benefit to help non-disabled single adults and couples without children pay their rent after they leave welfare for work.
* Effective 02/09, Get Started! - a one-time benefit (ranging from $175 to $325, depending on the case classification) will be paid to people who leave welfare for work to help them pay for costs related to starting a new job.
* Effective 12/08, the Rewarding Work Health Plan will be provided to single parents and persons with disabilities who leave welfare for work; it extends coverage for prescription drugs and dental and optical services for up to two full years after people leave assistance.
(...)
Rewarding Work is part of the province’s anti-poverty strategy [bolding added], which includes Family Choices, Housing First and HOMEWorks, substantially increased education funding, increases to the minimum wage and other related measures to ensure that everyone can take advantage of the growing economy."

Rewarding Work
Manitoba’s Rewarding Work is a four-year Manitoba strategy to address poverty by giving people hope and dignity through employment. Rewarding Work programs will provide benefits to low-income working families. They will also help Employment and Income Assistance (EIA) [welfare] participants move from EIA to work by increasing the advantages of employment over EIA.

Recommended reading:

Year One Investments
- Rewarding Work investments in 2007/08 are helping low-income Manitobans in three areas:
(incl. links to more detailed info on the various initiatives)
* Helping low-income families (Manitoba Child Benefit, Manitoba Child Care Program)
* Supporting people to move from welfare to work (enhanced work incentives in the EIA program, new job seekers' allowance, a new training and education policy to help Manitobans on EIA find permanent work, job preparation, minimum wage subsidy for employers who hire and train people on EIA, allowances for work-related costs for all employed EIA clients, mentorship program for youth
* Improving benefits and services for persons with disabilities (marketAbilities, marketAbilities fund, marketAbilities team, personal attendant community education program, Sara Riel Inc. work placement force program, increase in financial assistance from Income Assistance for Persons with Disabilities (IAPD)living in the community, doubling of the EIA liquid asset exemptions for EIA clients with a disability

Year Two
In the second year of the strategy, Rewarding Work will focus on assisting people to prepare for and make a smooth transition from income assistance to work.
Examples include an 18% shelter rate increase for non-disabled single adults receiving EIA (starting 07/08), a monthly rent top-up for up to one year (starting 11-08) for non-disabled single adults and childless couples who leave income assistance for work and live in private rent, new one-time work startup allowance (starting 02/09), drug, dental and optical benefits to be extended (starting 12/08) for 24 months (up from 12 months), and more to come...

Manitoba Shelter Benefit (MSB)
The Manitoba Shelter Benefit (MSB) is a monthly benefit to help low income seniors, families, and persons with disabilities pay their rent. The benefit replaces the current Shelter Assistance for Elderly Renters (SAFER) and Shelter Assistance for Family Renters (SAFFR) programs.
The MSB helps three groups of people:
* families
* seniors
* persons with a disability

November 26, 2007
Anti-poverty initiatives to help Manitobans help themselves : Mackintosh
New Manitoba Child Benefit, Stronger Work Incentive New Job-Seekers' Allowance Announced
Under Rewarding Work, a four-year action plan to move Manitobans from welfare to work, three new measures effective Jan. 1, 2008, include:
· A stronger work incentive allowance will help to ensure people are better off working and keep more of their earnings. Earnings exemptions for 4,200 Manitobans on assistance will almost double so workers can keep $200 of net monthly earnings plus 30 per cent of net monthly earnings over $200. Under the existing program, participants can keep up to $115 and 25 per cent of earnings above that amount, depending on their case category.
· A new $11-million Manitoba child benefit will ensure parents will not lose all support for their children when moving off welfare. Up to 33,000 families with children will benefit. This means an initial gain for low-income, working families of up to $420 tax free each year for every child. Monthly payments will begin in January 2008. For a single parent of three children working full or part time and earning $15,000 or less, this totals $1,260 with partial benefits for parents who earn $15,000 to $20,000.
· A new job-seekers’ allowance will help single, non-disabled adults and childless couples who actively participate in an employment plan. Effective January 2008, the allowance program will provide $25 per month to participants, assisting 3,900 recipients through an annual investment of $1.17 million.

Source:
Manitoba Family Services and Housing

Related link from the CBC:

Manitoba increases welfare shelter rates
May 6, 2008
For the first time in 15 years, Manitoba is raising the shelter rates it gives to adults on social assistance.
- the same news release includes: * Health benefits extended * Poverty rates dropping, says government
"(...) The total number of Manitobans living in poverty fell to 11.4 per cent in 2006 from 14.9 per cent in 1999.
Still, Manitoba has the third-highest ranking in the country for poverty."
Source:
CBC News

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Reducing Poverty in Manitoba (PDF - 134K, 17 pages)
April 2007
Budget 2007 introduces “Rewarding Work” – a new four-year plan to refocus the low-income support system to help more people gain employment and higher incomes. This new plan focuses on enhancing opportunities for education and training, expanding employment, making work pay for families, easing the transition from welfare to work and helping people retain jobs.
Source:
Manitoba Budget 2007

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Alberta

Alberta poverty strategy sought
April 21, 2009
Canada’s richest province, Alberta, is trailing behind others in reducing poverty, says an advocacy group that wants to create a provincial strategy. “We think Alberta, of all provinces, should be a leader in this,” said Bill Moore-Kilgannon, executive director of Public Interest Alberta. The independent public advocacy group is planning meetings across the province — starting with a forum in Red Deer on April 29 — to examine what can be done to give more Albertans the tools to succeed.
Source:
Red Deer Advocate

Public Interest Alberta

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British Columbia

From the BC Office of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives:

The Time is Now
A Poverty Reduction Plan for BC (video slideshow)
by Goh Iromoto, Shannon Daub & Seth Klein
March 27, 2009

Poverty Amid Plenty:
A Slideshow About Welfare in BC (video slideshow)
by Goh Iromoto, Shannon Daub & Seth Klein
March 27, 2009

Source:
BC Office of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (BC-CCPA)
[ CCPA National Office ]

The time is now for a legislated poverty reduction plan:
200 organizations and community leaders to BC political parties
News Release
February 5, 2009
(Vancouver) Two hundred organizations from across the province joined together today in a call for all-party support for a legislated BC poverty reduction plan.
The 200 groups are signatories to an open letter released today calling on all political parties to commit that, if elected in May, they will implement a comprehensive poverty reduction plan that includes:
* Legislated targets and timelines to reduce BC’s poverty rate by one third within four years, and end street homelessness within two years; and,
* Policy actions in seven key areas that would end deep poverty, improve conditions for the working poor, and focus on groups that are most vulnerable to poverty.

BC Poverty Reduction (home page)
On February 5, 2009, more than 200 organizations and community leaders joined together to call on all BC political parties to commit to a comprehensive, legislated poverty reduction plan. This groundswell of concern about BC’s unacceptably high levels of poverty and homelessness comes from many different communities in BC. It comes from all regions of the province, and from faith leaders, health organizations, doctors, businesses, First Nations and Aboriginal groups, labour unions, immigrant and refugee organizations, community service agencies, municipal councils, women’s groups, and many more.
- scroll to the bottom section of the home page to see the list of organizations (and some individuals who are partners in and supporters of this initiative.

Recommended targets and timelines:
* Using Statistics Canada’s low-income cut off after tax (LICO-AT), reduce BC’s poverty rate from 13 per cent to 9 per cent in four years, and to 3 per cent in ten years (meaning, effectively, a one third reduction within the mandate of the next government, and a 75 per cent reduction within a decade).
* Ensure the poverty rate (using the LICO-AT) for children, lone-mother households, single senior women, Aboriginal people, people with disabilities, and recent immigrants likewise declines by 30 per cent in four years, and by 75 per cent in ten years, in recognition that poverty is concentrated in these populations.
* Within two years, ensure that every British Columbian has an income that reaches at least 75 per cent of the poverty line (using the LICO-AT).
* Within two years, ensure no one has to sleep outside, and end all homelessness within eight years (ensuring all homeless people have good quality, appropriate housing)

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THE FEDERAL ROLE IN POVERTY REDUCTION IN CANADA
Ottawa Poverty Reduction Network Meeting
June 22, 2009
Speaking Notes - Gilles Séguin
On June 22, 2009, the Ottawa Poverty Reduction Network invited community members living in poverty to participate in an information/action planning meeting about the latest poverty reduction initiatives happening across Canada, Ontario and in Ottawa. I was invited to sit on a panel and to speak about "the federal role in poverty reduction in Canada".
These are my speaking notes.
* What the federal does well and not-so-well in the area of poverty reduction.
* Why  was the federal government wrong  when it told the United Nations that poverty reduction was a provincial responsibility?
* What is the the federal government's role in Ontario's poverty reduction strategy?
* What are the Four cornerstones of a workable national poverty reduction strategy for Canada?

---

May 25, 2009
New resource from the Canadian Council on Social Development:

Poverty Reduction Policies and Programs in Canada (PDF - 341K, 29 pages)
By David I. Hay, Information Partnership
[ version française - PDF ]
Table of Contents:
INTRODUCTION
POLICY CONTEXT
* Poverty Definition and Measurement
* Poverty Trends in Canada
* Social Policy Development Goals
* Canada as a Social Welfare State
* Social Values in Canada
* Roles and Responsibilities
* Policy Decision-making in Canada and the Poverty Policy Community
NATIONAL ANTI-POVERTY AND INCOME SECURITY POLICIES IN CANADA
* Child and Family Benefits
* Benefits for Seniors
* Employment Benefits
* Other Programs
COMPREHENSIVE ANTI-POVERTY / INCOME SECURITY POLICIES IN CANADA
* What are the essential elements?
* What are the political opportunities and prospects?

Source:
Poverty Reduction Policies and Programs
Social Development Report Series, 2009
Series Editor: Katherine Scott

– identifies current federal, provincial and territorial approaches to poverty reduction.
- 14 authors discuss the ideas, interests and institutions that have shaped the evolution of poverty reduction policies and programs in Canada and the issues for each jurisdiction moving forward.

Also from the CSD:

--- Poverty Reduction in Canada: Advancing a National Anti-Poverty and Supports Agenda (PDF - 423K, 16 pages)
[posted November 20, 2008]
- presentation by CCSD's Katherine Scott at the CACL 50th Anniversary Conference in November, 2008.

--- Poverty Reduction Initiatives in Canada (447K, 16 pages)
[posted November 20, 2008]

Dignity for All - the campaign for a poverty-free Canada
"I believe that freedom from poverty is a human right.
I believe in equality among all people.
I believe we are all entitled to social and economic security.
I believe in dignity for all.
NOW is the time to end poverty in Canada."

The Campaign for a Poverty-Free Canada was founded by Canada Without Poverty and Citizens for Public Justice. [Canada Without Poverty is the new public name of the National Anti-Poverty Organization.] Visit the site to obtain some background information about the campaign, updates on poverty reduction in Canada and how you can engage and support this effort to secure enduring and meaningful federal leadership for a poverty-free Canada. Inaugural Campaign Committee members include: ACORN Canada, Campaign 2000, Canadian Association of Social Workers, Canadian Cooperative Association, Canadian Council on Social Development, Canadian Labour Congress, Canadian Teachers’ Federation, Centre for Equality Rights in Accommodation, Make Poverty History, and the Regina Anti-Poverty Ministry. We are also working in consultation with Collective for a Poverty-Free Quebec.

Now is the time to end poverty in Canada
By Karri Munn-Venn and Rob Rainer
May 18, 2009
The campaign has three goals:
1. A comprehensive, integrated federal plan for poverty elimination.
2. A federal Act to eliminate poverty, promote social inclusion and strengthen social security.
3. Sufficient federal revenue to invest in social security.

Please support the campaign.
Click on the “I support” button on the home page and be a part of Dignity for All: The Campaign for a Poverty-Free Canada.

Because NOW is the time to end poverty in Canada!
[ List of Campaign supporters to date ]

Founders:

Canada Without Poverty
Based in Ottawa and governed by people with experience of living in poverty, Canada Without Poverty works to address the structural causes of and to promote lasting solutions to poverty. We are especially focused on federal, provincial and territorial government policies and legislation (existing and proposed) that may help or harm low-income Canadians.

* Links to Anti-Poverty/Poverty Blogs - links to over three dozen blogs from BC, from Toronto, from Fredericton, from Montreal, etc.
* News - Anti-poverty & poverty related news stories, current events, reports & press releases
* Links - Links to government websites, policies, acts, regulations & many other useful websites organized by issue (same as above) and by location (links to provincial/territorial resources, U.S. and other international links)
Source:
PovNet
PovNet is an online resource for advocates, people on welfare,
and community groups and individuals involved in anti-poverty work.[ About PovNet ]

Make Poverty History (Canada)
Here's what we want in 14 words:
* More and Better Aid
* Trade Justice
* Cancel the Debt
* End Child Poverty in Canada

Campaign 2000
Campaign 2000 is a cross-Canada public education movement to build Canadian awareness and support for the 1989 all-party House of Commons resolution to end child poverty in Canada by the year 2000.

A poverty reduction strategy for Ontario (PDF file - 396K, 14 pages)
July 2007
Source:
Campaign 2000

Canada Without Poverty (official name : National Antipoverty Organization)
Based in Ottawa and governed by people with experience of living in poverty, Canada Without Poverty works to address the structural causes of and to promote lasting solutions to poverty. We are especially focused on federal, provincial and territorial government policies and legislation (existing and proposed) that may help or harm low-income Canadians.

* Speech by Rob Rainer, Executive Director (PDF - 71K, 9 pages)
February 17, 2009
- an introduction to Canada Without Poverty, an overview of poverty in Canada, remarks on income inequality and poverty as a human rights issue, and introduction to the Dignity for All Campaign

Eliminating Poverty
The response to the injustice of poverty must come from not just feelings of charity - understandable as that is. It must also come from a strong commitment to upholding the inalienable right of people everywhere to live in dignity, prerequisites for which include sufficient income and a decent, affordable place to call home.

From Tony Martin, Federal NDP Poverty Critic:

Hi,
As many of you know, momentum is building for a national poverty plan for Canada. I am circulating a petition calling on the government to introduce a national poverty plan, noting the all-party support for the current Parliamentary Committee hearings on the federal role for a poverty-reduction strategy. Your message will go to the Prime Minister, HRSDC Minister Solberg and the 12 MPs on the committee. I invite you to sign the petition at this link and encourage you to circulate the news about the petition among your networks, colleagues and friends.

Sign the National Poverty Plan Petition
[ Version française ]

Information On The HUMA Hearings
(also from Tony Martin's website)
- workplan, members, witnesses, etc.

Also by Tony Martin:

Debate in the House of Commons on a national anti-poverty strategy
(Private Member's Bill - Tony Martin, NDP)
February 20, 2007

Related links:

The federal contribution to reducing poverty in Canada:
Evidence presented at Meetings of the Standing Committee
on Human Resources, Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities (HUMA)
39th PARLIAMENT, 2nd SESSION
- this link takes you further down on the page you're now reading to specific evidence presented at six of the HUMA meetings (including a list of witnesses and the topics covered in each meeting)
Source:
Standing Committee on Human Resources, Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities (HUMA)
(Tony Martin is a member of HUMA)
[ Parliament of Canada website ]

Envisioning Canada Without Poverty: A CPJ Call to Action
Momentum for poverty reduction is growing across Canada. As Ontario and Nova Scotia follow in Quebec and Newfoundland and Labrador's footsteps by committing to poverty reduction strategies, the leadership of the provinces is setting an example for the federal government to follow. We believe that the time has come to increase the pressure on the federal government to develop a federal poverty reduction strategy for Canada.

Citizens for Public Justice (CPJ) has recently launched the Envisioning Canada Without Poverty: A CPJ Call to Action campaign. It is aimed at empowering citizens to advocate for a poverty reduction strategy. Our website offers both introductory information and a more detailed examination of poverty and poverty reduction strategies, as well as step by step instructions on writing your MP or arranging a meeting. We are calling for concerned citizens to write or visit your MP to ask for their commitment to working towards a federal poverty reduction strategy announced in Budget 2009.

Federal Liberal Party Antipoverty Plan
+ Caledon Institute of Social Policy Response

Dion Unveils the Liberal Plan to Win the War Against Poverty
November 9, 2007
TORONTO – Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion today unveiled a comprehensive plan to dramatically reduce the number of Canadians living below the poverty line by at least 30 per cent and cut in half the number of children living in poverty in five years. Mr. Dion called it the Liberal 30-50 Plan to Reduce Poverty.
Source:
Liberal Party of Canada

Full Text of Stéphane Dion's Speech
to the Learning Enrichment Foundation
November 9, 2007

Caledon Response to Liberal Poverty Strategy (PDF file - 264K, 9 pages)
November 2007
The Caledon Institute of Social Policy applauds Liberal leader Stéphane Dion’s November 9, 2007 speech laying out his party’s poverty reduction strategy. It recognizes poverty as a serious national problem that needs political leadership and an explicit focus to achieve clear results.
Caledon offers some additional or alternative proposals, including:
* to properly set and monitor poverty reduction targets, devise a better poverty indicator than the current low income cut-offs
* rather than simply converting the non-refundable child tax credit to a refundable credit, as suggested in the Dion speech, the federal government should abolish the Universal Child Care Benefit and the child tax credit, using the savings to help build a stronger Canada Child Tax Benefit
* immediately bolster the federal Working Income Tax Benefit (WITB), but in future expand it from a federal-only to a joint federal-provincial/territorial undertaking. WITB should be made more flexible to allow each province and territory to adapt the program to its needs and circumstances, and to integrate it with its welfare system
* provide specifics and associated costs on the proposal to increase Guaranteed Income Supplement payments for the lowest income seniors
* base the income test for the clawback of Old Age Security benefits from upper-income senior couples on their combined income rather than on each spouse or partner’s individual income
* to encourage seniors and near-seniors who can and want to continue working to do so, eliminate the ‘employment test’ for receipt of a CPP retirement pension before age 65. Also, allow CPP beneficiaries receiving a retirement pension but still working to continue to contribute to the plan, with the additional earnings taken into account each year in re-calculating their pensions.
Source:
Caledon Institute of Social Policy
The Caledon Institute of Social Policy is a private, nonprofit organization with charitable status. It is supported primarily by the Maytree Foundation, located in Toronto. Caledon is an independent and critical voice that does not depend on government funding and is not affiliated with any political party.

Related link:

Dion's green anti-poverty plan
June 25, 2008
By Carol Goar
When Stéphane Dion announced last November that a Liberal government would cut poverty by 30 per cent – and child poverty by 50 per cent – within five years, his political opponents scoffed. Where would he find the billions of dollars he needed to deliver on his commitment? Now we know the answer – or at least a large part of the answer. Dion's proposed carbon tax, unveiled last week, would allow him to launch the most aggressive anti-poverty program in 40 years.
Source:
The Toronto Star

Brief to the Senate on Urban Child Poverty (2008) (PDF - 187K, 14 pages)
In February 2008, First Call Chair Michael Goldberg presented to the Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology on the topic of urban child poverty. This briefing is an overview of topics including measuring poverty; child poverty rates; and the interaction between market income, social security benefits, taxation and statutory deductions, and income tested social programs.
Source:
First Call: B.C. Child and Youth Advocacy Coalition
First Call is a coalition of individuals and organizations whose purpose is to create greater understanding of and advocacy for legislation, policy, and practice to ensure that all children and youth have the opportunities and resources required to achieve their full potential and to participate in the challenges of creating a better society.

Canada's Coalition to End Global Poverty
[ Canadian Council for International Co-operation ]
The Council is a coalition of Canadian voluntary sector organizations working globally to achieve sustainable human development. The Canadian Council for International Co-operation seeks to end global poverty, and to promote social justice and human dignity for all.

10-Point Agenda
CCIC refuses to accept the belief that poverty is inevitable.
Our 10-point agenda identifies key areas that collectively address the range of factors that create and perpetuate poverty.
1. Promoting Sustainable Development
2. Upholding Human Rights
3. Creating an Equitable Global Economic Order
4. Achieving Gender Equity
5. Improving the Lives of Children
6. Building Peace
7. Promoting Global Food Security
8. Promoting Individual and Corporate Social Responsibility
9. Reinvesting in Canada's Foreign Aid Program
10. Creating New Opportunities for Citizen Participation

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United States

Final Report of the
Legislative Commission to End Poverty in Minnesota by 2020 (PDF - 1MB, 72 pages)
January 2009
The Legislative Commission to End Poverty in Minnesota by 2020 began its work in June 2007 and finalized its recommendations in January 2009. The Commission’s overall mission and vision are captured in both
its name and its guiding principles, which were first articulated in the Minnesota faith community (see below).

Source:
Legislative Commission to End Poverty
in Minnesota by 2020
Mission Statement:
"Develop guidelines to end poverty.
Prepare recommendation on how to end poverty in Minnesota by 2020."

A Minnesota Without Poverty
A Minnesota Without Poverty is a statewide, interfaith movement to end poverty in Minnesota by 2020, and a program of Minnesota Council of Churches. We believe that ending poverty is indeed possible, and people of faith from all over the state—public leaders, business people, educators, ordinary citizens of faith—are coming together to respond to God’s call to make this vision a reality.

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Target Practice: Lessons for Poverty Reduction (PDF - 355K, 20 pages)
January 2009
By Jodie Levin-Epstein and Webb Lyons
Target Practice outlines how governments (local, state and the federal) can use targets (goals and timelines to achieve those goals) as a policy tool for reducing poverty by drawing on lessons learned from targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and homelessness.
Source:
Poverty and Opportunity
[Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP) - U.S.]
CLASP is a national nonprofit that works to improve the lives of low-income people. CLASP’s mission is to improve the economic security, educational and workforce prospects, and family stability of low-income parents, children, and youth and to secure equal justice for all. ]

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Obama puts poor back on agenda
Social policy expert John Stapleton believes new federal tax programs for working-age adults may one day be as important as today's pensions and child tax benefits.
New U.S. leader has vowed to cut poverty. Now it's time to see what Canada can do.
November 8, 2008
Laurie Monsebraaten
As part of his compelling "Yes We Can" campaign to make meaningful change in the lives of average Americans, President-elect Barack Obama promised to cut poverty in half within a decade. Canada has no plan to fight poverty. And Stephen Harper's Conservatives didn't offer one during our recent federal election. But with Obama's historic win this week, many anti-poverty activists here believe new pressure is on Ottawa to address social and economic inequality. However, social policy expert John Stapleton argues in a new report that the foundation of a Canadian plan is already in place.
Source:
The Toronto Star

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Barack Obama's Innovative War On Poverty
October 13, 2008
Source:
Huffington Post

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A poor measure
Let's modernize the definition of poverty.
Better information will yield better anti-poverty results
July 25, 2008
On Thursday, workers who are paid the federal minimum wage got a little salary boost. As the second of a three-step increase that will take the nation's minimum wage to $7.25 an hour, this week's 70-cent rise brought baseline hourly pay to $6.55, only slightly closer to being a living wage. For the struggling Americans known as the working poor, the bump in pay has got to be welcome. But no one should fool himself about how much relief an extra few cents an hour will mean to lean budgets pinched tight by the rising costs of fuel, food, housing and health care. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg proposes to tackle the poverty problem from a different angle. In mid-July, Bloomberg's office announced the city would employ a much broader method of measuring poverty than the one used since the mid-1960s by the federal government. Congress should carefully consider the merits of the New York plan.
Source:
Houston Chronicle

Related links:

Center for Economic Opportunity
The Center for Economic Opportunity (CEO) was established by Mayor Bloomberg in 2006 to identify and implement innovative ways to reduce poverty in New York City. The CEO works with City agencies to design and implement evidence-based initiatives, including strategies and programs, aimed at poverty reduction.

Recent release from CEO:

First Strategy and Implementation Report
In December 2007, the Center for Economic Opportunity released its first Strategy and Implementation Report. This report describes CEO’s anti-poverty agenda and its first year of operation. In 2007, CEO launched 31 innovative, new anti-poverty efforts. The report describes CEO’s commitment to implement and evaluate new approaches to poverty reduction among the working poor, young adults, and children under five. Program descriptions are also included in the appendices.
Executive Summary (PDF - 2.3MB, 12 pages)
Complete report (PDF - 25.5MB, 153 pages)

NEW YORK CITY MAYOR BLOOMBERG ANNOUNCES
NEW ALTERNATIVE TO FEDERAL POVERTY MEASURE
First Government Ever to Reformulate Faulty 40-Year Old Federal Poverty Measure
New York City to Share New Model With Other Cities Throughout the United States
News Release
July 13, 2008
Source:
New York City website

Edwards Poverty Campaign Met With Media Blackout
Posted May 15, 2008
On Tuesday, the day before he announced his support for Barack Obama, former Senator John Edwards launched a campaign to cut the nation's poverty rate in half in the next ten years. You can be excused if you hadn't heard about it. Only one major daily newspaper -- the Philadelphia Inquirer -- covered the event, which took place at a Baptist church in North Philadelphia.
(...)
The Half in Ten campaign will focus on policy solutions identified in the Center for American Progress' poverty task force report issued last year. These include expanding the Earned Income Tax Credit and the Child Tax Credit; raising both state and federal minimum wages; increasing the number of low-income families receiving child care assistance; increasing eligibility for unemployment insurance; and preventing predatory lending practices and preserving home ownership. The last time the U.S. committed itself to dramatically tackling poverty was during the early 1960s.
Source:
Huffington Post
[NOTE : recommended reading --- includes a good snapshot of the poverty situation in the U.S., along with an historical overview of poverty and poverty reduction from President Johnson's War on Poverty (mid-60s) to date, and links to related information - Gilles]

Edwards backs Obama
By Chuck Babbington, Associated Press
May 14, 2008
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Democrat John Edwards endorsed former rival Barack Obama on Wednesday, a move designed to help solidify support for the party's likely presidential nominee even as Hillary Rodham Clinton refuses to give up her long-shot candidacy. (...)He said Mr. Obama “stands with me” in a fight to cut poverty in half within 10 years.
Source:
The Globe and Mail

Groups Launch "Half in Ten" Anti-Poverty Campaign
May 13, 2008
On May 13, four of the nation's most prominent social justice organizations announced a new multi-year campaign to cut poverty in America in half in 10 years. The campaign, Half in Ten, will be chaired by former presidential nominee Sen. John Edwards, D. N.C. (...) "Half in Ten" is a partnership of the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN), the Center for American Progress Action Fund (CAPAF), the Coalition on Human Needs (CHN), and the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights (LCCR).
Source:
CivilRights.org
"The civil rights coailition for the 21st century"

Half in Ten : From Poverty to Prosperity
A Campaign to Cut Poverty in the United States in Half in Ten Years
Site launched May 13

Details of the Strategy:

From Poverty to Prosperity:
A National Strategy to Cut Poverty in Half
Executive summary (HTML)
Complete report (PDF - 8.1MB, 80 pages)
Source:
Center for American Progress Task Force on Poverty

The three links below point to relevant content from the Barack Obama and John Edwards websites on the subject of poverty.
[ NOTE : both plans below predate the launch of Half in Ten, so both websites will likely be updated in the near future to reflect the renewed commitment to poverty reduction. I assume.]

A National Goal: End Poverty Within 30 Years
NOTE: it appears that John Edwards has raised the bar with respect to his anti-poverty goals since dropping out of the presidential election campaign at the end of January 2008. The new Half in Ten goal is a ramped-up version of the anti-poverty commitments from the John Edwards' presidentail campaign website. On that site, John Edwards calls poverty 'the great moral issue of our time', and he challenges our country to cut it by a third in a decade [bolding added] and end it within 30 years.
Source:
John Edwards campaign website

BLUEPRINT FOR CHANGE:
Obama and Biden’s Plan for America (PDF - 483K, 43 pages)
(The section on poverty reduction starts on page 55.)

Barack Obama's Plan to Fight Poverty in America (PDF - 64K, 8 pages)
File dated April 20, 2008

Barack Obama : Plan to Combat Poverty
(undated Issues page - no timeframes or targets)
At a Glance:
* Expand Access to Jobs
* Make Work Pay for All Americans
* Strengthen Families
* Increase the Supply of Affordable Housing
* Tackle Concentrated Poverty

Source:
OBAMA '08

Seizing the Moment: State Governments
and the New Commitment to Reduce Poverty in America
April 2008
By Jodie Levin-Epstein and Kristen Michelle Gorzelany

The three leading presidential candidates are now on record with a public commitment to address poverty and opportunity in the United States. This is in concert with growing state efforts and signals a dramatic turnaround in tackling poverty. In just the last two years, one of every five states has taken action to put poverty on the political agenda. This joint report from CLASP and Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity outlines those efforts and provides charts detailing action by policy area.

* Complete report (PDF - 540K, 53 pages)

* Overview (PDF - 138K, 14 pages)

* State-by-State Narratives (PDF - 447K, 31 pages)

* Charts Tracking State Initiatives (PDF - 131K, 11 pages)

Sources:
Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP) - CLASP is a nonprofit public policy and advocacy organization. We conduct research, policy analysis, technical assistance, and advocacy on issues related to economic security and family stability for low-income parents, children, and youth.

Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity - "...to make sure that 2008 sets the stage for concerted action on poverty and opportunity in 2009 and beyond."

Targeting Poverty: Aim at a Bull’s Eye (PDF - 156K, 16 pages)
Updated October 2006
By Jodie Levin-Epstein and Webb Lyons
[The following summary of the paper is taken from the CLASP web site,
augmented by a sentence from the report itself, and a few clarifications for non-U.S. readers]:

Forty years after the War on Poverty and a year after [Hurricane] Katrina struck, commitments to tackle poverty are beginning to come back onto political and policy agendas [in the United States]. This report considers why poverty is reemerging as a political issue; how poverty is a “purple” rather than a red or blue state [Republican or Democratic] issue; what the picture of poverty looks like in the U.S.; and where poverty targets and related efforts are underway. The report identifies efforts around the nation to set poverty targets -- numerical goals and timelines -- for the reduction or elimination of poverty. For example: In California, a 2006 bill calls for child poverty to be eliminated by 2026; in Connecticut, state law already establishes that child poverty is to be reduced by 50 percent by 2014. Among the reasons why poverty may be gaining attention is the increasing concern among many Americans that at some point they and their families may experience poverty.
Source:
Center for Law and Social Policy

From Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity:

Campaigns to Fight Poverty and Increase Opportunity
- links to 17 American poverty reduction campaigns and projects

Recent U.S. Anti-Poverty Proposals
- links to 15 reports on various aspects of poverty reduction from a number of sources, ranging from The Cato Institute to The Brookings Institute.

More U.S. initiatives to reduce poverty:

* Catholic Charities USA’s Campaign to Reduce Poverty in America by 50% by 2020
* State-level approaches to reducing poverty in Minnesota, New Mexico, California, and Missouri
* the Economic Policy Institute’s Agenda for Shared Prosperity [with a focus broader than poverty only]
* Connecticut’s Policy to Reduce Child Poverty by 50% by 2014.

U.S. House of Representatives Embraces Poverty Goal
January 25, 2008
Last April, the Center for American Progress released the report of CAP’s Task Force on Poverty, From Poverty to Prosperity [see the link below], calling for a national goal of cutting poverty in half in 10 years. This week, the House of Representatives endorsed this goal, when on January, 22, 2008, the House passed House Concurrent Resolution 198 via voice vote without objection, declaring the sense of the Congress that the United States should set a national goal of cutting poverty in half over the next 10 years.

Related link:

From Poverty to Prosperity: A National Strategy to Cut Poverty in Half
April 25, 2007
"(...) The United States should set a national goal of cutting poverty in half over the next 10 years. A strategy to cut poverty in half should be guided by four principles:
* Promote Decent Work.
* Provide Opportunity for All.
* Ensure Economic Security.
* Help People Build Wealth.

Twelve key steps to cut poverty in half:

1. Raise and Index the Minimum Wage to Half the Average Hourly Wage
2. Expand the Earned Income Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit
3. Promote Unionization by Enacting the Employee Free Choice Act
4. Guarantee Child Care Assistance to Low-Income Families, and Promote Early Education
5. Create Two Million New “Opportunity” Housing Vouchers, and Promote Equitable Development in and Around Central Cities
6. Connect Disadvantaged and Disconnected Youth with School and Work
7. Simplify and Expand Pell Grants and Make Higher Education Accessible for Residents of Each State
8. Help Former Prisoners Find Stable Employment and Reintegrate into Their Communities
9. Ensure Equity for Low-Wage Workers in the Unemployment Insurance System that Helps Workers and Families
11. Reduce the High Costs of Being Poor and Increase Access to Financial Services
12. Expand and Simplify the Saver’s Credit to Encourage Saving for Education, Homeownership, and Retirement
Full report (PDF - 8.1MB, 80 pages)
Executive Summary (PDF - 3.9MB, 8 pages)

Source:
Center for American Progress
The Center for American Progress is a progressive think-tank
dedicated to improving the lives of Americans through ideas and action.

Also from the Center for American Progress:

Investing in Our Children: The U.S. Can Learn From the U.K.
By Jane Waldfogel
July 30, 2007
The former and newly installed British prime ministers, Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, are longstanding Labour Party rivals, yet they were able to unite in what history may one day view as their most important domestic achievement—a commitment to end child poverty in the United Kingdom.
(...)
Although most of the focus in the United Kingdom is on relative poverty, the government also tracks its progress using an absolute poverty line, similar to the one the United States uses. On this measure, the United Kingdom has reduced poverty by a stunning 50 percent since the start of its anti-poverty campaign—reducing the numbers of children in absolute poverty before housing costs from 3.4 million in 1999 to 1.6 million in 2006. From a U.S. vantage point, this is a remarkable achievement.

U.S. - A new war on poverty ? Is it time for a new war on poverty? (PDF file - 3.7MB, 34 pages)
Winter 2008
The presidential candidates and top commentators weigh in.
Source:
Stanford Center for the Study of Poverty and Inequality, Stanford
Geographical area : United States

U.S. Historical Initiatives: The New Deal (1933) and the War on Poverty (1964)

F.D. Roosevelt and the New Deal (1933-1938)
According to Wikipedia, "[t]he New Deal is the title that President Franklin D. Roosevelt gave to a sequence of programs and promises he initiated between 1933 and 1938 with the goal of giving relief, reform, and recovery to the people and economy of the United States during the Great Depression. During that period, Roosevelt passed banking reform laws, emergency relief programs, work relief programs, and agricultural programs. Later, a second New Deal was to evolve; it included union protection programs, the Social Security Act, and programs to aid tenant farmers and migrant workers. Thus, the 'First New Deal' of 1933 aimed at short-term recovery programs for all groups in society, while the 'Second New Deal' (1935–36) was a more radical redistribution of power away from big business and toward coal workers, farmers, and consumers. Although the New Deal greatly improved the economy, it did not end the Great Depression. The End of the Great Depression was caused by WWII."

Lyndon B. Johnson and the War on Poverty (1964-1973)
In January 1964, Lyndon B. Johnson declared War on Poverty in his State of the Union Address. "Our chief weapons in a more pinpointed attack [against poverty]", he said, "will be better schools, and better health, and better homes, and better training, and better job opportunities to help more Americans, especially young Americans, escape from squalor and misery and unemployment rolls where other citizens help to carry them."
In short order, the federal government created programs such as Job Corps, VISTA, Community Action Program, Head Start, food stamps, work study, Medicare and Medicaid, most of which still exist today. The programs initiated under Johnson brought about real results, reducing rates of poverty and improved living standards for America's poor. The Office of Economic Opportunity (OEO) was the agency responsible for administering most of the War on Poverty programs; The OEO was dismantled by President Richard Nixon in 1973, though many of the agency's programs were transferred to other government agencies. If you do a Google search for "Lyndon Johnson, War on Poverty", you'll find many useful resources.

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United Nations

Poverty Reduction
Through the Millennium Declaration and the Millennium Development Goals the world is addressing the many dimensions of human development, including halving by 2015 the proportion of people living in extreme poverty.
Source:
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
UNDP advocates for nationally-owned solutions to reduce poverty and promote human development. We sponsor innovative pilot projects; connect countries to global good practices and resources; promote the role of women in development; and bring governments, civil society and outside funders together to coordinate their efforts.

Millennium Development Goals (U.N.)
- incl. links to:
* About the MDGs * Advocacy for the MDGs * Strategies for the MDGs * Tracking the MDGs * Regional & Country Levels

The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are eight goals to be achieved by 2015 that respond to the world's main development challenges. The MDGs are drawn from the actions and targets contained in the Millennium Declaration that was adopted by 189 nations-and signed by 147 heads of state and governments during the UN Millennium Summit in September 2000.

The 8 MDGs break down into 18 quantifiable targets that are measured by 48 indicators.

* Goal 1: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
* Goal 2: Achieve universal primary education
* Goal 3: Promote gender equality and empower women
* Goal 4: Reduce child mortality
* Goal 5: Improve maternal health
* Goal 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases
* Goal 7: Ensure environmental sustainability
* Goal 8: Develop a Global Partnership for Development

Millennium Declaration - September 2000

Full list of MDG Goals, Targets and Indicators

2007 MDG Annual Report
[ earlier MDG reports ]

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Europe

Ending child poverty within the EU ? :
A review of the 2008-2010 national strategy reports on social protection and social inclusion (PDF - 1.7MB, 22 pages)
February 2009
Geographical area : Europe
Source:
Eurochild, Brussels

Europe's anti-poverty efforts put us to shame
October 4, 2008
By Laurie Monsebraaten
The poor may not always be with us. It sounds like a radical idea, but that's just what three of the national political party leaders are telling voters in this federal election. Problem is, the party leading the polls and expected to win on Oct. 14 has been silent on the issue affecting some 3 million Canadians, including 880,000 children. And without a plan to tackle poverty – or even acknowledge it's a problem – Stephen Harper's Conservatives would appear to be behind the curve, say social policy experts.
Source:
2008 Federal Election Coverage
[ The Toronto Star ]

European Union Social Protection Social Inclusion Process
This new platform – intended to all actors involved in the field of social affairs as well as the media and the public at large – replaces the three previous websites on Social Situation and Demography, Social Protection and Social Inclusion. You will find here information on the role played by the European Union in coordinating Member States’ action to combat poverty and social exclusion, reform social protection systems and in assessing new demographic and social developments, as well as concrete examples of this endeavour.

National Action Plans Against Poverty and Social Exclusion:
National Reports on Strategies for Social Protection and Social Inclusion 2006-2008
- incl. Austria - Belgium - Bulgaria - Cyprus - Czech Republic - Denmark - Estonia - France - Finland - Germany - Greece - Hungary - Ireland - Italy - Latvia - Lithuania - Luxembourg - Malta - Netherlands - Poland - Portugal - Romania - Slovakia - Slovenia - Sweden -United Kingdom
Source:
Reports
[ part of Social Inclusion ]
[ part of Employment and Social Affairs ]
[ part of Europa - Gateway to the European Union ]

National Strategic Reports
Following the streamlining of the Open Method of Coordination on Social Protection and Social Inclusion, Member States are now charged with translating the common objectives into National Plans for each of the three areas of Social Inclusion, Pensions and Health and Long-Term Care. These plans, which cover a period of two years, are submitted to the Commission in the form of a National Report on Strategies for Social Protection and Social Inclusion.
- incl. links to National Strategy Reports on Social Protection and Social Inclusion 2008-2010, National Reports on Strategies for Social Protection and Social Inclusion 2006-2008 and updates 2007 and more

2010 European Year for Combating Poverty and Social Exclusion
The European Commission has designated 2010 as the European Year for Combating Poverty and Social Exclusion. The € 17 million campaign aims to reaffirm the EU's commitment to making a decisive impact on the eradication of poverty by 2010. "The fight against poverty and social exclusion is one of the EU's central objectives and our shared approach has been an important tool to guide and support action in the Member States," said Social Affairs Commissioner Vladimír Špidla.

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Ireland

Office for Social Inclusion
The Office for Social Inclusion is the Irish Government Office with overall responsibility for developing,
co-ordinating and driving Ireland's National Action Plan for Social Inclusion 2007 - 2016

Department of Social and Family Affairs
The Office for Social Inclusion is part of the Department of Social and Family Affairs. Our mission is to promote a caring society through ensuring access to income support and other services, enabling active participation, promoting social inclusion and supporting families.

Related links:

European Anti Poverty Network (EAPN) Ireland
EAPN Ireland is a network of groups and individuals working against poverty. It is the Irish national network of the European Anti Poverty Network (EAPN Europe), which aims to put the fight against poverty at the top of the EU, national and local agenda.

What the poor need: A strategy
Ireland dramatically reduced its poverty rate, so why can't rich Canada do the same?
September 20, 2006
By: LAURIE MONSEBRAATEN
When Ireland decided in the mid-1990s to tackle the pervasive and grinding poverty dogging the country, the national government crafted a plan and set a goal. Ten years later, the country has cut its poverty rate from 15 per cent to less than 5 per cent.
Source:
The Toronto Star

Poverty Reduction Strategies in the United Kingdom and Ireland
By Chantal Collin (Political and Social Affairs Division)
2 November 2007
HTML version
PDF version (98 Kb, 15 pages)
[ version française ]
Table of Contents:
* Introduction
The United Kingdom’s Strategy to Reduce Poverty and Social Exclusion
(...)
Ireland’s National Anti-Poverty Strategy
* A. Multi-dimensional Approach
* B. Key Targets
* C. Measuring Success
* D. What’s Next? National Action Plan for Social Inclusion
* Summary
From the Parliamentary Research Library:
(Government of Canada)

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United Kingdom

From 2008 Budget documents (HM Treasury) :

Ending child poverty: everybody's business
12 March 2008
In 1999, the Government set an ambitious target to eradicate child poverty within a generation. Child poverty doubled in the 20 years from the late 1970s to the mid 1990s, but this rise has been reversed: 600,000 children have been lifted out of relative poverty since 1997. However, a significant number of families still experience relative poverty. (...) Ending child poverty: everybody's business sets out the next steps, including the measures announced in Budget 2008, that will make further significant progress to halving child poverty by 2010. The document also sets out the Governments vision for a renewed drive on child poverty for the next decade including a number of areas of further work and approaches the Government will pilot that will help develop the strategy for 2020.

Ending child poverty: everybody's business (PDF file - 1.3MB, 87 pages)
March 2008

Source:
Budget 2008
Stability and opportunity: building a strong, sustainable future
12 March 2008

Department for Work and Pensions
"The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is here to:
* promote opportunity and independence for all
* help individuals achieve their potential through employment
* work to end poverty in all its forms."

Our Child Poverty Strategy - March 2007
* Working for Children (PDF - 721KB)
* Executive summary (PDF - 105KB)

New Joint Child Poverty Unit
On 29 October 2007 DWP and the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) announced the creation of their Joint Child Poverty Unit. This Unit brings together the child poverty policy officials and analysts in the two departments, along with Neera Sharma on secondment from Barnados, to take the Government’s child poverty strategy to its next stage of development.
The role of the Unit is to:
- provide an integrated approach across Government to tackling child poverty
- build on the Child Poverty Review, by taking stock and taking forward the strategic direction to eradicate child poverty by 2020
- engage all our stakeholders, learning from their expertise
- engage those in local service delivery to take ownership to support our commitments
- undertake research and analysis to support the development of successful policies.
* Read the press release ( 29 October 2007)
* Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) website

'Working Together' – United Kingdom National Action Plan on Social Inclusion 2006-2008
Working Together' is the third UK National Action Plan (NAP) on social exclusion. It explains how people from across the UK will be co-operating from 2006 to 2008 to tackle social exclusion and make a decisive impact on poverty.
- includes links to several related reports

The Poverty Site
This site monitors what is happening to poverty and social exclusion in the UK and complements our annual monitoring reports. The material is organised around 50 statistical indicators covering all aspects of the subject, from income and work to health and education.

Poverty and social exclusion monitoring reports
- incl. links to studies and reports on the following: * UK * Ethnicity * Disability * Scotland * Wales * Northern Ireland * Rural England * Social exclusion * Low pay * Government strategy

Links
- incl. links organized under the following topics : * Income * Work * Low pay * Education * Health * Housing * Crime * Services * Social cohesion * Children * Datasets

Reports

Source:
New Policy Institute

Joseph Roundtree Foundation
The Joseph Rowntree Foundation is one of the largest social policy research and development charities in the UK. We spend over £10 million a year on our research and development programme. For over one hundred years we have been searching out the causes of social problems, investigating solutions and seeking to influence those who can make changes.

Child Poverty Action Group: fighting the injustice of poverty (CPAG)
CPAG is the leading charity campaigning for the abolition of child poverty in the UK and for a better deal for low-income families and children.

Meeting the Government's Child Poverty Target: progress to date (PDF - 120K, 11 pages)
September 2007
CPAG briefing summarising key facts and figures from the latest issue of Households Below Average Incomes, an annual report of the Department for Work and Pensions that is the source of the data which is used to measure progress against the Government's child poverty targets, i.e., to halve child poverty by 2010/11 and eradicate it by 2020. The latest issue covers the period 1994/5 to 2005/06..

Poverty Reduction Strategies in the United Kingdom and Ireland
By Chantal Collin (Political and Social Affairs Division)
2 November 2007
HTML version
PDF version (98 Kb, 15 pages)
[ version française ]
Table of Contents:
* Introduction
The United Kingdom’s Strategy to Reduce Poverty and Social Exclusion
* A. A Multi-pronged Approach
* B. Key Objectives and Measures
* C. Measuring Success
* D. Key Challenges
* E. What’s Next? Reaching Out
Ireland's National Anti-Poverty Strategy
(...)
Source:
Parliamentary Research Library
(Government of Canada)

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Miscellaneous international poverty reduction resources

The World Bank

PovertyNet
PovertyNet provides an introduction to key issues as well as in-depth information on poverty measurement, monitoring, analysis, and on poverty reduction strategies for researchers and practitioners.

Poverty Reduction Strategies
Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSP) describe a country's macroeconomic, structural and social policies and programs to promote growth and reduce poverty, as well as associated external financing needs. PRSPs are prepared by governments through a participatory process involving civil society and development partners, including the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Source:
The World Bank
The World Bank is like a cooperative, where its 185 member countries are shareholders. The shareholders are represented by a Board of Governors, who are the ultimate policy makers at the World Bank. Generally, the governors are member countries' ministers of finance or ministers of development.

International Monetary Fund
The IMF is an international organization of 185 member countries. It was established to promote international monetary cooperation, exchange stability, and orderly exchange arrangements; to foster economic growth and high levels of employment; and to provide temporary financial assistance to countries to help ease balance of payments adjustment.

Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSP)
Last updated March 28, 2008
- incl. links to the latest PRSPs, organized by country or by date, PLUS (at the bottom of the list) a collection of links to policy papers and other related documents
Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSP) are prepared by the member countries through a participatory process involving domestic stakeholders as well as external development partners, including the World Bank and International Monetary Fund. Updated every three years with annual progress reports, PRSPs describe the country's macroeconomic, structural and social policies and programs over a three year or longer horizon to promote broad-based growth and reduce poverty, as well as associated external financing needs and major sources of financing.

Joint Staff Advisory Notes
of Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSP) or Interim PRSPs
Last updated: March 27, 2008
The Joint Staff Advisory Notes (JSANs) are documents prepared by the staffs of the Bank and the Fund containing an analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of the poverty reduction strategy of the member concerned and identifying priority areas for strengthening the poverty reduction strategy during implementation.

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
The OECD brings together the governments of countries committed to democracy and the market economy from around the world to:
• Support sustainable economic growth • Boost employment • Raise living standards • Maintain financial stability • Assist other countries' economic development • Contribute to growth in world trade. The OECD also shares expertise and exchanges views with more than 100 other countries and economies, from Brazil, China, and Russia to the least developed countries in Africa.

What Works Best in Reducing Child Poverty:
A Benefit or Work Strategy? (PDF file - 450K, 54 pages)
Working Paper No. 51
March 5, 2007
By Peter Whiteford and Willem Adema
Table of contents : * Family and child poverty – trends, risks and composition * Tax and benefit policies and their effect on poverty and employment * The effect of “benefit” and/or “work” strategies * Conclusions

Source:
OECD Social, Employment and Migration Working Papers
[ Directorate for Employment, Labour and Social Affairs ]
[ Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development ]

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