Provincial and Territorial Anti-Poverty Strategies and Poverty Reduction

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

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First Progress Report on the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador’s Poverty Reduction Strategy (PDF - 4MB, 76 pages)
December 2009

May 25, 2009
From the Canadian Council on Social Development:

Tracing a Path from the Past to the Future Newfoundland and Labrador (PDF - 652K, 49 pages)
By Fran Locke with Penelope Rowe,
Community Sector Council Newfoundland and Labrador

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

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For a good objective summary of Newfoundland and Labrador's Poverty Reduction Strategy, see:

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

The rest of the NL links below are in reverse chronological order.

Programs and Services
for Individuals and Families Guidebook (HTML)
Latest update : April 2011
The Government of Newfoundland and Labrador Programs and Services for Individuals and Families Guidebook is an initiative of the Poverty Reduction Strategy. (...)
The Guidebook provides access to basic information such as a program’s name and purpose, a telephone number, and in some cases, an email or related web site address.
Information is divided into seven general headings:
* Financial Help
* Housing, Shelter and Home Supports
* Education and Learning
* Employment (Job) Help
* Medical, Health and Wellness
* Justice Help
* Other Services of Interest
NOTE : You have to scroll down the main page of the guide to access the PDF version of this guide, and you can also order the guide in paper format and in Braille.
Source:
Newfoundland and Labrador
Poverty Reduction Strategy

Poverty Reduction Strategy 2010 Consultations Completed
December 16, 2010
The following statement was given today in the House of Assembly by the Honourable Joan Burke, Acting Minister of Human Resources, Labour and Employment:
I rise today in this Honourable House to provide an update on the Poverty Reduction Strategy.
In keeping with the Provincial Government’s commitment to consult the public every two years about poverty, an extensive set of consultations was conducted this past fall. In fact, this is the third set of consultations we have held since 2005, demonstrating the significance of public input in the initial development and continuation of our anti-poverty efforts. These latest consultations are especially significant, as they will help inform the development of the next four-year action plan to fight poverty in Newfoundland and Labrador.
Source:
Human Resources, Labour and Employment

Newfoundland and Labrador Budget 2010

2010 Budget Highlights
March 29, 2010
"(...)Investments in Poverty Reduction:
* Total investment of $134 million this year, a total of $482.7 million since 2006.
* $2.5 million to increase the income thresholds under the Newfoundland and Labrador Prescription Drug Program Access Plan, a total investment of $139.6 million.
* $310,000 to enhance the Family Justice Services Division.
* $519,000 for the continuation of the Family Violence Intervention Court.
* $2.4 million in funding for the Supportive Living Community Partnership Initiative, doubling the amount of $1.2 million provided last year.
* $125,000 to provide community-based supports for Inuit women in Labrador to receive guidance on how to make the most of the Poverty Reduction Strategy, the Aboriginal Training Initiative, Victim Services and emerging economic activities.
* $100,000 in sustaining funding for the Newfoundland Aboriginal Women’s Network.
* Investment of $6.8 million this year in the federal-provincial Affordable Housing Program to build an additional 230 rental housing units for seniors, persons with disabilities and persons requiring supportive services.
* $17.6 million and leveraging additional federal funds to modernize more than 2,300 housing units.
* An additional $1.4 million to raise the Housing Corporation’s annual maintenance budget to $10.2 million.
* Providing $1.2 million to raise the heating allowance for the Housing Corporation’s low-income tenants.
* $70,000 in additional funding for transitional employment support services for victims of violence and $44,000 in additional funding for Women’s Centres.
* $200,000 for the continuation of the Home Heating Oil Tank Storage Replacement Assistance Program."
Source:
Newfoundland and Labrador Budget 2010
March 29, 2010

[ Budgets for previous years ]

Source:
Department of Finance

Newfoundland and Labrador
Market Basket Measure (NLMBM)
Thanks to an anonymous newsletter subscriber for pointing out that Newfoundland and Labrador's new customized Market Basket Measure doesn't appear on the Antipoverty Links page of this website. In my haste to share the link to the First Progress Report on the NL Poverty Reduction Strategy (PDF - 4MB, 76 pages, December 2009) in last week's Canadian Social Research Newsletter, I skimmed past the section on the NLMBM in that report. According to my subscriber's email, "... NL has developed their own variation on the market basket measure, the NLMBM, which uses tax data rather than surveys, and therefore purports to capture the entire population. They've also developed a NLMBM of Housing Affordability. Part of what's interesting is that they've got gender analysis embedded in the NLMBM data that's being developed - not a claim that can be made about any of the other poverty measures."

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In the 2006 Action Plan:
[ Reducing Poverty: An Action Plan for Newfoundland and Labrador (PDF file - 1.6MB, 60 pages), 2006]
...a commitment was made to improve capacity to measure and track progress in poverty reduction.
[Excerpts] A major innovation has been the development of the Newfoundland and Labrador Market Basket Measure (NLMBM). This new measure uses a similar approach to the federal government's Market Basket Measure (MBM). Like the MBM, it compares the incomes of families to the cost of a basket of goods and services necessary to live a productive and socially inclusive life. Unlike the MBM and all other available measures of low-income that use surveys to estimate low-income levels, the NLMBM uses tax-filer data and other sources to provide more accurate income and expense information for all tax-filers. This allows for the reporting of low-income levels in communities and neighbourhoods, as well as results for other subgroups such as different age groups or family types. This is important because it allows for the tracking of progress for different parts of the province as well as for different vulnerable groups so that it can be ensured that PRS is working for all. The NLMBM is available on Community Accounts [ www.communityaccounts.ca]

The NLMBM is developed and maintained by the Newfoundland and Labrador Statistics Agency.
In future years, NLMBM depth, persistence and other indicators of low income will be reported as they become available.

NOTE: For more info on the NLMBM, see Appendix II of the first progress report (PDF - 4MB, 76 pages, December 2009) or
request information from povertyreduction@gov.nl.ca

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MAY 20 (2010) UPDATE:

The N&L Market Basket Measure was released in January 2010 into the Community Accounts [ www.communityaccounts.ca] data. On the Community Accounts page, the NL MBM shows as the “Incidence of Low Income” under the “Income, Consumption & Leisure” accounts. For most geographies it can be broken down by family type. Currently available for 2005.

Newfoundland and Labrador Market Basket Measure Maps are presented by Rural Secretariat Region. These maps show incidence of low income for communities by Rural Secretariat Region. They also display a Remoteness Index which is a spacial measurement of access to essential government and community services.

Related link:

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

First Progress Report Shows Significant Results in Province’s Fight Against Poverty
News Release
December 14, 2009
Newfoundland and Labrador has realized significant improvement in the overall level of poverty since 2003. In fact, Newfoundland and Labrador has moved from being a province with one of the highest levels of poverty in Canada to the province with the third lowest level. Today, the Honourable Susan Sullivan, Minister of Human Resources, Labour and Employment and lead Minister for the Poverty Reduction Strategy, released Empowering People - Engaging Community - Enabling Success: First Progress Report on the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador’s Poverty Reduction Strategy. This document demonstrates that through the Poverty Reduction Strategy, the Williams Government is meeting its commitment to prevent, reduce and alleviate poverty in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Complete report:

Empowering People - Engaging Community - Enabling Success:
First Progress Report on the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador’s Poverty Reduction Strategy (PDF - 4MB, 76 pages)
December 2009
This report provides a summary of progress achieved towards meeting the goals and objectives of the 2006-10 Poverty Reduction Strategy Action Plan:
1. Progress towards improved access to and coordination of services for people with low income
2. Progress towards a stronger social safety net
3. Progress towards improved earned incomes
4. Progress towards an increased emphasis on early childhood development
5. Progress towards a better educated population

Source:
Dept. of Human Resources, Labour and Employment

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Related media reports (Dec. 14-15/09)

Province Making Progress on Reducing Poverty: Report
http://www.vocm.com/newsarticle.asp?mn=2&ID=3174

N.L. report on poverty says there are 30,000 fewer poor people in province
http://www.canadaeast.com/rss/article/889226

Report indicates province winning in fight against poverty
http://www.thetelegram.com/index.cfm?sid=310583&sc=79

Poverty down in Newfoundland and Labrador
http://dailygleaner.canadaeast.com/rss/article/890138

N.L. poverty levels down significantly: report
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/newfoundland-labrador/story/2009/12/14/nl-poverty-down-1214.html

[ Thanks to Jennefer Laidley of the Income Security Advocacy Centre (ISAC) for finding and sharing these links. ]

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.

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

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.
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

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 ]

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.

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

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 links:

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

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From the
PEI Advisory Council
on the Status of Women:

PEI Equality Report Card (PDF - 403K, 20 pages)
June 2009
During the 2007 election, the PEI Advisory Council on the Status of Women introduced its plan for an Equality Report Card for PEI, and in June 2008, we published the first, pilot report. The Equality Report Card is a process to assess our Province’s progress towards women’s equality goals.
(...)
We urge the government to consult and collaborate with community-based organizations to develop a Poverty Reduction Strategy like those in other provinces. We see the three priority areas below as key elements of Poverty Reduction:
* Improvements to the Employment Standards Act * Investment in affordable, accessible, appropriate housing (incl. housing for seniors and persons with disabilities * Increase direct allowances to social services recipients to
cover all of their basic needs.
(...)
There has been no action towards the promised Poverty Reduction Strategy to consider how we are doing across the province and across departments to assist people who live in poverty. There is no political will to name the problem of poverty and to provide poverty reduction initiatives. The full-time position in government that is meant to be dedicated to Poverty Reduction has been vacant for over a year.

Source:
PEI Advisory Council
on the Status of Women
The PEI Advisory Council on the Status of Women was established to advise the Minister Responsible with respect to matters relating to the status of women, the development of public awareness regarding issues affecting women, and the promotion of change in attitudes within the community in order that women may enjoy an equality of opportunity.
[ Related Press Release : Government Earns a C on 2009 Equality Report Card - June 16, 2009 ]

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

Prince Edward Island:
Poverty Reduction Policies and Programs in Prince Edward Island (PDF - 401K, 34 pages)
By Kathleen Flanagan

Source:
Poverty Reduction Policies and Programs
Social Development Report Series, 2009
[ Canadian Council on Social Development ]

Also from CCSD :

Poverty Reduction Policies and Programs in Canada (PDF - 341K, 29 pages)
By David I. Hay, Information Partnership

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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

[GO BACK TO THE TOP OF THIS PAGE]

Nova Scotia Poverty Reduction Strategy

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

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The links below are in reverse chronological order.

From the Nova Scotia Office
of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA):

Fast Facts: Let's Make Poverty Reduction a Priority (PDF - 165K, 2 pages)
(...) Overall progress on poverty reduction has been slow for many reasons, including the lack of federal commitment to poverty reduction and the
weakness of Nova Scotia’s poverty reduction strategy. In addition, we are told governments have no choice but to focus on balancing budgets and paying down deficits as quickly as possible. As the Alternative Federal Budget and the Nova Scotia Alternative Budget have shown year after year, governments do have a range of choices that remain fiscally responsible.
Source:
Nova Scotia Alternative Budget 2011

Source:
Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA) - Nova Scotia Office
[ CCPA National Office ]

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The Nova Scotia Child Poverty Report Card 2010 : 1989–2008 (PDF - 816K, 27 pages)
by Lesley Frank
November 24, 2010
This year’s report card examines the period 1989 to 2008, the year for which the most recent data is available. It also reviews changes for a later period (1997 to 2008) to assess the impact of the 1998 National Child Benefit initiative, which is specifically aimed at preventing and reducing child poverty.

News Release:

14,000 children in Nova Scotia still living in poverty is 14,000 too many
November 24, 2010
HALIFAX, NS –Twenty-one years ago (in 1989), the government of Canada promised to end child poverty by the year 2000. In 2000, not only had they not kept the promise - the child poverty rate was even higher. Today, ten years after the goal date, the broken promise remains. This year’s annual report published by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives –Nova Scotia and Campaign 2000 reports that 14,000 Nova Scotia children were living in poverty in 2008. Based on the most recent available data (for 2008), the report card shows that there has been some progress made, however.

Earlier related report
from the CCPA Nova Scotia Office:

The Cost of Poverty in Nova Scotia (PDF - 822K, 34 pages)
October 2010
The Nova Scotia Government’s 2009 Poverty Reduction Strategy sets out dual goals of reducing poverty and creating opportunities for prosperity. Inherent in this vision is an understanding that when we help those in need, we make Nova Scotia a better place to live for everyone. As has been so aptly demonstrated by the research of Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett in their book The Spirit Level [Facebook link], money spent on reducing poverty and inequality is an investment in all of our futures. [Excerpt from the Introduction]

Poverty costs Nova Scotia over $1billion a year
News Release
October 16, 2010
HALIFAX - The total economic cost of poverty in Nova Scotia is at least $1.5 to $2.2 billion dollars per year, accounting for between 5% - 7% of Nova Scotia’s GDP in 2008. The portion of the total cost borne by society (the social cost) is at least $500 to $650 million dollars. This corresponds to 6% - 8% of Nova Scotia’s 2007/2008 budget, or around $1,400 to $1,700 for each Nova Scotian household

Source:
Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA) - Nova Scotia Office
[ CCPA National Office ]
The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives is an independent, non-partisan research institute concerned with issues of social, economic and environmental justice. Founded in 1980, the CCPA is one of Canada’s leading progressive voices in public policy debates.

NOTE:
This is one of a series of provincial reports all released under the Campaign 2000 banner on November 24 (2010), the anniversary of the 1989 unanimous House of Commons resolution to end child poverty by the year 2000. For links to the complete collection of federal and provincial reports and (selected) related media coverage, go to the Children, Families and Youth Links (NGO) page:
http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/chnngo.htm

Related materials:

Fast Facts: The Cost of Poverty in Nova Scotia PDF - 400K, 2 pages)
October 2010
The estimated economic costs of poverty for 2008 are broken down as follows:
1. Health Care Costs: $241 million or 6.7% of the Nova Scotia government’s health care budget.
2. Crime Costs: between $30 and $60 million represents Nova Scotia’s costs as a per capita share of the national cost of crime.
3. Cycle of Poverty or Intergenerational transfer of poverty costs: between $12 and $21 million in social costs and $91 to $160 million/year after taxes in private costs.
4. Lost productivity – $135 to $200 million in lost government revenue (the social cost) and $930 million to $1.3 billion in lost market income (the private cost).

Source:
CCPA Nova Scotia Office
[ Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA) ]

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Nova Scotia Report Card on Child and Family Poverty 2009 (PDF - 214K, 23 pages)
November 2009
While Nova Scotia remains within the group of provinces with lower rates of child poverty, policymakers and elected representatives (those with the power to legislate the end of poverty) must act quickly and decisively to expand the progress achieved in recent years. Specific, targeted policies are needed to ensure that poverty rates and gaps are The Nova Scotia Child Poverty Report Card 2009 Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives–Nova Scotia 18 reduced for particular groups where there is greater risk of children and their families being exposed to poverty and the potential harm it carries. Most notably, income assistance rates need to be increased to a level that will provide families with children, who depend on welfare income, an annual income that will raise families out of poverty.

15,000 Nova Scotia children still in poverty
Press Release
November 23, 2009
HALIFAX, NS - Nova Scotia Child Poverty Report Cards have recorded changes in child poverty since 1999. Each annual card has tracked progress on the government of Canada’s 1989 promise to end child poverty. The report released today, by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, Nova Scotia, is the tenth card, and is being released on the 20th anniversary of Canada’s promise to eliminate poverty by the year 2000.

Source:
Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA) - Nova Scotia Office
[ CCPA National Office ]

Related link:

Fighting poverty: Major attitude shift needed [expired link]
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)

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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 online. [expired March 2008]
-- 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 ]

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

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

[GO BACK TO THE TOP OF THIS PAGE]

Bringing the Pieces Together: New Brunswick's poverty reduction plan

NOTE: For the latest information on poverty
reduction in New Brunswick, scroll down past this yellow box.

The New Brunswick Economic and Social Inclusion Corporation
The Economic and Social Inclusion Corporation will lead and co-ordinate the implementation of Overcoming Poverty Together: The New Brunswick Economic and Social Inclusion Plan. The co-chairs and president are members of a 22-member board of directors representing government; business; community non-profit organizations; and persons having experienced poverty

Economic and Social Inclusion Corporation holds first meeting
News Release
June 30, 2010

________________________

The New Brunswick Economic
and Social Inclusion Plan:

Overcoming Poverty Together:
The New Brunswick Economic and Social Inclusion Plan (PDF - 100K, 5 pages)
November 13, 2009
By 2015, New Brunswick will have reduced income poverty by 25% and deep income poverty by 50%, and will have made significant progress in achieving sustained economic and social inclusion. Other changes include an increase in the minimum wage, stable funding for homeless shelters, protection for roomers and boarders, and more....

________________________

The August 2010
progress report :

Overcoming Poverty Together:
The New Brunswick Economic and Social Inclusion Plan
Progress Report as of August 11, 2010 (PDF - 239K, 11 pages)
Since the Final Forum on November 12 and 13, 2009, when Overcoming Poverty Together: The New Brunswick Economic and Social Inclusion Plan was adopted, a great deal of work has been done to implement the consensus plan. This document is a summary of these efforts.

________________________

The three phases of development
of New Brunswick's poverty reduction plan:

Phase I - The Dialogue Sessions - was completed on March 31, 2009.
- incl. links to the What Was Said Report entitled "A Choir of Voices" and summaries of the input received at the regional sessions.
Phase II - The Roundtable Sessions took place during the spring of 2009.
Phase III - The Final Forum was held on November 12 and 13 in Saint John.
- incl. release of "Overcoming Poverty Together", New Brunswick's first-ever poverty reduction plan.

Source:
New Brunswick Social Development

New Brunswick Common Front for Social Justice (CFSJ)
- the main NGO involved in the critique of the government's poverty reduction plan
Click the link above to go directly to the website, or scroll down the page you're now reading to see the latest CFSJ reports below, in reverse chronological order.

. [The links below are in reverse chronological order.]

Poverty costs New Brunswickers $2 billion dollars per year
News Release
September 27, 2011
Halifax/Moncton
A new study released today, entitled Cost of Poverty in New Brunswick, co-authored by economist Angella MacEwen and Christine Saulnier, reveals that:
* Poverty costs the New Brunswick government a half a billion dollars per year.
* These costs accounted for 6.5% of the 2009/10 New Brunswick government budget.
* Health care spending on poverty alone costs the government $196 million per year.
* When the costs to government are added to the broader costs to the economy, the total cost of poverty for the province is $2 billion dollars.
* Investing in a comprehensive plan to alleviate poverty could cost as little as half as much as the quantifiable costs of poverty.

The report:

The Cost of Poverty in New Brunswick (PDF - 421K, 12 pages)
(...) For the New Brunswick government, we estimate that the direct cost of poverty is approximately a half a billion dollars per year—and that these costs account for 6.5% of the 2009/10 New Brunswick government budget.

Source:
Nova Scotia Office of the
Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives

PROPOSED MODIFICATIONS REGARDING SOCIAL ASSISTANCE POLICIES
BRIEF TO THE MINISTER OF SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT AND
THE COMMITTEE ON SOCIAL ASSISTANCE REFORM
BY
THE N.B. FRONT COMMUN FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE, INC.
Word version (.docx) - 750K, 14 pages
PDF version - 545K, 14 pages
Moncton, N.B.
May 25, 2011
For a long time, the New Brunswick Common Front for Social Justice has been aware that social assistance policies did not work to the advantage of recipients. There are many policies that, in our view, are inadequate and need changes or revisions. This is why we decided to write a Brief concerning some key policies which must be modified. Our document target nine of these policies that we believe the committee looking a social assistance revision should seriously consider. We have analysed each one, explained their weaknesses and made recommendations for changes so that these policies can help recipients, not hinder them.
Source:
New Brunswick Common Front for Social Justice
The Common Front for Social Justice is one of the largest democratic and popular organizations in New Brunswick, with close to 75,000 group and individual members. The Common Front brings together individuals as well as local, regional and provincial organizations to work towards the eradication of poverty.

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

Version française:

MODIFICATIONS PROPOSÉES AUX POLITIQUES DE L'AIDE AU REVENU
MÉMOIRE ADRESSÉ À LA MINISTRE DU DÉVELOPPEMENT SOCIAL ET
AU COMITÉ SUR LA RÉFORME DE L'AIDE SOCIALE
PAR LE FRONT COMMUN POUR LA JUSTICE SOCIALE INC.
Fichier PDF - 1,6Mo., 15 pages
Fichier Word (.doc) - 2.7Mo., 15 pages
Moncton, NB
Le 25 mai 2011
Pendant plusieurs années, le Front commun pour la justice sociale du Nouveau-Brusnwick était conscient que les politiques d’assistance sociale présentes n’étaient pas en faveur des bénéficiaires. Il y avait plusieurs politiques qui n’étaient pas adéquates et avaient besoin de changements ou de modifications; c’est pourquoi nous avons décidé de proposer des changements à certaines d’entre elles. Notre document cible neuf politiques que nous croyons que le comité de révision des politiques sur l’aide sociale à besoin de se pencher dessus. Nous avons analysé chacune d’entre elles, expliqué leurs faiblesses et fait des recommandations de changements afin de s’assurer que les politiques ne mettent pas les bénéficiaires dans une situation plus précaire qu’ils ne le sont présentement.
Source:
Front commun pour la justice sociale du Nouveau-Brunswick
Le Front commun pour la justice sociale est un des plus importants organismes démocratiques et populaires au NB. Il compte environ 75 000 membres individuels et collectifs. Il regroupe des individus et des organisations locales, régionales et provinciales travaillant ensemble à l'élimination de la pauvreté.

New from the
Common Front for Social Justice (CFSJ):
[Posted January 15, 2011]

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly Reality of Poverty in 2010 (PDF - 60K, 2 pages)
News Release
December 28, 2010
"This year had its good, bad and ugly side for people living in poverty" stated Linda McCaustlin, co--chair of the Common Front for Social Justice. The Common Front for Social Justice did an analysis of the actions taken by the Shawn Graham and David Alward governments over the past year that had a direct impact on the financial situation of more than 100,000 individuals and families living in poverty in this province.

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly Reality of Poverty in 2010 (PDF - 134K, 6 pages)
With 2010 coming to an end, the Common Front for Social Justice (CFSJ) seizes the opportunity to take a close look at the actions and/or inactions of the government of NB with regard to the reduction of poverty during the past year. The following outlines some areas which had a direct impact on the financial situation of citizens during the past year and where the CFSJ has noted some progress but also, unfortunately, some drawbacks.
Source:
Common Front for Social Justice (CFSJ)
As a non-profit community organization composed of social, unions and religious groups, the CFSJ scrutinizes the various social policies in order to see how they affect low income people. It also aims at promoting more solidarity within our society.

***

Liens vers la version française
du communiqué et de l'analyse:

Communiqué de presse (fichier PDF - 60Ko., 2 pages)
Le 28 décembre 2010

Analyse:
La bonne, la méchante et l'affreuse réalité de la pauvreté au Nouveau-Brunswick en 2010 (fichier PDF - 123Ko., 7 pages)

Source:
Front commun pour la justice social
À titre d'organisme à but non lucratif formé de groupes sociaux, syndicaux et religieux, le Front commun pour la justice sociale s’est donné comme mission de scruter les diverses politiques sociales pour voir comment elles affectent les gens à faible revenu. Sa vision est celle de voir un jour une société plus solidaire.

Child Poverty Report Card : New Brunswick (PDF - 980K, 16 pages)
November 2010
Prepared by Kathryn Asher, Researcher with the Human Development Council, a local social planning council that co-ordinates and promotes social development in Greater Saint John.

Source:
Human Development Council - Saint John

NOTE:
This is one of a series of provincial reports all released under the Campaign 2000 banner on November 24 (2010), the anniversary of the 1989 unanimous House of Commons resolution to end child poverty by the year 2000. For links to the complete collection of federal and provincial reports and (selected) related media coverage, go to the Children, Families and Youth Links (NGO) page:
http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/chnngo.htm

Recent postings to the website of the
New Brunswick Common Front for Social Justice (CFSJ):

[ Site en français:
Front commun pour la justice sociale du Nouveau-Brunswick ]

---

The new government of David Alward should immediately
increase revenues for people who are living on social assistance (PDF - 69K, 2 pages)
November 17, 2010
News release
“The last two Hunger Count Reports have revealed that during the last two years, there was an 18% increase in food bank usage in N.B. Just this year, the number of people using food banks has also increased. Thirty-four percent of food bank clients are children; thirteen percent are wage earners but the majority of them (61%) are social assistance recipients. This is completely unacceptable in a country as rich as Canada”, says Linda McCaustlin, co-chair of the Common Front for Social Justice.
[ Version française:
Le nouveau gouvernement de David Alward devrait immédiatement augmenter le revenu des personnes qui dépendent de l'aide sociale
- Communiqué de presse, le 17 novembre 2010 ] (fichier PDF) ]

POVERTY : A VIOLATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS
Report on the 3rd Summit on Poverty in New Brunswick (PDF - 2.2MB, 5 pages)
Moncton, NB – October 16 & 17, 2010
(...) Under the theme “Poverty, a Violation of Human Rights”, 150 participants heard the views of several speakers, who concurred in affirming society’s responsibility for guaranteeing everyone’s right to a standard of living sufficient to ensure their health and welfare and that of their family.
* Panel: Why does society tolerate poverty?
* What is being done internationally to enforce the human rights of the poor?
* Human Rights: From principles to practice
* What can be done in New Brunswick to increase respect for human rights? (incl. recommended action to reduce poverty)
[ Version française:
Rapport du 3e Sommet sur la pauvreté, octobre 2010 (fichier PDF) ]

---

Impact of Food Cost on Food Security in New Brunswick:
Survey conducted by the Common Front for Social Justice during the summer of 2010 (PDF - 2.4MB, 27 pages)
November 2010
Conclusions:
* Food cost has dramatically increased.
* There were no major differences in food cost between cities and the few rural areas surveyed.
* Cost of the 66 items in the food basket: $254 at Coop Stores, $257 at Superstores and $259 at Sobeys
* Seniors with guaranteed income supplement: 15% of income goes toward food (10.4% is the Canadian average.)
* Minimum wage worker: 17% of income for food
* People on social assistance: 35 - 50% of income for food
[ Version française:
Répercussion du coût des aliments sur la sécurité alimentaire au N.-B. - novembre 2010 (fichier PDF) ]

October 6 (2010) Press conference document (PDF - 62K, 2 pages)
A food costing survey conducted by the CFSJ in July and August 2010 documented what many people living on limited income already knew from
experience, namely that food is considerably more expensive now that four to five years ago. Overall, people on social assistance, minimum wage workers and seniors on fixed income have an incredibly small amount of money to feed themselves adequately. Housing cost competes for a large portion of their monthly income. Some spend as much as 60% of their income on housing alone. With the current cost of nutritious food alone, they would need to spend from one-third to one-half of their allocation for food, leaving them empty-handed for all other necessities of life.
[ Version française:
Document pour la conférence de presse du 6 octobre 2010 (fichier PDF) ]

---

Inequality in Canada (and New Brunswick)
- A Brief History, Why it Matters, and What WE can Do
By Rob Moir, Economist at UNBSJ
October 2010
PDF version (11.4MB, 27 pages)
Powerpoint version (2.1MB, 27 slides)
[ Aucune version française ]

---

New Brunswick Poverty Reduction Plan: Updates and Developments (PDF - 1.3MB, 29 pages)
By Jean-Claude Basque and Auréa Cormier
June 2010
Excerpts:
* The Crown Corporation creates an additional layer of bureaucracy
* Decision making is further away from our elected members of the Legislative Assembly
* The Board, the Secretariat and the group coordinating the Community Inclusion Networks is a costly administrative structure
* Minister Lamrock said there would be no appeal process if decisons made by the Community Inclusion Networks are contested
* For 97% of social assistance recipients, there are no changes in sight before July 2011
* CFSJ's concerns with the Service delivery are:
--- Difficulties of access to services in rural areas
--- Uneven quality assurance in some of the networks
--- Possibility of lack of services, in some of the networks, in the language of choice

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Recherchistes francophones:
Sur la version française du site Web du
Front commun pour la justice sociale du Nouveau-Brunswick,
...vous trouverez les liens vers la version française de chacun
des textes mentionnés ici, ainsi qu'à d'autres textes du Front commun.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

New Economic and Social Inclusion Corporation
won't have representatives in at least four areas of New Brunswick (PDF - 126K, 2 pages)
News release
June 29, 2010
According to the New Brunswick Common Front for Social Justice, "[A]t least four areas of New Brunswick won't have any representatives of people living in poverty on the new Board of Directors of the Economic and Social Inclusion Corporation.”

---

Tired of being manipulated? (PDF - 6.6MB, 32 pages)
By Claude Snow
June 2010
Caring for people is a MUST.
Public social services are essential.
Less taxes = Less services.

---

Annual Report 2009-2010 (PDF - 77K, 2 pages)
June 2010
- Our actions in 2009-2010, notably on the Poverty Reduction Plan

---

Third Summit on Poverty - October 15-16, 2010 (PDF - 1.3MB, 1 page)
"Poverty: A Violation of Human Rights"
Moncton, NB
June 2010
- flyer, including conference program and some speakers

---

Revealing Statistics on the Socioeconomic Status (PDF - 21K, 1 page)
June 2010

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Two Different Worlds (PDF - 1.3MB, 34 pages)
- Catalogue for the art exhibit held at Moncton City Hall May 31st to June 4th, 2010.
"In the same province, citizens are living side by side, day in and day out, but in two completely different worlds."

---

Source:
New Brunswick Common Front for Social Justice
The CFSJ promotes alternative policies in order to create a society concerned mainly about human beings.
* fairer distribution of power, thus a more dynamic democracy with greater participation;
* fairer distribution of wealth, thus a more equitable tax system;
* to improve the Canadian social security net, such as public health, public welfare and unemployement insurance;
* to challenge the corporate agenda by attempting to counter policies of privatization, deregulation and the withdrawal of the state;
* to increase the value and the dignity of human work.
- incl. links to : Documents | Press Releases | Action Alerts | Links | Home | Site Map | Contact us | Français

Statement of the Winnipeg Roundtable to the Council of the Federation:
The provincial and territorial road to poverty eradication
4 Aug 2010
Statement from a roundtable of cross-Canada participants calls on the Premiers and federal party leaders to "reflect the inherent decency of most Canadians and start to work on a plan for poverty eradication".

Catastrophic drug costs can affect the poor and affluent alike
June 1st, 2010
[Minister of Social Development ] Kelly Lamrock's recent response to a request that New Brunswick implement a catastrophic drug cost insurance plan shows that either he doesn't understand why such a plan is required or he is purposefully misleading the public. This insurance plan isn't required for the poor; it's something everyone needs. (...) The strong endorsement made in the report of the Romanow Commission in 2002 that such a plan be developed in Canada was followed in 2003 by a commitment from the federal and provincial governments that a national program would be established. All provinces except New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island have implemented such a plan. (...) Minister Lamrock wants to consult with the stakeholders. He wants to engage businesspeople and health officials. It will be part of the poverty-reduction strategy.
Source:
The Daily Gleaner (New Brunswick)

NB Economic and Social Inclusion Corporation needs
real representation of people currently living in poverty,
says co-chair of the New Brunswick Common Front for Social Justice (PDF - 58K, 2 pages)
News Release
April 7, 2010
(...) There has to be real representation of people currently living in poverty, the process has to be open and language of service needs to be included in the new proposed Bill 39, Economic and Social Inclusion Act...
Source:
New Brunswick Common Front for Social Justice

Related links:

Poverty Reduction plan needs serious debate
April 14, 2010
The surprise announcement that this Friday will see the end of this Legislature session means that several bills now awaiting the attention of legislators will be rammed through without much debate. One of these is Bill 39, the Economic and Social Inclusion Act. This is the bill that gives legs to the government's poverty reduction plan announced several months ago. The Conservatives participated in and endorsed the plan so there is a good chance this bill will see swift passage. It is also one that hasn't received much scrutiny precisely because the Official Opposition was part of the process that developed it.
Source:
Telegraph-Journal

---

Group wants changes to proposed poverty bill
April 14, 2010
Proposed provincial legislation to create a new Crown corporation to administer the Poverty Reduction Plan of government needs to be amended to recognize both official languages and better represent the plight of New Brunswick's poor, says the New Brunswick Common Front for Social Justice co-chairman. In a statement, Linda McCaustlin said Bill 39, to create the New Brunswick Economic and Social Inclusion Corporation, should also change the make-up of its proposed board of directors in order to eliminate any possible political influence.
Source:
Times & Transcript

More recent letters, commentaries
and articles by the Common Front for Social Justice:

Income Gaps and Food Banks (PDF - 98K) - brochure, April 2010

Food Banks and Soup Kitchens: An Overview (PDF - 151K) - March 2010

It all boils down to unfair distribution (PDF - 88K) - editorial by Ed Finn

Food crisis, root causes and solutions (PDF - 1.3MB) - Auréa Cormier, October 17, 2009

Equal Opportunities Program under attack (PDF - 82K) - commentary by Ysabel Provencher, PhD, Université Laval

The Second Report Card on Homelessness in Greater Moncton, 2009 (PDF - 3.5MB) - The Greater Moncton Homelessness Steering Committee

Commentary (53K) - Jean-Claude Basque, March 2010

These are the faces of poverty and social injustices in New Brunswick (PDF - 10K) - for The Daily Gleaner, March 3, 2010.

---

For earlier releases from the Common Front for Social Justice,
scroll down to the yellow box further down on this page.

Reconstructing Social Assistance in New Brunswick: Vision and Action (PDF - 77K, 19 pages)
By Ken Battle, Michael Mendelson, Sherri Torjman
July 2010
The Government of New Brunswick has launched a comprehensive reform of its social assistance system as a key element of its poverty reduction strategy. This report contains two papers. The first is a vision paper written for New Brunswick by the Caledon Institute that sets out a philosophy and key elements of reform. The second is an account of New Brunswick's plans and actions to implement the vision for reform.
Source:
Caledon Institute of Social Policy

Also from Caledon on this subject:

Breaking down the welfare wall in New Brunswick (PDF - 34K, 2 pages)
March 2010
By Ken Battle, Sherri Torjman and Michael Mendelson
[ Version française : Briser le mur de l'aide sociale (PDF)]
This op ed was published as a Globe and Mail online commentary. It points out that one of the most promising developments in Canadian social policy is the rise of provincial poverty reduction plans. New Brunswick recently announced a comprehensive poverty reduction strategy, which includes fundamental reform of its social assistance system. The province is taking some important steps in this ambitious reform including the creation of a provincial working income supplement. New Brunswick will also extend the length of coverage under its health card for up to three years to recipients who leave welfare for work or training. It will launch a prescription drug program, plus vision and dental care for all low-income children. The op ed highlights other needed reforms, such as a boost to the New Brunswick Child Tax Benefit.

Media coverage:

Poverty Reduction Plan ‘not all that rosy,’ says advocate
By Gilean Watts
April 7, 2010
Shawn Graham’s Poverty Reduction Plan only benefits a very small number of welfare recipients, says a leading provincial poverty advocacy group.
“If you listen to the media it seems that the Poverty Reduction Plan was a real good thing, but if you look at it and analyze between the lines then you start wondering if it’s really not all that rosy,” said Auréa Cormier of the New Brunswick Common Front for Social Justice at a public discussion at St. Thomas University last Thursday. According to Cormier, 97 per cent of welfare recipients will not be affected by the province’s Poverty Reduction Plan, which was introduced in November. The three per cent that will benefit are those in the interim assistance program, which provides money to employed welfare recipients.
Source:
New Brunswick Beacon

The working poor's best hope
New Brunswick may well provide the bold
leadership in social policy that this country so urgently requires
By Ken Battle, Sherri Torjman and Michael Mendelson
February 26, 2010
(...) As Ottawa continues to bury its head in the snow, the initiative for tackling the long-lamented scourge of poverty has shifted to the provinces. Quebec and Newfoundland were first out of the gate with provincial poverty-reduction plans; several other provinces have been introducing their own campaigns. The way to break down the welfare wall is to extend income supports and services traditionally reserved for those on welfare to the working poor – Canada's forgotten poor. New Brunswick, which is taking important steps to do exactly this in its ambitious reform, may well provide the bold leadership in social policy that this country so urgently requires.
Source:
The Globe and Mail

Related link:

Caledon Institute of Social Policy
[The co-authors of the above G&M article are president, vice-president and
senior scholar, respectively, of the Caledon Institute of Social Policy.]
The Caledon Institute of Social Policy does rigorous, high-quality research and analysis; seeks to inform and influence public opinion and to foster public discussion on poverty and social policy; and develops and promotes concrete, practicable proposals for the reform of social programs at all levels of government and of social benefits provided by employers and the voluntary sector.

Also from Caledon:

New Brunswick’s “Overcoming Poverty Together” Earns Praise and Creates Hope (PDF - 42K, 9 pages)
February 2010
By Anne Makhoul
Between October 2008 and November 2009, the New Brunswick government embarked on a three-stage public engagement process in order to design an economic and social inclusion plan. Its goal was to ensure that all sectors of New Brunswick society, including business, community nonprofit organizations and citizens, would share responsibility with the government for creating new opportunities for residents. Together they will implement action in three areas: Being (meeting basic needs), Becoming (life-long learning and skills acquisition) and Belonging (community participation).
---

Economic and Social Inclusion Act introduced
News Release
Feb. 19, 2010
FREDERICTON (CNB) - Legislation introduced today will implement the province's poverty reduction plan and ensure the delivery of poverty initiatives at the community level. Social Development Minister Kelly Lamrock introduced the Economic and Social Inclusion Act in the legislative assembly.

The Legislation:

BILL 39, 2010:
The Economic and Social Inclusion Act
The Economic and Social Inclusion Act will serve as the legislative framework to implement New Brunswick's poverty reduction plan (see "The Plan", below).
(...) Specifically, the act will:
* establish the New Brunswick Economic and Social Inclusion Corporation, a Crown corporation to monitor and advance the plan;
* provide for the establishment of community inclusion networks; and
* provide for the establishment of a co-ordination unit to provide support for the board and the community inclusion networks.

The Plan:

Overcoming Poverty Together:
The New Brunswick Economic and Social Inclusion Plan (PDF - 100K, 5 pages)
November 13, 2009
By 2015, New Brunswick will have reduced income poverty by 25% and deep income poverty by 50%, and will have made significant progress in achieving sustained economic and social inclusion

Source:
New Brunswick Social Development

Related links:

Social assistance clients can have roommates: Minister Lamrock
February 17, 2010
The New Brunswick government has stopped penalizing social assistance recipients who have roommates. It has eliminated a decades-old policy that clawed back the benefits of low-income clients who live with someone else to pool their financial resources, Social Development Minister Kelly Lamrock announced Wednesday.
Source:
CBC New Brunswick

Recent releases from
The Common Front for Social Justice Inc.:

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Recherchistes francophones:
Sur la version française du site Web du
Front commun pour la justice sociale du Nouveau-Brunswick,
...vous trouverez les liens vers la version française de chacun
des textes mentionnés ici, ainsi qu'à d'autres textes du Front commun.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Reading Between the Lines of "Overcoming Poverty Together-
NB Economic and Social Inclusion Plan" (PDF - 1.6MB, 28 pages)
[Dead link - try searching the website]
Analysis by the Common Front for Social Justice
[Powerpoint presentation]
February 2010
NOTE: This is an analysis of the poverty situation and the New Brunswick Government's poverty reduction plan; the 2010-2011 provincial budget is mentioned in some bullet points on p. 26.
"... 2010-2011 budget offers no relief for those most in need"
"For 97% of social assistance, there will be no changes in rate until April 2011 or possibly later."

---

Reading between the lines of “Overcoming Poverty Together –
The New Brunswick Economic and Social Inclusion Plan” (PDF - 373K, 11 pages)
January 2010
Complete report (PDF - 373K, 11 pages)
Summary (PDF - 241K, 5 pages)
The purpose of this document is to express the concerns that the CFSJ has regarding the released document entitled Overcoming Poverty Together – The New Brunswick Economic and Social Inclusion Plan (hereafter called the Plan). Our analysis will address the following issues:
1) Who was left out of the plan?;
2) Limits to employability not considered;
3) Delivery structure and possible consequences;
4) Financial support towards the Plan, and
5) Missing elements.

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Front for Social Justice applauds
minimum wage hike, argues more needs to be done
NB Media Co-op
January 8, 2010

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Comparison of New Brunswick's minimum wage with the Atlantic average (PDF - 32K, 1 page)
January 2010
As of April 1, 2011*, assuming the other Atlantic provinces stay the same, NB workers will make 11¢ per hour more than the average minimum wage of all Atlantic provinces.
[*the English PDF file says April 2010 but this is incorrect. The French version of this PDF file has the correct date.]
[ One of the elements of the provincial poverty reduction plan (see below) is to raise the minimum wage to the Atlantic average by September 1st, 2011 and adjust for inflation annually thereafter. The Common Front argues that this is a good thing for full-time workers, but many of New Brunswick's poor households work part-time, thus reducing the impact of the increase on the target population. ]

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Poverty in 2009 - The real picture
December 2009
- evaluation of nine crucial issues that have a direct impact on people living in poverty

Source:
Common Front for Social Justice Inc. (CFSJ)
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.

---

Related links:

Overcoming Poverty Together:
The New Brunswick Economic and Social Inclusion Plan (PDF - 100K, 5 pages)
PDF file dated November 17, 2009
By 2015, New Brunswick will have reduced income poverty by 25% and deep income poverty by 50%, and will have made significant progress in achieving sustained economic and social inclusion.
Source:
Government of New Brunswick

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Poverty levels not improving: advocacy group
January 16, 2010
By Greg Mulock
With a new year underway, a provincial advocacy group says the poor in New Brunswick are possibly worse off than they were at the outset of 2009. "The Common Front for Social Justice analyzed different actions taken in 2009 to reduce poverty," said a news release. "It realized the situation for people living in poverty has not changed. On some level it even deteriorated, especially for recipients on social assistance."
Source:
Telegraph-Journal (New Brunswick)

New Brunswick Report Card on Child and Family Poverty (PDF - 445K, 12 pages)
November 2009
In November 2009, New Brunswick joined the ranks of provinces that have adopted comprehensive poverty reduction strategies. Overcoming Poverty Together: The New Brunswick Economic and Social Inclusion Plan has set a target of reducing income poverty by 25% and deep income poverty by 50% by the year 2015.

Version française:
Rapport sur la pauvreté des enfants et des
familles au Nouveau Brunswick • 2009 (PDF - 456Ko., 12 pages)
Novembre 2009

Source:
Human Development Council - Saint John
The Human Development Council provides information about community services throughout New Brunswick. (...) The Council works collaboratively with community agencies, individuals, government departments, businesses, churches, and labour to initiate, develop and implement creative strategies to meet the needs of the community.
[ See the Saint John Poverty Reduction Strategy ]

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.

[GO BACK TO THE TOP OF THIS PAGE]

Québec : National Strategy to Combat Poverty and Social Exclusion

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)

______________________________________________________

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

NOTE : The links below this line are added in reverese chronological order.

______________________________________________________

Poverty Reduction in Québec: The First Five Years (small PDF file - 9 pages)
By Sherri Torjman
December 2010
This report is part of a series of papers on provincial poverty reduction strategies prepared for the Vibrant Communities project*. The report focuses upon the first five years of the poverty reduction initiative – though it should be noted that Québec recently renewed for another five years its commitment to reduce poverty and social exclusion. Some community groups have questioned the government's genuine commitment to tackling the problem of low income. Québec nonetheless has been a leader in many important respects, including the introduction of a legislative base as a foundation for poverty reduction, a series of linked actions in diverse fields, a long-term time frame within which to carry out this work, and an associated research and monitoring capacity.
[ * Vibrant Communities project : On the Caledon website home page, click "Special Projects" in the top menu, then
"Vibrant Communities" for a description of this initiative PLUS links to dozens of Vibrant Communities reports ]

Source:
Caledon Institute of Social Policy
Canada's Voice for Progressive, Practicable Social Policy

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

Government Action Plan for Solidarity and Social Inclusion 2010-2015:
Québec announces an action plan of nearly $7 billion for individuals in situations of poverty
News Release
June 6th, 2010
Today, Sam Hamad, Minister of Employment and Social Solidarity and Minister of Labour, and Lise Thériault, Minister for Social Services, unveiled the Government Action Plan for Solidarity and Social Inclusion 2010-2015: Québec’s Combat Against Poverty, which comes with total investments of nearly $7 billion. The Ministers were accompanied by the President of the Centre d’étude sur la pauvreté et l’exclusion sociale (CEPE), Alain Noël, and by the Chair of the Comité consultatif de lutte contre la pauvreté et l’exclusion sociale (CCLP), Damien Arsenault.

This action plan builds on a number of measures (e.g. Child Assistance and the Work Premium) introduced under the first Action Plan covering 2004-2010, and adds other structuring measures such as the Solidarity Tax Credit and an increase in funding ($115 million) for the Fonds québécois d’initiatives sociales (FQIS), which will enhance support for local, regional and Aboriginal anti-poverty projects.

________________

The Plan:
(English documents)

Government Action Plan for Solidarity and Social
Inclusion 2010-2015: Québec’s Combat Against Poverty
This second action plans builds on existing initiatives and was also inspired by the ideas expressed by the nearly 2,500 individuals and Québec and regional organizations consulted during the Rendez-vous de la solidarité.

2004-2010 Government Action Plan
to Combat Poverty and Social Exclusion
Brief overview of the original Action Plan, which "brought together a slate of measures worth $4.5 billion over the past six years[ending in 2010]."
* scroll to the bottom of that page to find links to the key reports on the initial Action Plan, including the 2004 Plan itself in great detail and annual reports for each year starting in June 2005

Final report of the
first Action Plan:

Year Five Report (PDF file., 233K, 50 pages)
February 2010
Table of contents:
INTRODUCTION
QUÉBEC’S APPROACH TO COMBATING POVERTY
UPDATE ON THE VARIOUS MEASURES
* Improve the lives of people living in poverty
* Increase the income of individuals and families
* Measures for groups at risk of persistent poverty
* Better housing
* Better living conditions for individuals and families
* Prevent poverty and social exclusion by developing people’s potential
* Support for parents and early childhood
* School success and persistence
* Measures for young people under age 25
* Support for initiatives to promote seniors’ social participation
* Involve society as a whole
* Ensure consistent, coherent efforts
* Additional efforts
CONVINCING RESULTS AND A CHANGING SITUATION
* Low income rates using the Market Basket Measure
* Work and employment
* Improving disposable income
* Variations in the social aid rate since 2003
* Interprovincial comparison of households receiving last-resort financial assistance
TOWARD A SECOND GOVERNMENT ACTION PLAN TO COMBAT POVERTY AND SOCIAL EXCLUSION
CONCLUSION

________________

Complete text of the
2010-2015 Action Plan
(French only):

Plan d’action gouvernemental pour
la solidarité et l’inclusion sociale 2010-2015 :
Le Québec mobilisé contre la pauvreté (French only, Fichier PDF., 2,72 Mo, 52 pages)

________________

2010-2015 Action Plan Investments
(French only):

Plan d'action gouvernemental
pour la solidarité et l'inclusion sociale 2010-2015
Communiqué
Le 6 juin 2010
Québec annonce un Plan d'action de près de 7 G$ pour améliorer les conditions de vie des personnes en situation de pauvreté.

Investissements relatifs au Plan d'action
gouvernemental pour la solidarité et l'inclusion sociale 2010-2015 (French only) (Fichier PDF., 17 ko, 1 page)

Le Plan d'action en un coup d'oeil
- Près de 7 milliards de dollars sur cinq ans, alloués selon quatre orientations:
1. Renforcer la solidarité en rapprochant les décisions des milieux locaux et régionaux
2. Valoriser le travail et favoriser l’autonomie des personnes.
3. Soutenir le revenu des personnes défavorisées.
4. Améliorer les conditions de vie des personnes et des familles à faible revenu.

________________________________

Related links to resources in English
from the Québec Government:

Rendez-vous de la solidarité 2009
A society engaged in action
(solidarity consultations)
In order to take into account the experience and knowledge of as many people as possible in drafting the 2010-2015 Government Action Plan for Solidarity and Social Inclusion, consultations, collectively called Rendez vous de la solidarité, were organized. In all, nearly 2,500 citizens and groups from all sectors of society had the opportunity to exchange viewpoints and express themselves.

Click the link above for more information on the Rendez vous initiative, including the province-wide and regional meetings with groups and individuals, focus groups, discussions with representatives of Aboriginal groups and an online citizen consultation.

Source (QC govt departments):
* Employment and Social Solidarity
* Health and Social Services

________________

Media coverage:

Montreal
Facing off across poverty line:
Shelter to shut doors for a day; 'Disheartened' by Quebec action plan
[This link has expired except from the ($) archives]
By T'cha Dunlevy
June 7, 2010
Aubin Boudreau, Director General of The Shelter Acceuil Bonneau, closes his eyes and pauses for a moment to collect his emotions. Boudreau was speaking to the press concerning the provincial governments underfunding of homeless shelters that will require the Acceuil Bonneau to close on Monday, in Montreal Sunday, June 6, 2010. On the day that a Montreal homeless shelter announced it would close its doors for a day to decry a lack of funds, the Quebec government announced its $7-billion action plan to improve the conditions of people living in poverty through 2015. Accueil Bonneau will shut down today - as a symbolic gesture - for the first time in its 133-year history. Sam Hamad, the minister of employment and social solidarity, addressed the issue briefly yesterday in a press conference with Minister of Social Services Lise Thériault. However, he focused on his party's anti-poverty plan, which includes housing proposals and tax credits.
Source:
Montreal Gazette

Also from The Gazette:

Plans to cut payments draw ire of welfare-rights groups
[This link has expired except from the ($) archives]
By Jan Ravensbergen
June 10, 2010
MONTREAL - A media report that the Quebec government has developed plans to chop $121 a month in social-assistance supplements received by 11,000 single mothers with pre-schoolers drew sharp condemnation Thursday from a spectrum of welfare-rights advocacy groups. It also triggered a government assertion in Quebec City that while no decision has yet been made, various unspecified "scenarios" are being studied. Other classes of welfare recipients considered able to work, including two-parent families and individuals age 55 or more, are also being targeted for cutbacks - apparently packaged with incentives for participation in job training, according to the report.

---

Homeless shelter closed in protest
June 7, 2010
In protest of what it calls a lack of government funding for Quebec's poor and homeless, Accueil Bonneau is closing its doors for 24 hours Monday, despite the government's announcement Sunday of a $7-billion plan to fight poverty.The plan includes a tax credit, working incentive cash and funds to mobilize groups to fight poverty, explained Employment Minister Sam Hamad. While the Quebec government announced Sunday actions it plans to take to alleviate poverty, including putting forth the sum over the next five years, protestors from homeless shelter Accueil Bonneau said they weren't satisfied.
Source:
CTV News Montreal

________________

Quebec 2010-2011 Budget

Additional Information on the Budgetary mesures (PDF - 1.3MB, 204 pages)
"(...) 6.1 Plan to combat poverty
In the coming months, the Minister of Employment and Social Solidarity will unveil the new 2010-2015 government action plan to combat poverty and social exclusion. To support that initiative, the 2010-2011 Budget provides for an additional investment of $1.3 billion for the next five years..."

- includes a table showing annual investments to combat poverty over the next five years under each of several new measures:
* introduction of a Solidarity Tax Credit to provide for compensation for planned tax increases
* additional funding to the Fonds québécois d’initiatives sociales (social initiatives fund), to bolster collaborative intervention by the various organizations involved
* 3,000 new social housing throughout Quebec plus 340 new dwellings in Nunavik
* new measures to help seniors with the cost of home supports
Source:
Quebec 2010-2011 Budget : Choices for the Future
March 30, 2010
[ Ministère des Finances du Québec (English home page) ]

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

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

Quebec
(The English version of this report is forthcoming)
Version française
La lutte contre la pauvreté et l’exclusion par le
développement social au Québec : un portrait des vingt dernières années (PDF - 444K, 48 pages)

Source:
Poverty Reduction Policies and Programs
Social Development Report Series, 2009
[ Canadian Council on Social Development ]

Also from CCSD :

Poverty Reduction Policies and Programs in Canada (PDF - 341K, 29 pages)
By David I. Hay, Information Partnership

---

NOTE: for a good objective summary of Quebec's ten-year National Strategy to Combat Poverty and Social Exclusion, see:

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

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

An Act to combat poverty and social exclusion, R.S.Q., chapter L-7
Québec is the only Canadian jurisdiction to enshrine its anti-poverty strategy in legislation (passed in December 2002).
As noted above, the goal of the strategy is to make Québec one of the industrialized societies with the least poverty within ten years, by 2013.

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

Recent release from CEPE:

Taking the Measure of Poverty, Proposed indicators of poverty,
inequality and social exclusion to measure progress in Québec:
Advice to the Minister (PDF - 311K, 80 pages)
Centre d’étude sur la pauvreté et l’exclusion
2009
One of the mandates of the Centre d’étude sur la pauvreté et l’exclusion is to propose, to the minister of Emploi et Solidarité sociale, measures and indicators of poverty, inequality and social exclusion to measure progress in Québec in the implementation of the Act to combat poverty and social exclusion. This advice is a first proposition in that direction.
[ more reports by CEPE ]
Source:
Centre d’étude sur la pauvreté et l’exclusion (English home page)
The Centre d’étude sur la pauvreté et l’exclusion (CEPE) 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. (...) One of the main mandates of the CEPE is to develop and recommend to the Minister a series of indicators to be used in measuring poverty and social exclusion and social and economic disparities, as well as other indicators of poverty.

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."

Key Reports

Annual Progress Reports on the Government Action Plan to Combat Poverty and Social Exclusion:

Year One (2004-2005) Report (PDF file - 605K, 47 pages)
June 2005

Year Two (2005-2006) Report (PDF file - 965K, 38 pages)
October 2006

Year Three (2006-2007) Report (PDF file - 869K, 32 pages)
--- Summary (PDF file - 281K, 2 pages)
October 2007

Year Four Report ( French only --- PDF file., 1,25MB, 39 pages)
October 2008

Final report of the
first Action Plan:

Related links:

Quebec poor getting poorer: report
[This link has expired.]
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)

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.

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]

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

[GO BACK TO THE TOP OF THIS PAGE]

Ontario Poverty Reduction Strategy

NOTE : The key government and non-governmental links appear in this yellow box.
Jump directly to the latest information
(below the yellow boxes), in reverse chronological order.

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

The two main portals to information about Ontario's Poverty Reduction Strategy are the government stream and the NGO stream. You can access both of those by clicking on the links below, or you can scroll down the page for links to content from those and other related sites.

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

Ontario Government pages:

Ontario's Poverty Reduction Strategy
- this is the Ontario Government's poverty reduction website.
- incl. links to reports and news releases along with "Help for Families" : * Education and early learning * Employment * Financial support * Tax benefits for families * Housing * Health and wellness * Children's Activities
[ Ministry of Children and Youth Services ]
[ Government of Ontario ]

---

Third year report:
( Posted to the Poverty Reduction Strategy website December 20, 2011)

Breaking the Cycle:
The Third Progress Report
Ontario’s Poverty Reduction Strategy
2011 Annual Report (PDF - 3.6MB, 33 pages)
http://www.children.gov.on.ca/htdocs/English/documents/breakingthecycle/2011AnnualReport.pdf
PDF file date : December 16, 2011
Excerpt from the Minister's Message:
The poverty rate for children in Ontario declined from 15.2 per cent in 2008 to 14.6 per cent in 2009, which means 20,000 children have moved out of poverty, due in part to our investments in children and families. As well, the poverty rate for children living in deep poverty declined from 8.5 per cent in 2008 to 7.3 per cent in 2009, meaning 34,000 children were lifted out of deep poverty. Poverty rates for children in single mom-led families dropped most dramatically, from 43.2 per cent in 2008 to 35.2 per cent in 2009. It is important to note that data from Statistics Canada lags by 18 months.

---

Second year report:

Breaking the Cycle: The Second Progress Report:
Ontario's Poverty Reduction Strategy 2010 Annual Report
December 2010
HTML version
PDF version (2.3MB, 34 pages)
Ontario’s Poverty Reduction Strategy – the first in our province’s history — was launched in 2008 with an ambitious goal of reducing the number of children living in poverty by 25 per cent over five years. This report provides an important record of our progress during the first two years and describes the key steps being taken to help break the cycle of poverty in Ontario and build opportunities that enable every Ontarian to succeed and contribute.

Report highlights:
HTML version
PDF version (267K, 2 pages)

Important changes to how poverty is measured
(and the effect on Ontario's poverty reduction targets)
Statistics Canada’s Low Income Measure (LIM) is used in the calculation of a number of Ontario’s poverty indicators. In 2010, Statistics Canada made changes to how the LIM is calculated. (...) ...with more children below the new Low Income Measure (LIM50), the Poverty Reduction Strategy target of reducing the number of children in poverty by 25 per cent over 5 years has changed. Meeting the target of 25 per cent now means lifting 103,000 children, rather than 90,000, out of poverty over five years.

---

First year report:

Breaking the Cycle: The First Year
Ontario's Poverty Reduction Strategy, 2009 Annual Report
December 2009
HTML version
PDF version (1.2MB, 23 pages)

__________________

The original poverty
reduction strategy paper:

Ontario's Poverty Reduction Strategy
December 2008
HTML version
PDF version (2.3MB, 34 pages)

Report highlights:
HTML version
PDF version (116K, 2 pages)

Source:
Ontario's Poverty Reduction Strategy (the Ontario Government's official poverty reduction website)
- incl. links to reports and news releases along with "Help for Families" : * Education and early learning * Employment * Financial support * Tax benefits for families * Housing * Health and wellness * Children's Activities
[ Ministry of Children and Youth Services ]
[ Government of Ontario ]

Ontario Non-Governmental pages:

Poverty Free Ontario (PFO)
(Replaces Poverty Watch Ontario - see below.)
The mission of Poverty Free Ontario is to eliminate divided communities in which large numbers of adults and children live in chronic states of material hardship, poor health and social exclusion. An Ontario free of poverty will be reflected in healthy, inclusive communities with a place of dignity for everyone and the essential conditions of well-being for all.
- home page includes links to : * About * Event Calendar * Policy Agenda Overview [ End Deep Poverty /End Working Poverty / Protect Food Money] * Poverty in Ontario [Background / Status of Poverty in Ontario / What Does Poverty Eradication Mean?] * Cross Community Mobilization * Archives

Poverty Watch Ontario * "To monitor and inform on cross-Ontario activity on the poverty reduction agenda"
Poverty Watch Ontario is keeping an eye on the provincial poverty reduction consultations and poverty reduction events in Ontario.
Poverty Watch Ontario is a joint venture of the Social Planning Network of Ontario, Ontario Campaign 2000, and the Income Security Advocacy Centre.
[ Poverty Watch Resources - links to websites and reports ]
---
* "As of June 17, 2011, the Social Planning Network of Ontario wishes to give notice that this site Poverty Watch Ontario will now be archived and we encourage all regular and new visitors to go to our new web site – Poverty Free Ontario ."

Historical treasure!

Major Milestones in Poverty Reduction in Ontario
December 2008
By John Stapleton
Brief overview of 10 significant poverty reduction initiatives in Ontario, from the First Upper Canada Statute in 1792 to the 2008 Poverty Reduction Strategy.
Source:
Open Policy (John Stapleton's website)

On December 4, 2008, the Government of Ontario committed itself to
reducing the number of children living in poverty by 25 per cent over the next 5 years.

The Strategy Paper:
Ontario Poverty Reduction Strategy : Breaking the Cycle (PDF - 1.3MB, 45 pages)
December 4, 2008
Chapter 1: Stronger, Healthier Kids and Families
Chapter 2: Stronger, Healthier Communities
Chapter 3: Opportunity for All
Chapter 4: Smarter Government
Chapter 5: Measuring Our Progress
Chapter 6: Moving Forward
Chapter 7: The Federal Role
Chapter 8: The Municipal Role
Chapter 9: All Hands on Deck

Highlights

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

Bill 152, Poverty Reduction Act, 2009
HTML version
PDF version (358K, 6 pages)
Tabled by the Hon. Deborah Matthews, Minister of Children and Youth Services
February 25, 2009

What this Bill is About - Explanatory Note extracted from the Bill as introduced

Second Reading copy:

Bill 152 : An Act respecting a
long-term strategy to reduce poverty in Ontario (PDF - 349K, 10 pages)
April 28, 2009
Second reading copy, changes annotated

Source:
Ontario's Poverty Reduction Strategy
- this is the Ontario Government's poverty reduction website.
- incl. links to reports and news releases along with "Help for Families" : * Education and early learning * Employment * Financial support * Tax benefits for families * Housing * Health and wellness * Children's Activities
[ Ministry of Children and Youth Services ]
[ Government of Ontario ]

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

Ontario’s Poverty Reduction Strategy
http://www.progressive-economics.ca/2012/01/08/ontarios-poverty-reduction-strategy/
By Nick Falvo
January 8, 2012
December marked the three-year anniversary of Ontario’s Poverty Reduction Strategy. While I believe there is much to celebrate, much remains to be done. The Strategy surprised a lot of observers, especially in light of the fact that it was announced in December 2008, just as Ontario was entering a recession. Its focus was almost exclusively child poverty, and at full implementation (i.e. 2013), it will result in $300 million in new annual spending. This is equivalent to 0.3 percent of total provincial spending in Ontario, which is roughly $100 billion. (...) Let’s not kid ourselves though (pun intended): the Strategy has its shortcomings. First, 0.3 percent of total spending is a relatively modest spending boost when it comes to poverty. Because of the modest new spending made available for the Strategy by the McGuinty government, the Strategy didn’t even attempt to make inroads with respect to Ontario’s lack of affordable housing; that was left to a separate Strategy [ http://www.mah.gov.on.ca/Page9181.aspx ]
(...)
Nor did the Poverty Reduction Strategy attempt to increase social assistance benefit levels, even though single adults without dependents on welfare in Ontario currently receive less than $8,000 a year; rather, it announced the creation of the Commission for the Review of Social Assistance in Ontario [ http://www.socialassistancereview.ca/ ]

Source:
Relentlessly Progressive Economics Blog
http://www.progressive-economics.ca/relentless/

[ Progressive Economics Forum (PEF)
http://www.progressive-economics.ca/ ]
The Progressive Economics Forum aims to promote the development of a progressive economics community in Canada. The PEF brings together over 125 progressive economists, working in universities, the labour movement, and activist research organizations.

Child poverty easing in Ontario, report says
http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/1096936
December 4, 2011
By Laurie Monsebraaten
A 2009 decision to boost the Ontario Child Benefit to cushion struggling families during the recession helped pull 19,000 children out of poverty, advocates say in a new report on the province’s anti-poverty efforts. But on the third anniversary of Ontario’s Dec. 4, 2008 pledge to cut child poverty by 25 per cent by 2013, more action is needed if the province hopes to meet its target, warns the 25 in 5 Network for Poverty Reduction in a report being released Monday.
Source:
Toronto Star

From 25 in 5 Poverty Reduction Network:

Progress Made on Child Poverty: All Parties Must Work Together to Meet the Goal, Advocates Urge
http://25in5.ca/progress-made-on-child-poverty-all-parties-must-work-together-to-meet-the-goal-advocates-urge/
News Release
December 5, 2011
TORONTO– Ontario must redouble its efforts in order to meet its commitment to reduce child poverty by 25% by 2013, says a new report by the 25 in 5 Network for Poverty Reduction. Common Ground: A Strategy for Moving Forward on Poverty Reduction tracks the government’s progress at the third anniversary of the Province’s poverty reduction promise. The report shows that while some progress has been made, it’s critical that all three parties work together to lift 90,000 Ontario children out of poverty by 2013. The report also identifies ten areas of common ground that emerged across parties during the 2011 election campaign, and urges government to work with the opposition parties to take action on these commitments right away.

The report:

Common Ground: A Strategy for Moving Forward on Poverty Reduction
Third Annual Progress Report on Poverty Reduction in Ontario (PDF - 264K, 32 pages)
http://25in5.ca/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/25-in-5-Common-Ground-final.pdf
December 5, 2011
Ontario has officially passed the halfway point to its promised target date of reducing child poverty by 25 per cent by December 2013. Much has happened since December 4, 2008, the date the Ontario government announced its first five-year poverty reduction commitment. But, especially in light of ongoing economic turmoil, much more needs to be done in order to meet the target.
(...)
During the 2011 election campaign, common ground on poverty reduction emerged in ten distinct areas. Taking action on these “Common Ground Commitments” would go a long way in reducing child and family poverty in Ontario by 25% in 2013.
1. Introduce a new Housing Benefit: Housing
2. Reform Social Assistance
3. Support Transition to Work
4. Raise the Ontario Child Benefit
5. Take Action on Minimum Wages
6. Step up for Fair Employment
7. Build New Affordable Housing
8. Make Early Learning Vision a Reality
9. Support Affordable Education
10. Set the next target.
(...)
In addition, 25 in 5 recommends action in six further areas, which must be on the radar screen of all Ontario’s political parties:
1. Raise social assistance incomes
2. Invest in community-based services that Ontarians turn to when they need help and support
3. Build a public education system that focuses on equitable outcomes
4. Introduce a strategy for disproportionately poor communities
5. Introduce dental care for all low-income
6. Create a transit infrastructure for opportunity.

Source:
25 in 5 Network for Poverty Reduction
http://www.25in5.ca/
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.

Related links:

Ontario's Poverty Reduction Strategy
http://www.children.gov.on.ca/htdocs/English/breakingthecycle/index.aspx
- this is the Ontario Government's poverty reduction website.
- incl. links to reports and news releases, along with "Help for Families" : * Education and early learning * Employment * Financial support * Tax benefits for families * Housing * Health and wellness * Children's Activities
Source:
Ministry of Children and Youth Services
http://www.children.gov.on.ca/htdocs/English/index.aspx

[ Government of Ontario
http://www.gov.on.ca/ ]

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Poverty Free Ontario (PFO)
http://www.povertyfreeontario.ca/
The mission of Poverty Free Ontario is to eliminate divided communities in which large numbers of adults and children live in chronic states of material hardship, poor health and social exclusion. An Ontario free of poverty will be reflected in healthy, inclusive communities with a place of dignity for everyone and the essential conditions of well-being for all.

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Commission for the Review
of Social Assistance in Ontario
http://www.socialassistancereview.ca/
Led by Frances Lankin and Munir A. Sheikh, the Commission is charged with examining social assistance in Ontario through engagement, research and analysis to provide the government with a concrete action plan to improve the system for the people who need it.

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Social Assistance Review
http://sareview.ca/
This is the Income Security Advocacy Centre's sub-site on the Ontario social assistance review.
Source:
Income Security Advocacy Centre
http://www.incomesecurity.org/

Poverty reduction does make a difference
June 26, 2011
By Greg deGroot-Maggetti*
The evidence is in. A lot of people in Canada took a real hit during the recent recession. Figures from Statistics Canada show that poverty became a reality for more Canadians between 2007 and 2009. No surprise there, really. It’s hard to imagine poverty falling in the worst global recession in recent history. But look a little closer and something more interesting appears. In Ontario, child poverty actually fell between 2008 and 2009, inching down from 15.2 per cent to 14.6 per cent. That means 19,000 Ontario children and their families were moved out of poverty, despite very tough times. Granted, the change is small, but it’s a stark contrast to other provinces that were also hit hard by the recession. In Alberta, for example, child poverty soared by 25 per cent in the same period. What’s the difference? Ontario took concrete action to reduce child poverty. Provinces like Alberta didn’t. (...) Now is the time for all parties in Ontario to talk about their poverty reduction policies and plans. We need to know what action they plan to take to make sure all Ontarians, adults as well as children, will experience less poverty.

[* Author Greg deGroot-Maggetti is poverty advocate for Mennonite Central Committee Ontario and a former member of the National Council of Welfare.]

[ Comments (16) ]

Source:
Toronto Star

Ontario Social Assistance Review
Commission’s Consultation Calendar
June 23, 2011
The Commission for the Review of Social Assistance in Ontario will be travelling around the province talking to people in eleven communities. The calendar shows the communities the Commission will be visiting, the date of their visit, and who you can contact for more information. This calendar will be updated as more information becomes available.
Source:
Social Assistance Review
[ An initiative of the
Income Security Advocacy Centre ]

Related link:

Commission for the Review
of Social Assistance in Ontario
Government of Ontario
[ Version française du site ]
Led by Frances Lankin and Munir A. Sheikh, the Commission is charged with examining social assistance in Ontario through engagement, research and analysis to provide the government with a concrete action plan to improve the system for the people who need it.
- includes links to A Discussion Paper: Issues and Ideas; Summary and Workbook; and a Guide to Hosting a Community Conversation.

TIP : Scroll down just a bit further on the page you're now reading for more links to the launch of the Commission's website and consultation products.

Ontario poverty rate up since last election
June 17, 2011
By Laurie Monsebraaten
Almost 300,000 more Ontarians sunk into poverty since the McGuinty government was elected in 2007 on a pledge to fight the problem, according to the latest Statistics Canada income data from 2009 released this week. Despite the 2008 recession that battered Ontario industries, the province’s 13.1 per cent poverty rate was still slightly below the national average of 13.3 per cent, says Ontario’s Social Planning Network. The network of social planning councils crunched the numbers using the Low Income Measure, after taxes, the province’s new method of measuring poverty. But Ontario’s 17 per cent growth in poverty since 2007 was the highest in the country, the group says.

[ Comments (23) ]

Source:
Toronto Star

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From the
Social Planning Network of Ontario:

2009 Figures Show Growth Rate of Poverty
in Ontario the Highest of All Regions in Canada since 2007 Election
Media Release
June 17, 2011
[ PDF version - 370K, 2 pages ]
Statistics Canada figures released this week [ Income of Canadians, 2009] show that Ontario’s poverty rate increased to 13.1% in 2009, a growth rate of 17% since the 2007 provincial election year. “Using the province’s official low income poverty measure, Ontario’s poverty rate of 13.1% is slightly below the Canadian average of 13.3%,” comments Peter Clutterbuck, Coordinator of SPNO’s Poverty Free Ontario campaign, “The rate of Ontario’s poverty growth, however, has increased the highest of all other regions of Canada since 2007.” A total of 1,689,000 Ontarians in 2009 lived in poverty, which is 277,000 more than in 2007.
- includes one table : "Poverty Levels in Ontario and Rates of Growth/Decrease Compared to Other Regions in Canada and for Life Stage and Adults Living Alone, 2007-2009"

Launch of the Ontario Social Assistance Review website
June 9, 2011

Commission for the Review
of Social Assistance in Ontario
Website launched June 9, 2011
[ Version française du site ]
Led by Frances Lankin and Munir A. Sheikh, the Commission is charged with examining social assistance in Ontario through engagement, research and analysis to provide the government with a concrete action plan to improve the system for the people who need it.

The Commission has released A Discussion Paper: Issues and Ideas; Summary and Workbook; and a Guide to Hosting a Community Conversation.
Links to all three products appear below.

According to Laurel Rothman, National Coordinator of Campaign 2000, the review website also includes a calendar (small PDF file) "...which does not yet identify when consultations will be held, but we are hearing that they aim to complete consultations by the end of July."

---

A Discussion Paper: Issues and Ideas
June 2011
PDF version - 478K, 50 pages
Word version (.doc) (404K, 50 pages)
Context:
In the 2008 Poverty Reduction Strategy, the Ontario government committed to reviewing social assistance — Ontario Works and the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) — with a focus on removing barriers and increasing opportunities for people to work. It subsequently appointed the Social Assistance Review Advisory Council (SARAC) to provide advice on a proposed scope for the review. Taking into account the advice of the Council, the government established the Commission for the Review of Social Assistance in Ontario in November 2010. The Commission’s task is to carry out a comprehensive review and provide specific recommendations and a concrete action plan for reforming the social assistance system. The Commissioners are expected to submit a final report to the government by June 30, 2012.
Source : Excerpt, page 7

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Summary and Workbook
June 2011
PDF version (343K, 34 pages)
Word version (.doc) (241K, 34 pages)

---

Hosting a Community Conversation
If you would like guidance on organizing a community meeting, a Guide to Hosting a Community Conversation is also available.

Guide to Hosting a Community Conversation
PDF version (119K, 6 pages)
Word version (.doc) (78K, 6 pages)

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"We’d Like to Hear From You"

* Make a Comment - online form, max. 150 words
* Fill Out the Workbook
* Send in a Submission - a selection of submissions will be posted on the site to help facilitate dialogue on social assistance issues.
* Sign up for Updates by email

---

Also found on the
social assistance review website:

Selected Reports on Key Social Assistance Issues
- links to over a dozen relevant reports from the Ontario and federal governments, the non-governmental sector and even TD Economics

Social Assistance Today
Ontario’s social assistance system is made up of two programs: Ontario Works for people in temporary financial need, and the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP), which is intended to help people with disabilities live as independently as possible and to reduce or eliminate disability-related barriers to employment. Together, Ontario Works and ODSP serve approximately 857,000 Ontarians each month. In 2009–10, total provincial expenditures on social assistance were about $6.6 billion, about six per cent of the provincial budget.
*Recommended reading!
- Click the link above, then use the links in the left margin to find out more about:
* Eligibility
* Income Assistance and Other Benefits (incl. Total Annual Income for Selected Households,OntarioWorks and ODSP as at December 2010)
* Employment Services and Supports
* Program Delivery and Cost-sharing
* Other Programs
* Profile of People Receiving Ontario Works
* Profile of People Receiving ODSP

---

In late fall 2011, an Options Paper will be released to solicit further input from stakeholders and communities, and to help frame the Commission’s recommendations to government.

The Commission’s Final Report is due to the government in June 2012.

Source:
Government of Ontario
Social Assistance Review website

Related link:

Ministry of Community and Social Services (MCSS) - Ontario ministry responsible for social assistance

Moving to a Poverty Free Ontario
June 9, 2011
The Social Planning Network of Ontario (SPNO) plans to launch an initiative to build cross-community support for a Poverty Free Ontario by the end of this decade. In May 2010, the SPNO leadership set policy development and cross-community mobilization for a poverty-free Ontario as a major provincial and community level priority for SPNO and its local and regional organizational members in 2011.
(...)
PFO Strategy for 2011:
A Policy Agenda for a Poverty Free Ontario
A new Policy Agenda for a Poverty Free Ontario would build on SPNO’s policy development work in 2008. Essentially, policy proposals will be developed and advanced in three key areas for the eradication of poverty in Ontario:
1. End Deep Poverty: Upgrade Social Assistance
2. End Working Poverty: Assure Basic Minimum Wages
3. Protect Food Money: Phase in a Full Housing Benefit
Source:
Poverty Free Ontario (PFO)
The mission of Poverty Free Ontario is to eliminate divided communities in which large numbers of adults and children live in chronic states of material hardship, poor health and social exclusion. An Ontario free of poverty will be reflected in healthy, inclusive communities with a place of dignity for everyone and the essential conditions of well-being for all.
- home page includes links to : * About * Event Calendar * Policy Agenda Overview [ End Deep Poverty /End Working Poverty / Protect Food Money] * Poverty in Ontario [Background / Status of Poverty in Ontario / What Does Poverty Eradication Mean?] * Cross Community Mobilization * Archives

Source:
Social Planning Network of Ontario (SPNO)
[Poverty Free Ontario is an initiative of the SPNO]
SPNO is a coalition of social planning councils, community development councils, resource centres, and planning committees located in various communities throughout Ontario. SPNO plans to launch an initiative to build cross-community support for a Poverty Free Ontario by the end of this decade.

Facing facts about poverty
Editorial
March 7, 2011
Poverty is not a choice. In fact, a deeply-ingrained sense of hopelessness, of a continuing lack of choices, is both a result and a cause of the continuing cycle that traps about three million Canadians – about one of every nine of us. Being poor is miserable. It is demoralizing, unhealthy, stigmatizing and stressful. It is frustrating and it is discouraging. No one in poverty – or, crucially, the professionals who work to combat poverty – see being poor as a “holiday” from personal responsibility or from work. And yet a survey commissioned by the Salvation Army, as part of its new Dignity Project initiative, shows that half or nearly half of Canadians believe that if people really want to work, they can always find a job; that a family of four can “get by” on $10,000 to $30,000 a year; that people who live in poverty in Canada “still have it pretty good.” One out of every four Canadians blames poverty on laziness and low moral values.
(...)
Reducing poverty is not going to happen by trying to change the people who are poor. It is going to happen when we all fully understand the benefits not just to society but to our economy by removing roadblocks, shattering the stereotypes, allowing people to build on assistance without penalizing them immediately for it. There are success stories in Hamilton’s poorest neighbourhoods, where innovative programs are focusing not just on employment skills but on self-confidence, self-education, physical and mental health. What the Salvation Army initiative does is try to make Canadians recognize the realities of poverty; that clarity could lead to better understanding of what is needed to reduce it.
Source:
Hamilton Spectator

Demand Ontario welfare reforms you would want as a recipient
December 8, 2010
By Joseph Jolley (Guelph Mercury Community Editorial Board)
About a week ago, the Ontario Government announced the creation of a panel to make recommendations for what is being described as the largest overhaul to Ontario’s welfare system in 20 years. (...) This effort might have been taken seriously, if it happened even a year ago. Now, it is a meaningless waste of time and effort. Next year is an election year in Ontario. If present polling trends continue to hold, that election will produce a Tory majority government. As some of you may recall, the Tories have their own version of welfare reform. The election will most likely happen even before Mr. Sheikh and Ms. Lankin have finished their work. (...) It should be pointed out to the cheerleaders for the war against the poor that a good social assistance system is in their own best interest. These people don’t seem to realize that all it takes is a few twists of fate to put them into this little version of hell. Yes, it can happen to you. So, how would you want to be treated?
Source:
Social Assistance Review
[ Part of the Income Security Advocacy Centre ]

A flurry of announcements but little content
December 6, 2010
By Carol Goar
Poverty reduction plans poured out of Queen’s Park so fast last week it was hard to keep up with the paper flow.
But once all the packaging had been stripped away and the self-congratulatory rhetoric sifted out, there wasn’t much left. Welfare rates were still below the poverty line. Healthy food was still out of reach. Affordable housing was still a dream.
(...)
[ On December 1], Children and Youth Services Minister Laurel Broten released Breaking the Cycle (*see below), the government’s second annual progress report on its poverty reduction strategy. The 28-page booklet was chock-full of accomplishments, many of which had little to do with poverty reduction. The minister highlighted everything from the harmonized sales tax to the incorporation of not-for-profit agencies.
There were three genuine improvements in the year-end roundup:
• In July, the government raised the Ontario Child Benefit by $8 a month.
• In September, it rolled out its full-day kindergarten program, giving 35,000 preschoolers a double boost: early learning and a better chance of having an employed parent.
• And in October, it launched its long-promised Healthy Smiles program, which provides free dental checkups and teeth cleaning to low-income children.
(...) By week’s end, it was clear that, for all the paper his government had churned out and all the announcements his ministers had made, McGuinty had very little to say about reducing poverty.
Source:
Toronto Star

Welfare reform: Breaking the cycle of poverty
December 4, 2010
Right now in Ontario, there are more than 830,000 people who can’t get by without a monthly welfare or disability support cheque. And more than 15 per cent of our children live in poverty, despite the fact that many of their parents have full-time jobs. Food bank use is up; affordable housing and subsidized daycare wait lists are growing; and good jobs are increasingly hard to find. Meanwhile, our existing social safety net has proved incapable of fixing these interconnected problems.
That is why the social assistance review, launched by the Liberal government at Queen’s Park on Tuesday, is so important. Munir Sheikh, former Statistics Canada chief, and Frances Lankin, former head of the United Way of Toronto and former provincial minister of health, will spend the next 18 months comprehensively reviewing Ontario’s social assistance programs.
Source:
Toronto Star

Breaking the Cycle:

Poverty Reduction Strategy Helping Ontario Families:
McGuinty Government Releases Second Progress Report
News Release
December 1, 2010
Ontario continues to make investments through the poverty reduction strategy that are helping low-income families during challenging economic times. Today, the second annual report of the Breaking the Cycle strategy was released, detailing progress made over the past two years to help children and families hit hardest by the recession and stimulate Ontario’s economic recovery.

Ontario Launches Comprehensive Social Assistance Review:
The Hon. Frances Lankin, P.C., Dr. Munir Sheikh To Lead Commission
November 30, 2010
Ontario is launching the largest review of social assistance programs in over 20 years. The review will examine social assistance and its relationship with other federal, provincial and municipal income security programs to gain a better understanding of how these programs, working together, can provide better outcomes for people. (...) The review will begin January 2011 and finish in June 2012.

Going forward, the Special Diet Allowance will also be revised to make it compliant with the recent Order of the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario and more accountable to taxpayers. The program, along with other existing social assistance benefits, will be considered within the context of the Social Assistance Review.
Source:
Government of Ontario

Backgrounder : Ontario's Social Assistance Review
In the 2008 Poverty Reduction Strategy, Ontario committed to reviewing social assistance with a focus on removing barriers and increasing opportunities for people to work. In January 2010, Ontario appointed the Social Assistance Review Advisory Council to provide advice on a proposed scope for the review. The council's June 2010 report recommended a review of the whole income security system, including, but not limited to, social assistance. This includes a comprehensive review of income security, employment supports and related services for working-age adults. (...)Detailed information on opportunities for public input during the review will be available in the new year.

Backgrounder : Changes to the Special Diet Allowance
Ontario is revising the Special Diet Allowance to make it more accountable to taxpayers and compliant with the recent Order of the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario. (...) The Special Diet Allowance will be one of a broad range of special purpose benefits considered in the context of Ontario's comprehensive social assistance review, which begins January 2011. (...) The revised Special Diet schedule will take effect April 1, 2011.

Source:
Ministry of Community and Social Services

Related links:

Family Service Toronto
Family Service Toronto (FST) helps people face a wide variety of life challenges. For over 90 years, we have been assisting families and individuals through counselling, community development, advocacy and public education programs. Our services are available to everyone who lives or works in Toronto.

Child poverty up in Ontario
By Laurie Monsebraaten
November 24, 2010
Queen’s Park needs to step up efforts if it hopes to cut child poverty by 25 per cent by 2013, advocates say
Source:
Toronto Star

NOTE:
This is one of a series of provincial reports all released under the Campaign 2000 banner on November 24 (2010), the anniversary of the 1989 unanimous House of Commons resolution to end child poverty by the year 2000. For links to the complete collection of federal and provincial reports and (selected) related media coverage, go to the Children, Families and Youth Links (NGO) page:
http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/chnngo.htm

Recommendations for
Short Term Rule Changes For 2010 (PDF - 213K, 11 pages)
Social Assistance Review Advisory Council
Dated February 2010 (submitted as confidential)
Released to the public August 16, 2010
NOTE: Although this paper was just released, Laurie Monsebraaten points out in her Toronto Star article below that the Ontario government-appointed Social Assistance Review Advisory Council made these 13 recommendations respecting short-term changes for quick action in a report this past February.

Related links:

Fix welfare rules, panel urges province
by Laurie Monsebraaten
August 16, 2010
(...) Short-term welfare changes recommended by Ontario's Social Assistance Review Advisory Council:

Proposed changes not yet implemented:

* Ensure people on welfare with earnings don’t face unreasonable hikes in subsidized rent.
* Increase asset limits.
* Extend asset exemptions to RRSPs and tax-free savings accounts.
* Treat Employment Insurance benefits as earnings for people receiving Ontario Disability Support Program payments.
* Allow those who have been disqualified from Ontario's student loan program to receive welfare while attending college or university.
* Do not treat loans as income.
* Do not stop welfare payments for dependent children leaving school.
* Allow single parents to keep partial child support.
* Increase medical transportation rates.

Proposed changes accepted in March 2010:

* Let friends and family give casual gifts to people on welfare as is currently allowed for disabled people on benefits.
* Allow those who receive windfalls to remain eligible for welfare.
* Don't reduce welfare for those sharing accommodation
* Change welfare suspension rules for not participating in job search and other requirements
Source:
The Toronto Star

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

Read the Council's
final report:

Recommendations for an Ontario Income Security Review:
Report of the Ontario Social Assistance Review Advisory Council
May 2010
HTML version - table of contents + links to individual sections of the report
PDF version (300K, 33 pages)

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

From the
Ministry of Community and Social Services:

Social Assistance Review Advisory Council (SARAC)
SARAC was created by the government of Ontario to recommend a scope and terms of reference for a review of Ontario's social assistance system. The Ontario government committed to conducting a social assistance review as part of its Poverty Reduction Strategy.
[ Social Assistance Advisory Council Members - biographical notes ]

From Social Assistance Review to Income Security Review:
Why it Matters for Low-Income Ontarians
July 2010
The Social Assistance Review Advisory Council issued a report on June 14, 2010 (see below). In this report, the Council calls on the provincial government to conduct an Ontario Income Security Review. The Council’s report is important, because it gives the government a roadmap for how to review social assistance and other income security programs in Ontario. But it’s also important because it expands the focus of the discussion.
Before, people were talking about how to improve Ontario Works (OW) and the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP).
Now, we can talk about a bigger vision for how to improve all income and support programs, so that people on OW and ODSP – and all low-income people in Ontario – can have better, more productive, more respectful programs to help them when they need it.
Source:
Income Security Advocacy Centre (ISAC)

Related links:

Ontario should adopt bold vision for welfare reform
Government panel says radical reform needed to meet Ontario’s changing economic needs
By Laurie Monsebraaten
June 14, 2010
Ontario should adopt a bold vision for welfare reform that includes new income supports and services for all low-income residents, says a government-appointed panel in a report being released Monday. “We are currently investing billions into federal and provincial programs that too often trap people in poverty and fail to offer alternatives to social assistance,” said Gail Nyberg of the Daily Bread Food Bank who chaired the panel of anti-poverty experts. (...) Social Services Minister Madeleine Meilleur appointed the panel last December to advise the government on the scope and terms of reference for a review of social assistance, promised in 2008 as part of the Liberals’ anti-poverty strategy.
Source:
The Toronto Star

Read the report:

Executive summary
(...) The Social Assistance Review Advisory Council concludes that Ontario does not need a review solely of social assistance – it needs a comprehensive review of Ontario’s income security system. Ontario Works and the Ontario Disability Support Program represent 23 percent of all provincial and federal income security program spending that serves working-age adult Ontarians. Social assistance is but one piece of a patchwork of income security, employment and social supports.

Source:
Ministry of Community and Social Services

Related link:

Letter from the Nurse Practitioners’ Association of Ontario (NPAO)
and the Registered Nurses' Association of Ontario (RNAO) to the
Minister of Community and Social Services
March 18, 2010
"...the Nurse Practitioners’ Association of Ontario and Registered Nurses' Association of Ontario strongly urge you to withdraw the directive and respect the professional opinion of authorized health professionals, including nurse practitioners, in those cases where, in their clinical judgment, a social assistance recipient’s condition entitles them to the Special Diet Allowance.
Source:
Registered Nurses' Association of Ontario
Nurse Practitioners’ Association of Ontario

Ontario 2010 Pre-Budget Consultations

Promoting Economic Recovery, Advancing Poverty Reduction:
Pre-Budget Submission to Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs (PDF - 51K, 8 pages)
Submitted by: Social Planning Toronto
February 3, 2010
In this submission, we focus on initiatives that will promote economic recovery and advance the provincial government’s commitment on poverty reduction.

Source:
Social Planning Toronto
Social Planning Toronto (SPT; formerly the Community Social Planning Council of Toronto) is a nonprofit community organization engaged in research, policy analysis, community development and civic engagement aimed at improving the quality of life of Toronto residents. SPT’s work focuses on poverty reduction with an emphasis on income security, good jobs, affordable housing and strong public education.

Related links:
(links to presentations to Committee by SPT and other groups in January/February 2010)

Committee Transcripts of the
Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs
This link gives you access to all transcripts of this Committee right back to 2007, including (but not limited to) pre-budget consultations that preceded the Ontario Budgets from 2007 to the upcoming 2010 budget expected late in March. The top seven links in the right-hand column are all 2010 pre-budget consultation transcripts.
Source:
Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs

RESEARCH TIP:
I highly recommend government pre-budget consultation websites as a rich source of information on Canadian social programs in an economic and fiscal context.
I'm using Ontario as an example here, but every jurisdiction in Canada has a pre-budget process in place for organizations and people to make their pitch about the best way to allocate budget dollars. There's usually a link to the pre-budget process on the main budget page for each province/territory.

If you click the Ontario "Committee Transcripts" link above, you'll note (on the next page, at the top of the right-hand column) links to seven transcripts of submissions made to the Committee by interested organizations and individuals. You'll have to click on the link for each transcript to see a list of the groups and people whose presentations are included in that day's transcript. The seven transcripts cover the Committee hearings from January 25 to February 3 (2010), and they include presentations from a wide range of intervenors, from the National Citizens' Coalition and social advocacy groups, to municipal councils and labour unions. If you've read this far, I think you'll want to check all seven daily transcripts for compelling presentations (and a wealth of program information) by the ODSP Action Coalition, the Ottawa Poverty Reduction Network, the Wellesley Institute, the 25 in 5 Network for Poverty Reduction, Ontario Campaign 2000, Social Planning Toronto, the Ontario Coalition for Better Child Care, the Income Security Advocacy Centre, and many more...

[ Use the same technique to find pre-budget submissions for any jurisdiction by any organization that has a presence on the Internet. It's a slow and cumbersome process, but it offers insights into our social programs and our social policies that you often can't find elsewhere...]

__________________________________________

Another submission to the
Standing Committee on Finance & Economic Affairs:

Stepping up for Ontarians:
Staying the course on poverty reduction commitments (PDF - 168K, 7 pages)
Submission to Standing Committee on Finance & Economic Affairs
February 1, 2010
(...) What we know from this past recession is that we are all vulnerable. Every child is vulnerable, every middle class job is vulnerable, every household is vulnerable, and every community is vulnerable. But strategic solutions are at hand. Some solutions require immediate investments to
protect the vulnerable and stimulate the economy by keeping and creating good jobs; others require simple rule changes to ensure the Premier meets his government's priority of providing the best public services for Ontario's vulnerable.
Source:
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.

- Go to the 2010 Canadian Government Budgets Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/budgets_2010.htm

The City of Ottawa's
Poverty Reduction Strategy

Poverty Affects Us All:
A Community Approach to Poverty Reduction (PDF - 1.9MB, 83 pages)
Undated (PDF file date: December 11, 2009)
Ottawa's initiative builds on the Ontario Poverty Reduction Strategy and expands the target group to include individuals, families and children living on low income. The focus of Ottawa's Strategy is to implement local initiatives that reduce poverty, promote awareness and complement existing activities in the community.The report presents 3 Strategic Priorities and 16 Recommendations, including concrete, local actions that can be achieved and measured within a two-year timeframe. Beginning in 2010, Phase II of the Strategy will implement the recommendations and monitor progress by developing measures and tracking outcomes.
Source:
Poverty Affects Us All : A Community Approach to Poverty Reduction
Note : Report to be presented to Community and Protective Services Committee and Council
21 January 2010
By Steve Kanellakos, Deputy City Manager (City Operations)
[ version française :
La pauvreté, c'est l'affaire de tous : une approche communautaire pour réduire la pauvreté ]

Related links:
…….. something left over at the end of the month (PDF - 167K, 48 pages)
Report from the Community Poverty Reduction Strategy Forum
held on June 25, 2008
at Christ Church Cathedral, Ottawa.
Prepared by the Ottawa Poverty Reduction Network
for the Ontario Cabinet Committee on Poverty Reduction
chaired by the Hon. Deb Matthews.

City of Ottawa Proposes Poverty Reduction Strategy
September 28, 2009
Source:
Citizens for public Justice

Ottawa Poverty Network
The Ottawa Poverty Reduction Network is a group of community organizations and anti-poverty advocates that
came together in early 2008 to support the participation of low income individuals in the development of
Ontario's Poverty Reduction Strategy.

Alliance to End Homelessness in Ottawa

Ontario Campaign 2000

National Campaign 2000

Ontario Making Progress On Poverty Reduction
McGuinty Government Releases First Annual Report
News Release
December 2, 2009
Ontario is delivering on its poverty reduction strategy by making historic investments in low-income families during challenging economic times. The first annual report on the Breaking the Cycle strategy released today highlights three pillars that the government has delivered on:
* Accelerating the Ontario Child Benefit
* Moving forward with full-day learning for four and five year olds
* Tax fairness for low-income families

Complete report:

Breaking the Cycle: The First Year
Ontario's Poverty Reduction Strategy, 2009 Annual Report
December 2009
HTML version
PDF version (1.2MB, 23 pages)

Related link:

Ontario Deprivation Index
December 2, 2009
A 'deprivation index' is a list of items or activities considered necessary to have an adequate standard of living, but those who are poor are unlikely to be able to afford. The items in a deprivation index are not a comprehensive list of basic needs since in a wealthy society such as Ontario most households, even the poor, are likely to have most of the basic necessities. The items in the index are intended to distinguish the poor from the non-poor. According to research, the items in Ontario's index are all widely seen by Ontarians as being necessary for a household to have a standard of living above the poverty level. (...) Ontario's deprivation index was developed through a unique partnership with the Ontario government, the Daily Bread Food Bank, the Caledon Institute of Social Policy and Statistics Canada.

Source:
Ministry of Children and Youth Services
[ Government of Ontario ]

Making Good on the Promise:
Evaluating Year One of Ontario's Poverty Reduction Strategy
December 2, 2009
HTML version
PDF version (221K, 27 pages)
A year ago, as Canada plunged into one of the sharpest recessions since the Great Depression, the Ontario government assumed long-awaited leadership to tackle poverty. On December 4, 2008 it promised to enact a plan to reduce child and family poverty by 25 per cent by 2013. Making good on that promise would lift more than 90,000 Ontario children and their families out of poverty within five years. This report evaluates what has been done so far and how much further they'll have to go to meet the goal.

Source:
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.

Related link:

Ontario risks missing poverty reduction targets: report
Anti-poverty campaigners say Ontario risks missing its targets just one year into its plan to reduce child poverty by 25 per cent by 2013.
December 2, 2009
The 25 in 5 Poverty Reduction Network says some good steps have been taken but warns that without immediate public support, the province's poverty rate will "explode."
In a report released ahead of the province's own update, the group also says that repeating the mistakes of the 1990s recession — especially making cuts to public sector programs and services — will make it harder for people to move out of poverty. It wants the province to review its rules around social assistance and make increases to the Ontario Child Benefit, affordable housing and the minimum wage.
Source:
CBC

From Promise to Reality – Recession
Proofing Ontario Families
2009 Report Card on Child & Family Poverty in Ontario (PDF - 234K, 8 pages)
November 2009
* Breaking the Cycle: Ontario’s Poverty Reduction Strategy - Key commitments and progress as of November 2009
* Indicators of Child & Family Poverty: A 20 Year Retrospective
* Rate and Depth of Poverty
* Working Poor Families
* Children at Greater Risk of Poverty
* Children in Families on Social Assistance
* Food Bank Use by Children
* Access to Affordable Housing
* Access to Quality, Regulated Child Care
* Looking Ahead - The Need for Strong Leadership in Tough Times
* Next Steps in Poverty Reduction – What Ontario Needs to Do Now

Version française:
D’une promesse à la réalité – prémunir les familles ontariennes contre la récession
Rapport 2009 sur la pauvreté des enfants et des familles en Ontario (PDF - 231Ko., 8 pages)
Novembre 2009

Related links:

Voices From the Street
Voices from the streets was launched in 2005 with funding from the City of Toronto’s Supporting Community Partnership Initiative to develop a speakers bureau comprised of individuals with mental health and addictions history. (...) Voices From the Street is comprised of individuals who have had direct experience with homelessness, poverty, and/or mental health issues. The organization works to put a human face to homelessness and involves people with direct experience as leaders in a public education process.

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

Social Assistance Review - A sub-site of the Income Security Advocacy Centre
Comprehensive source for issues, stories, resources, analysis, and news about the review
- incl. links to : About - Take Action - Tell Your Story - Resources - News

25 in 5 Network for Poverty Reduction
25 in 5 is a multi-sectoral network comprised of more than 100 provincial and Toronto-based organizations and individuals working on eliminating poverty.

25 in 5 Network for Poverty Reduction
Commitments Made; Action Taken?
eBulletin for October 14, 2009
Table of contents:
1. Quote of the Week: This is Our Chance to Get it Right
2. How is the Government Doing on Poverty Reduction?
3. Action Alert: No Cherry Picking on Early Learning
4. An Update from the Housing Network of Ontario
5. Dental Treatment for Low-Income Ontarians
6. Star Editorial Suggests We "Do the Math"
7. Ontario's Food Banks Hard Hit
Source:
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.

No Relief in Sight This Thanksgiving: 1700 Ontarians “Do the Math” and Find Social Assistance Rates Don’t Add Up
October 8, 2009
Press Release
October 8, 2009
TORONTO – Thanksgiving is a time to remember that everyone should have enough food to eat — if not to celebrate with an abundant meal, at the very least to meet the minimum requirements for health and dignity. But data released from a new website shows what too many people lining up at food banks this Thanksgiving already know: social assistance in Ontario does not add up. The Stop Community Food Centre recently launched a web-based budgeting tool called “Do the Math” that asks people to weigh in on what they think a person on social assistance needs to survive. More than 1,700 people have completed the survey since it launched in June 2009, and results show that even the most frugal estimates fall far short of what people receive on Ontario Works (OW) and the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP).
Source:
Poverty Watch Ontario
Mission : To monitor and inform on cross-Ontario activity on the poverty reduction agenda

The Stop Community Food Centre
From its origins as one of Canada’s first food banks, The Stop has blossomed into a thriving community hub where neighbours participate in a broad range of programs that provide healthy food, as well as foster social connections, build food skills and promote engagement in civic issues.

Do the Math
Poverty in Ontario is at an all time high. As the economic crisis grows, so does the number of people relying on social assistance and food banks.
Does a single person on social assistance receive enough income to live with health and dignity?
Do The Math to find out!

Time for a “Made in Ontario”
Working Income Tax Benefit
Institute for Competitiveness & Prosperity and Open Policy Ontario
call for improvements to Working Income Tax Benefit design in Ontario to help low-income earners escape welfare.
September 2, 2009
Press Release
Toronto – The government of Ontario should accept the invitation from the federal government to modify the design of its Working Income Tax Benefit (WITB). WITB benefits should be re-oriented to support low-income earners when they work more, thereby easing their move from social assistance onto full-time employment when welfare benefits are lost.

Complete report:

Time for a “Made in Ontario”
Working Income Tax Benefit (PDF - 897K, 28 pages)
September 2009
Open Policy Ontario
John Stapleton, Principal
"Low-income Ontarians who are attempting to break out of poverty to achieve financial sustainability often find barriers in their way. In fact, many who try to break away from welfare and find employment face strong disincentives to work. They continue to struggle with insufficient work, low wages, and little-to-no wage progression. (...) This report is not about addressing the full range of welfare reform; rather, it seeks to merge the WITB and Ontario’s welfare system and thus provide greater incentives for low-income Ontarians to achieve full-time employment by reducing the barriers created by the welfare wall. (...)

Authors:

James Milway and Katherine Chan,
Institute for Competitiveness & Prosperity
The Institute for Competitiveness & Prosperity is an independent, not-for-profit organization that deepens public understanding of macro and microeconomic factors behind Ontario’s economic progress. We are funded by the Government of Ontario and are mandated to share our research findings directly with the public. The Institute serves as the research arm of the Task Force on Competitiveness, Productivity and Economic Progress. The mandate of the Task Force, announced in the April 2001 Speech from the Throne, is to measure and monitor Ontario’s competitiveness, productivity, and economic progress compared to other provinces and US states and to report to the public on a regular basis.

John Stapleton,
Open Policy Ontario
John Stapleton is Metcalf Innovations and St Christopher House policy fellow and an expert on social policy and income issues.

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.

A Poverty Reduction Plan for Canada (PDF - 318K, 21 pages)
Notes from a town hall meeting on the role of the federal government in poverty reduction
June 1, 2009
TORONTO - On June 1st, Campaign 2000 and the 25 in 5 Network for Poverty Reduction held a Town Hall Meeting to get community input on what the federal role should be in reducing poverty in Canada. The event coincided with the Toronto hearings of the Federal Standing Committee on Human Resources, Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities (HUMA). This is the only hearing in Ontario of this federal committee studying poverty, but many were not able to formally present to the Committee. This Town Hall provided an opportunity for community groups and people with lived experience of poverty to present to a community panel
Source:
25-in-5 Network for Poverty Reduction

Related links:

* Campaign 2000

* Federal Standing Committee on
Human Resources, Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities (HUMA)

Designing new architecture for Ontario social assistance
Forget trying to reform the current system and build a new one that is both simpler and fairer
June 2, 2009
By John Stapleton
When Ontario's long-promised review of welfare begins this spring, the provincial government faces a stark choice. Does it spend years trying to unravel a set of 800 social assistance rules that make up the current outdated system? Or will this government take the bolder road and build an entirely new and improved income security system? (...) The social assistance system in Ontario was rebuilt during the 1990s with the introduction of the Ontario Works Act and the Ontario Disability Support Program Act. The purpose was to provide a basic welfare program in Ontario Works whose success was predicated on the principle that only the neediest of the needy would receive assistance. Success was defined in terms of leaving the program. Reliance on the program was considered dependency. That system does not work. It needs replacing.
Source:
The Toronto Star
John Stapleton is a Metcalf Innovations Fellow, and Community Undertaking Social Policy Fellow at St. Christopher House in Toronto.
This article is based on his report on Ontario's new income architecture, The 'Ball' or the 'Bridge': The stark choice for social assistance reform in Ontario (see below).
[ Open Policy - John Stapleton's personal website ]

Complete report:

The ‘Ball’ or the ‘Bridge’:
the stark choice for social assistance reform in Ontario (PDF - 243K, 5 pages)
May 2009
By John Stapleton
"(...) If Ontario chooses to keep the ‘ball’ (the 800 rules that guide welfare in Ontario) stuck together and loosen eligibility rules (as it has historically done during recessions), caseloads will climb and peak approximately three years following the end of the recession at tremendous cost to the province while thwarting human potential in a significant portion of Ontario’s adult population. The choice is stark for social assistance reform in Ontario. We either can risk more than doubling Ontario’s social assistance population as we did in the early 1990s or we can build the new bridge. The choice is ours to make."

Source:
Ontario Alternative Budget
[ Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives ]

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

Poverty Reduction Policies and Programs
Poverty in Ontario – Failed Promise and the Renewal of Hope Ontario (PDF - 411K, 34 pages)
By Glynis Maxwell, Community Development Halton (Social Planning Network of Ontario)
Table of contents:
PREFACE
INTRODUCTION
PROFILE OF POVERTY IN ONTARIO
DEVELOPMENT OF POLICY AND PROGRAMS
* The Post-War Era
* 1975 to 1985: A Growing Need to Tackle Poverty
* 1985 to 1995: SARC and the Failure of Reform
* 1995 to 2003: The ‘Common Sense Revolution’
CURRENT POLICIES AND PROGRAMS
* Social Assistance Incomes
* Minimum Wage
* Quality of Employment
* Barriers to Employment for Social Assistance Recipients
* Barriers to Employment for Newcomers
* Affordable Housing
* Child Care
* Developing a Poverty Reduction Strategy
CONCLUSION

Source:
Poverty Reduction Policies and Programs
Social Development Report Series, 2009
[ Canadian Council on Social Development ]

Also from CCSD :

Poverty Reduction Policies and Programs in Canada (PDF - 341K, 29 pages)
By David I. Hay, Information Partnership

A better tool box for poverty reduction
May 25, 2009
By Carol Goar
One of the defining characteristics of an effective social agency is that it never stays still. It changes as the population of a community changes. It creates new programs when the existing ones don't meet the needs of its clients. It constantly looks for better ways to do things and better tools to help people. Governments, on the other hand, lock their programs in place with rigid rules. They demand conformity. They manage change by imposing limits and off-loading responsibilities. This clash of visions leads to stifled creativity and half-solved problems. That is the message a Senate delegation heard when it came to Toronto this month, seeking solutions to urban poverty. Three members of the subcommittee on cities – Senators Art Eggleton, Jane Cordy and Hugh Segal – spent a morning at Woodgreen Community Services, one of Toronto's leading social agencies...

Source:
Toronto Star

Related link:
Woodgreen Community Services
At WoodGreen we believe that everyone should have access to
the essentials of life whether that means a roof over their head, a stable job or child care they can trust.

Poverty Reduction Becomes Law in Ontario: Amended Bill 152 Gets All-Party Support
May 6, 2009
Toronto– Ontario has taken a historic step forward on poverty reduction with the all-party approval of Bill 152, the Poverty Reduction Act, said the 25 in 5 Network for Poverty Reduction. The legislation requires Ontario to set a new poverty reduction target and plan of action at least every five years, and to consult regularly on its progress with low income people, groups at heightened risk of poverty, and other key stakeholders. Poverty in Ontario can no longer be ignored. (...) Amendments were made to the original Bill after the Legislature’s Standing Committee on Social Policy heard suggestions over two days of public hearings from two dozen community representatives, and received over 40 written submissions.
Source:
25 in 5 Poverty Reduction Network (Ontario)

Related link:

Bill 152 : An Act respecting a
long-term strategy to reduce poverty in Ontario (PDF - 349K, 10 pages)
Second reading copy, changes annotated

Strengthen poverty bill
Editorial
April 20, 2009
Unemployment numbers are soaring, welfare cases are rising and food banks are reporting shortages. The economic downturn has made Ontario's plan to reduce poverty even more crucial than when it was first promised by the Liberals. The initial target is to reduce child poverty by 25 per cent within five years. We have seen targets like that before, and they have been missed. But what makes this plan somewhat different is the accompanying legislation, which would make poverty-reduction an ongoing government responsibility. Children's Minister Deb Matthews, who designed the province's anti-poverty strategy, states: "The only way we're ever going to succeed in the fight against poverty is for it to become a core responsibility of governments now and in the future." Political interests and governments come and go, so the anti-poverty bill – now before a legislative committee – would be a tool to hold politicians to account.
Source:
Toronto Star

Ontario's Poverty Reduction Strategy and the 2009 Budget
March 26, 2009
"(...) The Poverty Reduction Strategy' target is to reduce the number of children living in poverty by 25 per cent over the next 5 years. All low-income families with children would see the benefits of this strategy, which would help lift 90,000 children out of poverty. The government, however, cannot do this alone. Meeting this goal depends on having a willing partner in the federal government, as well as a growing economy.
- incl. info on enhancements to the Ontario Child Benefit (OCB), tax relief for families and individuals, a new youth opportunities strategy, community hubs, Social Assistance rate increases and review of social assistance "with the goal of removing barriers and increasing opportunity — with a particular focus on people trying to move into employment from social assistance."
(Hmmmm - the terminology used here reminds me of the way Mike Harris used to describe his hand-up-not-handout-USA-Jobs-First-style-Common-Sense-Revolution approach - Gilles.)
- also incl. info on support for housing, Ontario's minimum wage, a new Deprivation Index for Ontario, the Poverty Reduction Act, and initiatives the McGuinty government has introduced since 2003-04 to support low-income families and individuals
Source:
2009 Ontario Budget
[ Budget Highlights ]

From the Government of Ontario:

Helping Families In Need:
McGuinty Government To Increase Ontario Child Benefit And Invest In Affordable Housing
March 20, 2009
Ontario is doing more to support low income families facing challenging economic times. The government is proposing to increase the Ontario Child Benefit this July, from $600 to a maximum of $1,100 per child per year. The Ontario Child Benefit helps 1.3 million children by giving moms and dads monthly support. Ontario is also planning to increase its investment in social and affordable housing to create short-term jobs in construction and renovation while improving the lives of people with low-incomes. Working with the federal government, Ontario would renovate 50,000 social housing units and build 4,500 new affordable housing units through a joint investment of $1.2 billion.
Source:
Newsroom - Ontario.ca

Ontario Child Benefit (OCB)
The Ontario Child Benefit is financial support that low-income families can receive to help provide for their children. It’s also the centrepiece of Ontario’s Poverty Reduction Strategy. About 465,000 families with 960,000 children receive a monthly Ontario Child Benefit payment each month. That’s up to $50 per child each month, increasing to up to $67 per child each month as of July 2009.
Source:
Ministry of Children and Youth Services

***********
Related links:
***********

Ontario doubles payout for low-income children
Child benefit increases to $1,100 yearly to ease the economic fallout
March 21, 2009
By Tanya Talaga
The Ontario child benefit available to low-income families will nearly double to $1,100 a year beginning in July, Premier Dalton McGuinty said yesterday. The Liberals had planned on increasing the monthly child benefit by 2011 as part of their anti-poverty reduction strategy, but accelerated the payout to help families during the economic downturn, he told a news conference at the Cabbagetown Youth Centre. The government promised four months ago to reduce child poverty by 25 per cent in five years, but said that federal funding and a strong economy were required to reach the target. Anti-poverty advocates have been watching closely to see whether the Liberals, facing a projected $18 billion deficit over two years, will deliver. Yesterday's announcement increases the maximum child benefit to $92 from $50 per child, per month. About 465,000 families with a total of 960,000 children receive a monthly payment, with the maximum annual benefit currently $600. The maximum benefit is available to families earning less than $20,000 a year.
Source:
The Toronto Star

Poverty investments a good first start: 25 in 5
March 20, 2009
Commitments made by Premier Dalton McGuinty today to invest in two important poverty reduction initiatives bode well for all Ontarians, says the 25 in 5 Network for Poverty Reduction.
NOTE: the following links are copied from the above blog posting:
Media and community responses
to the Ontario Government announcement:
* Low-income Ontarians, and provincial economy get welcome boost from new investments - The Wellesley Institute
* Ontario budget to boost child benefit, social housing funds - CBC.ca
* Affordable housing to get $1.2B boost - Toronto Star
* Ont. speeds up increase in child benefit to July 1 - CTV.ca
* Municipalities Welcome $1.2 Billion Investment in Social Housing - Association of Municipalities of Ontario
Source:
25 in 5 Network
for Poverty Reduction

Ontario makes substantial
down payment on new provincial housing plan
March 20, 2009
By Michael Shapcott
Ontario has made a substantial down payment to meet the housing needs of tens of thousands of people who are precariously housed or homeless. Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty and housing minister Jim Watson have announced plans today to invest $624.5 million over the next two years in affordable housing initiatives. When combined with matching federal dollars, it amounts to more than $1.2 billion. (...) Today’s provincial housing announcement meets the first priority set out by the Wellesley Institute in our 2009 budget recommendations to the Government of Ontario, which was to fully match federal affordable housing dollars. But provincial housing investments still lag behind the deep and persistent need across the province, and Ontario is lagging behind provides such as Alberta [see below] in making commitments for urgently needed new housing investments.
Source:
Wellesley Institute Blog
[ Wellesley Institute ]

Major Milestones in Poverty Reduction in Ontario
December 2008
By John Stapleton
Brief overview of 10 significant poverty reduction initiatives in Ontario, from the First Upper Canada Statute in 1792 to the 2008 Poverty Reduction Strategy.
Source:
Open Policy (John Stapleton's website)

From The Toronto Star:

What Ontario has to do to fix the hole in welfare
March 18, 2009
By Don Drummond (Chief Economist, TD Bank Financial Group)
and John Stapleton (Metcalf Foundation Fellow)
Our welfare system provides Ontarians with a false sense of security. Many assume it has been designed to offer temporary protection to individuals who are ineligible for Employment Insurance, or no longer able to participate in this program. But this so-called safety net has some large holes. It does not catch all those it should. And the ones it does catch often become entangled in the web, finding it difficult to get back out. In short, it has a way of keeping the destitute down. (...) We have argued that the asset limits for welfare eligibility need to be raised substantially. A particular aspect of this is to exempt certain amounts in Registered Retirement Savings Plans (RRSPs) and the new Tax Free Savings Accounts (TFSAs). The Ontario government has an opportunity to do this in its March 26 budget. It would be an important step forward in its poverty reduction strategy. (...) The end game is to provide temporary support for individuals who lose their job and then help them get back into the labour market as soon as possible, when the economy turns around. Under present welfare rules we are destined to repeat the patterns of the past when too few are protected and those who are become entangled. By creating a better future for those who need it most, the government can help make sure we don’t repeat history.

Poverty strategy belongs in budget
Editorial
March 17, 2009
When Premier Dalton McGuinty committed to reduce poverty, just four months ago, his plan spoke passionately about alleviating the suffering of families living in poverty and, in doing so, improving the economic future for all Ontarians. The need is even greater now. Yet, just days before the provincial budget that could elevate the plan from nice words to concrete action, there are troubling signs that the government is backing off...

Poverty fight must continue
Timely investments will reduce poverty but also stimulate local economies
March 17, 2009
By Sarah Blackstock, Pat Capponi and Janet Gasparini
"(...)These are challenging economic times and, historically, it has been during such dark moments that previous governments did the most for the poor and the jobless. Abandoning the poor during an economic downturn is not the kind of leadership Ontarians envision for their government. Now is not a time for cold feet. It is a time for bold action.Now, more than ever, we turn to our government to meet its commitment."
(Sarah Blackstock is a policy analyst with the Income Security Advocacy Centre. Pat Capponi is facilitator of Voices From the Street. Janet Gasparini is chair of the Social Planning Network of Ontario.)

[ See also : 25 in 5 Network for Poverty Reduction ]

Economic crisis could stall poverty plan, minister says
March 13, 2009
By Joanna Smith
OTTAWA–The economic crisis could disrupt an Ontario government strategy to reduce child poverty by 25 per cent over the next five years, provincial Children and Youth Services Minister Deb Matthews said yesterday. (...) The provincial government released its anti-poverty blueprint – which aims to lift 90,000 Ontario children above the poverty line by 2014 – last December. Matthews says she has always been upfront about its dependence on economic growth and co-operation from all three levels of government. Matthews said worsened economic conditions could result in an interruption in implementing the strategy but insisted the government can still succeed. "I am optimistic we can achieve it and I can assure you that kids will be better off as a result of this strategy regardless of the economy," she said.

---

Ontario needs to step up and tackle social deficit
Ottawa gave province fiscal breathing room but did little to help poor and unemployed
Opinion
March 4, 2009
By John Stapleton, Janet Gasparini and Neethan Shan
Two important questions faced Ontario's poverty reduction plan after its December release:
- How much further would Ontario's economy deteriorate?
- What would the federal government do in its winter budget to support Ontario's goal to reduce poverty by 25 per cent in the next five years?
Well, we now have the answers. Ontario lost 71,000 of the 129,000 jobs lost in Canada in January 2009. And Ottawa intends to do just about nothing at all about poverty. (...) It's disappointing, to say the least, that the federal government chose to ignore its important role in supporting provincial moves to reduce poverty. But Ontario's finance minister still has plenty of options to demonstrate his own government means business when it comes to reducing poverty. There is no doubt that we live in difficult times and the economic parallels to the Great Depression are striking. But unlike the 1930s, we do not need to wait for years before we do something about it.

Put Food in the Budget
March 3, 2009
By Brian Eng
Fighting poverty is the best medicine money can buy according to the Association of Local Public Health Agencies (alPHa). They partnering with the 25 in 5 Network for Poverty Reduction in an Ontario-wide campaign to urge the Ontario government to add a Healthy Food Supplement to the Basic Needs Allowance for all adult recipients of social assistance, as part of its Spring 2009 budget. (...) alPHa’s 36 member public health units have endorsed two separate resolutions since 2001 urging the Ontario Government to set social assistance rates according to the true costs of basic needs. The Put Food in the Budget campaign calls for the addition of a $100.00 Healthy Food Supplement to the Basic Needs Allowance as a down-payment on closing the gap between social assistance incomes and the cost of healthy eating. The campaign was launched on February 19 in Toronto by Toronto Medical Officer of Health Dr. David McKeown, with representatives from the Stop Community Food Centre and the 25 in 5 Network for Poverty Reduction.
Comment found in:
Wellesley Institute Blog
[ Wellesley Institute ]

Source:
Association of Local Public Health Agencies
We are a non-profit organization that provides leadership to boards of health and public health units in Ontario. Our members include board of health members of health units, medical and associate medical officers of health, and senior public health managers.

A New Era In The Fight Against Poverty
Proposed Legislation Commits Ontario To Long-Term Action
News Release
February 25, 2009
For the first-time ever, Ontario has introduced poverty reduction legislation that, if passed, would ensure that successive governments remain focused on the fight against poverty. As part of Breaking the Cycle: Ontario’s Poverty Reduction Strategy, the proposed Poverty Reduction Act would:
* Require successive governments to report annually on key indicators of opportunity – these will typically include income levels, school success, health care and housing.
* Mandate future governments to consult widely before developing future strategies, including consultation with those living in poverty.
* Require Ontario to develop a new strategy at least every five years.
* Require future governments to set a specific poverty reduction target every five years.
Source:
Ontario Government tables The Poverty Reduction Act, 2009
February 25, 2009
- incl. links to the complete Bill, the news release, background information, the province's December 2008 poverty reduction strategy report and more...

Social Assistance Rule Changes To Support Education And Employment
Fact Sheet, February 25, 2009
The following changes to social assistance rules (taking effect between March and May) are designed "to help recipients pursue educational and employment opportunities and improve their lives and the lives of their children."
* Enhancement of earnings exemptions rules for social assistance recipients who are full-time post-secondary students.
* Enhancement of the Up-front Child Care Benefit paid to social assistance recipients who are required to pay in advance for child care costs when they begin or change jobs or work-related activities.
* The process of internal reviews regarding a decision made affecting clients' assistance will be improved.

Related links:

Poverty plan slammed as an empty gesture
February 26, 2009
By Tanya Talaga and Laurie Monsebraaten
The provincial government's anti-poverty legislation was hailed yesterday as a historic step forward, but one that critics said lacked both direction and funds. The Liberals' long-anticipated bill to reduce child poverty by 25 per cent in five years was derided by critics as being full of loopholes and lacking direction when record numbers of people are using food banks.
Source:
The Toronto Star

From the 25 in 5 Network for Poverty Reduction:

Poverty reduction legislation positive;
budget action must follow: 25 in 5 Network
Toronto, February 25, 2008
Making poverty reduction the law in Ontario is an important step towards achieving a poverty free Ontario, says the 25 in 5 Network for Poverty Reduction. But government must take concrete next steps that extend poverty reduction targets to all Ontarians over the next decade, and to make investments now to meet its initial target. “Legislation is critical to ensuring that poverty reduction becomes central to the Ontario government’s agenda. That’s why we need to get it right from the beginning.” said Greg deGroot-Maggetti of the Mennonite Central Committee. “We need a process to make sure the legislation that gets enacted is as strong as possible to ensure ongoing progress toward a poverty free Ontario, backed by broad public support and all-party endorsement.” [ More... ]

A Blueprint for Economic Stimulus and Poverty Reduction in Ontario
A Blueprint for Economic Stimulus and Poverty Reduction in Ontario – the result of consultations in 30 Ontario communities – lays out a plan that could reduce the number of poor Ontarians by 197,420 (15 per cent) and reduce the number of poor children in Ontario by 62,000 (19 per cent) within the next three years.
- incl. links to the press release and the full blueprint.

Depression-era hardship could await Ontarians
Press Release
February 12, 2009
TORONTO – Without government action, the lack of adequate income security programs could plunge Ontarians suffering the worst of the current recession into dire straits, says a report by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA).Silence of the Lines: Poverty Reduction Strategies and the Crash of 2008 shows how the economic downturn is already worse than the Great Depression but predicts different results for Ontarians who end up down on their luck.
Source:
Ontario Alternative Budget
[ Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives ]

Complete report:

The Silence of the Lines:
Poverty reduction strategies and the crash of 2008 (PDF - 135K, 5 pages)
By John Stapleton
"(...) people who once could successfully apply for welfare during a rough patch (along with all the people turned away from EI) are going to be turned away at the welfare office. The reason for this is that since the last major recession, governments have brought in four significant sets of changes:
• Lower social assistance rates;
• Much lower assets limits;
• Earning exemptions policies that do not apply to new applicants; and
• ‘Workfare’ — now called ‘community participation’.
The confluence of these four sets of changes has not been tested in a recession but when the ‘new poor’ make a welfare application, they will be turned down to live off lower paid jobs or their dwindling savings. When they re-apply later on, they will be told that ‘any job is a good job’ and will be pointed in the direction of the relatively plentiful low paid jobs that will be available.

Related link:

Open Policy- John Stapleton's personal website
John is a Policy Fellow with the Metcalf Foundation and St. Christopher House in Toronto.

A Blueprint for Economic Stimulus and Poverty Reduction in Ontario:
Blueprint could help cut child poverty by 19%
News Release
February 12, 2009
TORONTO – A report by the 25 in 5 Poverty Reduction Network shows how the Ontario government could get three-quarters of the way towards its goal to reduce child poverty by 25 per cent. A Blueprint for Economic Stimulus and Poverty Reduction in Ontario – the result of consultations in 30 Ontario communities – lays out a plan that could reduce the number of poor Ontarians by 197,420 (15 per cent) and reduce the number of poor children in Ontario by 62,000 (19 per cent) within the next three years.

Complete report:

A Blueprint for Economic Stimulus
and Poverty Reduction in Ontario (PDF - 157K, 28 pages)
February 2009

* 25 in 5 Network for Poverty Reduction
* Ontario Federation of Labour (Sheila Block of the OFL wrote the report)

Related link:

Welfare 'stimulus' touted
February 12, 2009
By Laurie Monsebraaten
If Premier Dalton McGuinty wants to protect Ontario's faltering economy, he should give more money to people like René Adams so she can buy her daughters healthy food and pay for swimming lessons, poverty activists say. The Toronto single mother, who volunteers at a local food bank while she looks for full-time work, says every extra penny she receives goes back into the local economy. (...) In addition to cutting poverty, putting money into the hands of those who need it most is the best way to stimulate the economy at a time of global economic uncertainty, says a report by the 25 in 5 Network for Poverty Reduction. (...) The proposed economic stimulus and poverty reduction package calls on Ontario to spend $5 billion over the next two years to beef up welfare and other social supports and build new child-care spaces and social housing units.
Source:
The Toronto Star

Sick and Tired of Being Sick and Tired:
Taking Action on Poverty, Poor Health and Bad Jobs
February 9, 2009
Falling on the heels of the release of Ontario’s landmark poverty reduction strategy, Sick and Tired paints a grim picture of the health of the province’s poorest residents. This new report from the Community Social Planning Council of Toronto, University of Toronto’s Social Assistance in the New Economy Project and the Wellesley Institute documents the compromised health of social assistance recipients and the working poor in Ontario. It includes practical and pragmatic recommendations to strengthen the province’s poverty reduction plan, address the increased burden of ill health among poor people in Ontario, and promote equitable access to health services in Ontario. In addition, many of our recommended actions will promote much-needed economic stimulus as an antidote to Ontario’s struggling economy and promote cost savings in the health care system. This is a companion to our research, released in December, which looks at the health status of poor people across Canada and is called Poverty Is Making Us Sick (link below).
Partners:
* Wellesley Institute
* Social Assistance in the New Economy
* Community Social Planning Council of Toronto

Complete report:

Sick and Tired: The Compromised Health
of Social Assistance Recipients and the Working Poor in Ontario (PDF - 5.3MB, 35 pages)
February 2009

Related links:

Poverty is making us sick : A comprehensive survey
of income and health in Canada (PDF - 522K, 39 pages)
By Ernie Lightman Ph.D, Andrew Mitchell and Beth Wilson
December 2008
Source:
Social Assistance in the New Economy

From The Toronto Star:

Higher welfare payments urged:
Report considers ways province can help solve chronic health problems affecting poor Ontarians
February 9, 2009
By Laurie Monsebraaten
Queen's Park should boost welfare payments and improve access to disability assistance for Ontarians who can't work for health reasons as a remedy for chronic health problems among the poor, according to a report produced by the Community Social Planning Council, with the University of Toronto and the Wellesley Institute. People on welfare are 10 times more likely to have attempted suicide than those living on middle- or upper-incomes, notes the report, which is to be released today.

The poverty-health link
Editorial
February 10, 2009
Money may not buy happiness, but it does do wonders for your health. A new study – by the Community Social Planning Council, University of Toronto and the Wellesley Institute – has drawn a direct link between poverty and ill health. Ontarians on welfare suffer from diabetes, heart disease, arthritis, mood disorders and other chronic ailments at up to four times the rate of middle- or upper-income earners. Such findings are always disturbing, but given the current economic downturn, there's even greater cause for concern over this study.

What's new from The Socialist Project:

Breaking the Cycle or Going Around in Circles?
The Ontario Poverty Reduction Strategy
January 3, 2009
By Peter Graefe
"(...)what should we make of the McGuinty strategy, and of the 25in5 campaign around it? Is a strategy of positive engagement a wise one for making gains, or will it only deliver thin gruel?"

Also from The Socialist Project:

Economic Crisis and the Poor:
Probable Impacts, Prospects for Resistance
December 8, 2008
By John Clarke
Now that the crisis of the financial markets has become a crisis of the 'real' economy, it is obvious that those who already face poverty (or live on the edge of it) will be hit extraordinarily hard in the days ahead. Over the last three decades, social programs that served to partially redistribute wealth or limit the disciplinary power of unemployment on the working class were massively reduced. With this 'social safety net' seriously compromised, we can expect a rapid and deep process of impoverishment to take effect as the downturn unfolds. The scale and severity of this will pose major challenges but open up huge possibilities in terms of mobilizing poor communities.

Source:
The Socialist Project
At a meeting in Toronto in the fall of 2000, some 750 activists responded to a call to “rebuild the left” by developing a structured movement against capitalism. (...) The Socialist Project does not propose an easy politics for defeating capitalism or claim a ready alternative to take its place. We oppose capitalism out of necessity and support the resistance of others out of solidarity. This resistance creates spaces of hope, and an activist hope is the first step to discovering a new socialist politics.

Socialist Links - 200+ online resources for social activists!

Welfare won't be much help
December 24, 2008
John Stapleton
With the adoption of Breaking the Cycle, Ontario plans to reduce child poverty by 25 per cent in five years. It will be tough for the Ontario government to meet this commitment as poverty usually increases during recessions and welfare caseloads grow. Poverty and its attendant costs increase a lot in major recessions. Just like the Great Depression, we started the present recession with a liquidity crisis, a debt bubble and a crisis in confidence. By 1932, Ontario's relief expenditures had tripled while old age pension costs had doubled. Governments are now bracing for a new onslaught but we will not see these spectacular cost increases in the current recession.
Source:
The Toronto Star

An End to the Countdown: The Beginning of a 25 in 5 Poverty Reduction Strategy
December 16, 2008
1. Ontario turns corner on more than a decade of poor bashing, says Pat Capponi
2. Poverty Plan Lays Foundation for Action, Budget investments must be next step
3. TAKE ACTION: Investments key in the 2009 Ontario budget
4. Regulating Temp Agencies - Good News for Temp Workers, says Workers Action Centre
5. Hardship of welfare getting harder, Ontario’s welfare incomes falling behind
6. Red letter day for poverty reduction: selected media and partner links
7. Thank you: More than 1,500 endorse 25 in 5 Declaration for Poverty Reduction
Source:
Social Planning Network of Ontario

Poverty Reduction Strategy needed in Budget 2009
December 17, 2008
In a letter to Federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty (PDF - 207K, 4 pages), CPJ calls on the government to present a "visionary stimulus package" as part of the Federal Budget anticipated for January 27, 2009.

Vision to Action: Canada Without Poverty
Submission to the Standing Committee on Finance (PDF - 329K, 7 pages)
Pre-Budget Consultations
August, 2008

Source:
Citizens for Public Justice

Provincial Coalition calls for greater focus
on People with Disabilities as Poverty Plan rolls out (Word file - 43K, 1 page)
December 5, 2008
While welcoming the government’s poverty reduction strategy and its plan to review social assistance, the ODSP Action Coalition encourages the government to include a greater focus on people with disabilities. People with disabilities experience higher rates of poverty than the general population. “I was disappointed when I looked at the page of the government’s strategy that related to people with disabilities and found no new supports to help me get out of poverty,” says Terrie Meehan, an activist with the Coalition. The strategy indicates that the government will be undertaking a review of social assistance, which includes the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP). The Coalition would like to see the review focus not only on supporting people to move from ODSP into the workforce but also how to make the program easier to access and more responsive to the individual needs of people with disabilities.
Source:
ODSP Action Coalition
[ODSP = Ontario Disability Support Program]

Ontario's new anti-poverty plan at a glance
December 8, 2008
By Noor Javed, Tanya Talaga, Laurie Monsebraaten
A look at the expectations and outcomes of key issues highlighted in Ontario's new anti-poverty plan.
- includes what advocates wanted, what they got and the reaction in each of the following areas : welfare - communities - employment - chid care
Source:
Toronto Star

The Economic Crisis Will Lead To A Social Assistance Crisis:
How Ontario's Poverty Reduction Strategy Will Fail
December 5, 2008
The Poverty Reduction Strategy announced this week has been scaled down from a “poverty reduction strategy” to a “child poverty reduction strategy”. Single people on welfare and disability will see no benefit whatsoever from the new plan. The strategy claims it will reduce child poverty by 25% in 5 years but, people on social assistance will continue to get poorer.
Source:
Ontario Coalition Against Poverty
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.

Economic Crisis and the Poor:
Probable Impacts, Prospects for Resistance
December 8, 2008
By John Clarke
In poor communities, this [current economic] crisis comes after a long process of pushing them down during the decades of neoliberalism. There is already anger and the realization that bad is going to get much worse – and it will make large numbers of people look for answers. The issue is to demonstrate in practical forms of organized resistance that these worsening conditions are not unstoppable and inevitable. That is the starting point for a movement that can respond to this crisis and pose a bold anti-capitalist vision of what it is fighting for.
Source:
(Author John Clarke is with the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty)
The Socialist Project
At a meeting in Toronto in the fall of 2000, some 750 activists responded to a call to “rebuild the left” by developing a structured movement against capitalism. (About this site)

From the Toronto Star:

'First step' on poverty draws praise
December 5, 2008
By Laurie Monsebraaten and Tanya Talaga
Anti-poverty activists are cheering Ontario's ambitious $1.4 billion plan to cut child poverty by 25 per cent in five years, but vow to ensure the Liberal government lives up to its promise. "This is a fundamental first step that should be applauded. We should say: Congratulations. Thank you. Now let's get down to implementing it," said Toronto United Way President Frances Lankin. That may be easier said than done...

Two cheers for anti-poverty plan
Editorial
December 5, 2008
Ontario has taken a vital step toward breaking that cycle with a focused poverty reduction strategy. Announced yesterday, it seeks to reduce child poverty by 25 per cent within 5 years. That mean 90,000 children and their families would escape poverty.Unfortunately, the strategy is far too dependent on the willingness of Ottawa to contribute an additional $1.5 billion a year to boost the federal child tax benefit and the working income benefit.

Ontario backs '25-in-5' poverty plan
Reduce child poverty by one-quarter in five years
December 4, 2008
The Ontario government will promise today to reduce child poverty by 25 per cent within the next five years – a target activist groups say is critical to a meaningful poverty strategy. The Liberal government, led by Children and Youth Minister Deb Matthews, is expected this afternoon to deliver its much-anticipated strategy on how to improve the lives of needy Ontarians.

Historic day for poverty activists: Province to release poverty plan
December 3, 2008
By Carol Goar
As economic times darken and the poorest feel the pinch, relief might be on the way with the introduction tomorrow of Ontario's long-awaited poverty reduction plan. Tomorrow is the day poverty activists have worked for, fought for and longed for. But it comes with a daunting challenge. Nothing in the poverty reduction plan the Ontario government is set to unveil will help the tens of thousands of Ontarians who are skimping on food, facing eviction and staring at layoff notices right now.

Toronto Star War on Poverty Series

---

Related links from Poverty Watch Ontario:

Re. welfare review:
"Today the government announced it will undertake a review of social assistance with the goal of reducing barriers and increasing opportunity. (...) As an initial step, signaling the direction of the government’s promised social assistance review, the plan will immediately change three rules which function as barriers for people on social assistance.
* First, the plan pledges to fully exempt the earnings of any person on social assistance participating in post-secondary education.
* The second change extends the upfront child care benefits to allow parents to continue their participation in employment and employment assistance activities.
* The third change is an extension of the time to request internal reviews of social assistance decisions from ten to thirty days
Source:
25 in 5 Backgrounder

Poverty Plan Lays Foundation For Action
December 4, 2008
"TORONTO - Ontario is on track to becoming a leader in poverty reduction in a plan that is not only crucial to the province’s economic recovery but is also the right thing to do, says the 25 in 5 Network for Poverty Reduction. (...)
- “Today, Ontario is turning a corner on poverty,” says Pat Capponi of Voices from the Street.
- “Today’s announcement signals an understanding that poverty reduction is smart economics,” says Jacquie Maund, Campaign 2000 Ontario Coordinator.
- “Thousands of Ontarians asked for a plan with targets, timelines and accountability. The government listened,” says 25 in 5 spokesperson Cindy Wilkey.
- “We expect poverty reduction to become a central feature in the next five provincial budgets - and the 25 in 5 Network will continue to hold our government to its promise to make this plan a reality,” says Peter Clutterbuck, executive director, Social Planning Network of Ontario.

How does the government’s plan perform against the Five Tests?
25 in 5 Backgrounder on the Poverty Reduction Strategy Announcement
December 4, 2008
The 25 in 5 Network for Poverty Reduction is a multi-sectoral coalition of more than 350 provincial and Toronto-based organizations and individuals working to eliminate poverty. In October 2008, the 25 in 5 Network produced Five Tests for Success of Ontario’s Poverty Reduction Strategy. See how the Ontario plan matches up to each of the five tests.

Five Tests For Success of the
Ontario Government’s Poverty Reduction Strategy (PDF - 252K, 4 pages)
October 2008

Source:
Poverty Watch Ontario ("To monitor and inform on cross-Ontario activity on the poverty reduction agenda")
Poverty Watch Ontario is keeping an eye on the provincial poverty reduction consultations and poverty reduction events in Ontario.
Poverty Watch Ontario is a joint venture of Social Planning Network of Ontario, Ontario Campaign 2000, and the Income Security Advocacy Centre.

Coalition releases innovative plan to address housing poverty
[missing link]
News Release
November 17, 2008
TORONTO – A coalition of private, public and non-profit housing associations, community organizations, academics, and foundations released a proposal today for a new housing benefit for low-income Ontarians. The proposal, outlined in A Housing Benefit for Ontario: One Housing Solution for a Poverty Reduction Strategy, recommends a new income benefit that will help low-income, working age renters with high shelter costs in communities across Ontario. The proposal would add a necessary affordable housing component to Ontario’s highly anticipated Poverty Reduction Strategy, expected in December.

A Housing Benefit for Ontario
One Housing Solution for a Poverty Reduction Strategy (PDF - 255K, 30 pages)
November 2008
"(...)The proposed benefit pays an average of $103 per month to an estimated 66,000 families and 129,000 individual and couple households. The amount of the benefit is based on a formula that pays 75% of shelter costs between a floor and a ceiling that varies by community size. The housing benefit is reduced as income rises."

Housing Benefit Summary (PDF - 57K, 2 pages)

Housing Benefit Q & A (PDF - 44K, 5 pages)

Source:
Proposal submitted to the Province of Ontario by a coalition of industry and community organizations:
Federation of Rental Housing Providers of Ontario
Ontario Non-Profit Housing Association
Greater Toronto Apartments Association (no website found)
Metcalf Charitable Foundation
Atkinson Charitable Foundation
Daily Bread Food Bank

Countdown to a Poverty Reduction Strategy (PRS) - 2 weeks to go
November 17, 2008
With 2 weeks until the December deadline, 25 in 5 goes on the road
1. Quote of the week: Too Much Poverty, Too Few Solutions Letting Our Young People Down
2. Leadership in Hard Times: 25 in 5 Network launches 22-city tour to promote poverty reduction
3. Three ways you can make a difference for poverty reduction, including DEADLINE TODAY to appear before pre-budget consultations in Toronto
4. Governments can use crisis to repair and rebuild infrastructure while fighting poverty, says economist Armine Yalnizyan
5. Five provinces and counting on poverty reduction, is Manitoba next?
Source:
Poverty Watch Ontario
To monitor and inform on cross-Ontario activity on the poverty reduction agenda

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

Countdown to a Poverty Reduction Strategy (PRS) 3 weeks until the December deadline
Three weeks until the December deadline, three imperatives on why we must act
November 11, 2008
1. Quote of the week: everyone has a role to play, but government must lead on poverty reduction, says Niagara Bishop
2. Why we must act now: the social, political and economic imperatives for poverty reduction
3. Three ways to make a difference between now and the December deadline
Source:
Poverty Watch Ontario
To monitor and inform on cross-Ontario activity on the poverty reduction agenda

Ontarians Waiting For
Leadership On Poverty Reduction (PDF - 307K, 13 pages)
November 2008
By Trish Hennessy
"(...) Between September 24 and October 21, 2008 Environics Research conducted a national poll of 2,023 Canadians for the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. This report represents the responses provided by Ontarians, and it tells a story of economic worry and of resolve: Ontarians say now is the time for governments to make us proud and take clear steps to reduce poverty in our provinces."
Source:
Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives

Economic woes might delay poverty agenda: McGuinty
September 16, 2008
GODERICH — The economic slowdown that is hitting Ontario especially hard will likely mean the province will have to delay its promised anti-poverty plan. Premier Dalton McGuinty says the economy and its impact on the province's revenues and future spending plans was a main topic at a Liberal caucus retreat in Goderich.
Source:
CTV Toronto

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)

Poverty Plan Needs Real Backbone, Ontarians Say
Media Release
September 8, 2008
TORONTO - If Ontario is going to seriously tackle poverty it must invest in a comprehensive multi-year plan, not just a set of quick fixes. That’s the message that government MPPs heard in more than 50 community consultations on poverty reduction over the summer, according to a new report by the 25 in 5 Network for Poverty Reduction.

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:

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:

Our Choice for a Better Ontario:
A Plan to Cut Poverty in Half by 2020 (PDF - 1.4MB, 64 pages)
August 2008 (PDF file date)
"(...) Our challenge is great. Hunger and poverty disproportionately affects certain populations and places in Ontario. Ontario’s economy is also in a period of significant transition. Hundreds of thousands of Ontarians lack the basics of life, including food, shelter, and education. We believe that our universal goal must be to cut poverty in half by 2020, with a focus on reducing the deepest poverty. In order to meet this goal, we have established twelve supportive goals focusing on key sectors, people, and places. "
- goals cover the following areas:
* Housing * Education * Financial Inclusion * Employment & Enterprise * Energy * Health * Neighbourhoods and communities * New Canadians * Single parents * First Nations * Ontarians with Disabilities * Children
Source:
Ontario Association of Food Banks (OAFB)
The Ontario Association of Food Banks (OAFB) is the umbrella organization for food banks across the province, representing over 100 members in communities across Ontario.

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

New Asset and Income policies to assist low-income adults under Ontario’s Poverty Reduction Strategy
Towards a comprehensive approach to accommodate new (2008)federal programs and
encourage self-reliance under Ontario’s asset and income tested benefit programs (PDF - 954K, 58 pages)
Andrea Baldwin/John Stapleton/Don Drummond
July, 2008
Source:
TD Economics

NOTE : you'll find more TD Economics reports on the home page (the link in the previous line)

Related link:

Ontario can help the poor save
But provincial rules blunt the impact of new tax-free savings plan for people on welfare
July 25, 2008
For eight straight years, the number of welfare recipients in Ontario has remained unchanged, with an approximate caseload of 200,000. This puts into question the current system's ability to effectively transition high-risk groups, including working-age adults, to the labour force. There are enormous social costs to bear when such a large number of people rely on the welfare system. It can place serious strains on recipients, their families and the communities they live in. However, enabling individuals to become self-reliant is not just a social imperative – it's also an economic priority. That's because, in an era of tight labour markets, our province relies on a greater participation in the workforce. We all have something to gain when an individual makes the successful journey from welfare to work.
Source:
The Toronto Star

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

Source:
Community Social Planning Council of Toronto

War on Poverty
- links to 50+ articles and editorials about the plight of Canada's needy and possible reforms to the social programs that assist them.
Source:
The Toronto Star

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

[GO BACK TO THE TOP OF THIS PAGE]

Manitoba's Anti-Poverty Strategy

From the Government of Manitoba:

June 9, 2011
Job training, children's opti-care, transit assistance
among new initiatives to help Manitobans escape welfare
Fourteen new initiatives under the province’s ALL Aboard poverty-reduction strategy, including a Children's Opti-care plan, will help more Manitobans get off and stay off welfare, Family Services and Consumer Affairs Minister Gord Mackintosh, Housing and Community Development Minister Kerri Irvin-Ross, and Labour and Immigration Minister Jennifer Howard announced today.
Source:
Government of Manitoba News Releases

Also from the
Government of Manitoba:

New legislation strengthens poverty reduction strategy (PDF - 295K, 3 pages)
Backgrounder
June 20, 2011
WINNIPEG: On Friday, June 17th, the Manitoba legislature passed important legislation that will give some authority to the government’s poverty reduction strategy. The Poverty Reduction Strategy Act will create the means to define, monitor and enforce what the government does to deal with poverty and social exclusion. This act was embedded in Bill 51, The Budget Implementation and Tax Statutes Amendment Act, 2011.

---

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

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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.Source:
Province of Manitoba News Releases

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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 Mac

Provincial and Territorial
Anti-Poverty Strategies and Poverty Reduction Campaigns

Les stratégies antipauvreté et les campagnes de réduction de pauvreté
provinciales et territoriales

Provincial and TerritorialAnti-Poverty Strategies and Poverty Reduction Campaigns

Les stratégies antipauvreté et les campagnes de réduction de pauvretéprovinciales et territoriales

Provincial and Territorial
Anti-Poverty Strategies and Poverty Reduction Campaigns

Les stratégies antipauvreté et les campagnes de réduction de pauvreté
provinciales et territoriales