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James Hughes

James Hughes
James Hughes is the Executive Lead, Government and Partner Relations, at the Montreal-based McConnell Foundation. He was previously Deputy Minister of Social Development in New Brunswick where he led the development of the Province's Poverty Reduction Strategy. He is also the former Director General of Montreal's Old Brewery Mission, the largest homeless-serving organization in Quebec. James Hughes is the author of Early Intervention (James Lorimer Press, 2015) and Editor of Beyond Shelters (Lorimer, 2018).

Recent Posts

The End of Poverty

Posted by James Hughes on October 22, 2019

What an audacious title - The End of Poverty. Everyone in this audience has given remarks on reducing poverty in Canada, poverty alleviation, the costs of poverty, strategies to address poverty and, of course, what is poverty? But the End of Poverty? As in actually ending it. Jeffrey Sachs wrote about it on an international level but I’ve never done it before. And I probably never would, NOT because I don’t yearn for it – like you – but because I’m somewhat more cautious than Paul Born, optimist extraordinaire, who told me to go for it. He told me, find the optimist within you; cast aside the cautious former civil servant and nonprofit manager, and reveal the path that ends poverty. My remarks today are the product of a reflection on the best case forward. Not the expected case or the worst case – the best case. We could all talk ourselves into one of these less ambitious roads but why not consider what could be the dream scenario. Before doing so - knock on wood, twist your ring, blink three times or do whatever you do so we don’t jinx this whole thing.

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Plan 45,000

Posted by James Hughes on November 22, 2018

On September 6, 2018, the Roundtable on Poverty Reduction for the Montreal Borough of Côte-des-neiges-Notre-Dame-de-Graçe submitted its recommendations to the Borough Council on how it could deploy its political, social and economic capital to reduce poverty within its boundaries.

The Roundtable was launched by former Borough Mayor, Russell Copeman, in early 2017 who was convinced the best way to develop a local plan was to follow Tamarack’s tried and true engagement process. After her election in late 2017, new Borough Mayor Sue Montgomery gave her blessing to the Roundtable members to conclude their work with caveat that an accent be put on “actionable” recommendations for poverty reduction by the Borough Council.

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