Welcome to the September 2019 edition of the Cities Reducing Poverty Policy Digest, which aims to provide you with timely poverty-related policy updates and resources from across Canada.
Here are some of our September policy highlights:
- Opportunity for All marks its first-year anniversary, see the update to Canada's Poverty Reduction Strategy.
- Statistics Canada launches its Dimensions of Poverty Hub: a national online platform including a dashboard of poverty indicators.
- Federal Election is officially underway, Canadians head to polls on October 21st.
National Policy Updates:
- Statistics Canada launches its Dimensions of Poverty Hub
- Canada gets a long called for National Food Policy and is recruiting a multi-sector Canadian Food Policy Advisory Council to help roll it out
- 10 Questions we should be asking all leaders about in the federal election, include do they care about poverty and what will they do about it in the long-term?
- Increased child benefit means more money for middle class Canadians
- Survey says Canadians wary and embarrassed about seeking debt relief
- A Prescription for Canada: Achieving Pharmacare for All Final Report is released by the Advisory Council on the Implementation of National Pharmacare
- Canada should bring back its long lost federal minimum wage
- Canadian government makes post-secondary school more affordable and accessible
- Anti-poverty group calls for cheaper internet access for low- and middle-income Canadians
- Ottawa hits interim poverty reduction target ahead of schedule
- Canadian environmental charities are afraid to talk about climate change
- Progress on Canada's Poverty Reduction Strategy shows it’s succeeding in growing the middle class
- Canadian doctor fights poverty with prescribing money
- Income-gap figures don’t speak to deepening poverty
- The official poverty line currently lowballs housing costs, reported by Canadians who completed the survey
Updates by Province and Territory:
Alberta:
- The Alberta government has appointed a diverse expert panel to assess Alberta's minimum wage
- 26 recommendations for government to address province’s spending
British Columbia:
- Increased access for adult learners through investments in Community Adult Literacy Programming in over 80 communities
- New Early Childhood Educator spaces provide more jobs and much needed relief for childcare
Manitoba:
- Progressive Conservatives win another majority government in September 10th election
- All parties except PCs pitched some form of basic income for Manitobans living with disabilities in the run-up to the election
- University of Manitoba to host United Nations Sustainable Development Goals youth training day
New Brunswick:
- Brenda Murphy, long-time women's advocate and leader in poverty-reduction, Lieutenant-Governor of New Brunswick
- Scott MacAfee, Co-ordinator of the Community Inclusion Networks at the Economic and Social Inclusion Corporation, was recently appointed chairperson of the National Advisory Council on Poverty
Newfoundland and Labrador:
- Debate over $15/hour minimum wage ramps up in Newfoundland and Labrador; is the minimum wage proposal flawed?
- St John’s women to launch Seniors Anti-Poverty Lobby
Nova Scotia:
- Nova Scotia and the Federal Government enter a 10-year agreement to invest $394.2M to protect, renew, and expand social and community housing, as well as a commitment to design a Canada Housing Benefit for the province.
- The province now has its first inclusive education policy to support students: with new guidelines for standards in schools and classrooms, an autism strategy and development of a student support worker program for African Nova Scotian and Mi’kmaw students.
- A new provincial grant will help communities attract and retain doctors
Northwest Territories:
- NWT Elections in October: Who's running and what they have to say
- Policies that can reduce poverty in Canada's North
Nunavut:
- Carbon Tax and the new Nunavut Carbon Rebate
- New Nunavut-developed early childhood education resources
- This October, all Nunavut communities will go to the polls to elect mayors, municipal councils and district education authorities
Ontario:
- Ontario is cancelling the Transition Child Benefit
- An analysis of local impacts of Ontario education cuts, board-by-board
- Toronto school board helping to end period poverty by providing free menstrual products to students
- Ontario is investing in rural and northern and public transit infrastructure to support more jobs
- Northern rural Ontario solutions to food security, financial services, and more: co-ops
Prince Edward Island:
- P.E.I. added 1000 jobs in July
Québec:
- Two new 5-year agreements between the Government of Canada and Government of Quebec will invest $175M to implement Canada’s Homelessness Strategy in the province
- Quebec is simplifying access to services for individuals by co-locating Service Quebec with the local employment centre in L'Islet
- Municipal Week was hosted in Quebec from September 8-14th, promoting municipal democracy and organization and to raise the awareness of Quebecers of the importance of civic engagement #SemaineMunicipalité2019
- Quebec boasts lower unemployment rate in August 2019, with an increase of both full-time and part-time jobs.
Saskatchewan:
- Year-over-year job growth continues to rise with 13,000 jobs created in the past year
- Government of Saskatchewan continues to provide intensive needs supports for students and early learners Regina
Yukon Territory:
- Government of Canada launches collaborative Arctic and Northern Policy Framework, co-developed with Indigenous, territorial and provincial partners
The Latest Policy Resources and Perspectives:
- Maytree: Cancelling the transition child benefit is bad policy
- Applications open for Maytree Policy School
- CCPA: Considering social equity in Canada’s shift to a zero-carbon economy
- Unaccommodating: Rental Wage in Canada Report
- Angus Reid: Cost of aging and caregiving in Canada includes access to health care and pharmacare in this series
