The Latest

Shifting the System for Collective Impact

In April, we hosted a webinar with Erika Wiebe and Pam Sveinson of the Winnipeg Poverty Reduction Council (WPRC) to share their experience of applying a systems-change model to collective impact work; specifically, in embedding it within their Indigenous Youth Employment (TRC92) action plan and engaging in employer consortiums.

Community consultations in Winnipeg revealed not a lack of desire or will to be part of the solution in increasing Indigenous youth employment opportunities, but a lack of ‘know how’ to effectively do so, particularly within the private sector.

Read More

Why We Need Cities to Fully Realize the Right to Housing in Canada

On April 8, the federal government introduced Bill C-97, the Budget Implementation Act, 2019, which included the National Housing Strategy Act.

This is a significant milestone as we work towards enshrining the right to housing in Canada. While amendments are needed to see the National Housing Strategy Act fully deliver on the promise of recognizing the right to housing, for the first time we have the opportunity of seeing housing recognized as a human right in Canadian legislation.

Read More

Dispelling Poverty Myths in New Westminster

The City of New Westminster’s Poverty Mythbusters report dispels stereotypes around the demographics of people living in poverty, pathways into poverty, working poverty, and child poverty. It was created by the New Westminster Community Poverty Reduction Initiative, a diverse group of non-profit organizations and government agencies involved in fighting poverty in New Westminster.

In 2015, a survey and focus group with people living in poverty identified stigma and a lack of community understanding of what it’s like to live in poverty as a major issue.

Read More

Will Alberta Win the War on Poverty?

If you’ve been paying attention to the news from Alberta recently, you’ll know that some significant changes have taken place with regards to poverty in the Wild Rose province.

On February 26, Statistics Canada released the results of the Canadian Income Survey and announced that Alberta's child poverty rate was cut in half between 2015 and 2017, falling from 10 per cent to five per cent. This means that 44,000 fewer children are living in poverty. Over the same two-year period, poverty rates for children of single mothers dropped from 36 to 17.6 per cent.

The significant drop in child poverty occurred largely because of federal and provincial tax benefits, including the Canada Child and the Alberta Child Benefit — a policy proposal introduced by former PC premier Jim Prentice and later enacted under Rachel Notley’s NDP government.

Read More

Cities Reducing Poverty Policy Digest: May 2019

This is the May 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.

Key highlights include the release of the Federal Government’s Homelessness Strategy, release of the 2019 Federal and Ontario budgets, and new Living Wage calculations for several Canadian cities.

Read More

Lessons from PEI's Poverty Reduction Plan

The Government of Prince Edward Island launched a poverty reduction action plan for all Islanders last November. The action plan makes important commitments such as:

• Developing a Poverty Reduction Act and identifying responsible parties
• Monitoring key indicators such as the number of Islanders experiencing poverty and attachment to employment to measure progress
• Convening a poverty reduction council comprised of community and government leaders
• Large increases to social assistance rates
• A new 211 help line for individuals and practitioners to find available services
• And more

Read More