2018 has seen a resurgence of discussions around the concept of a guaranteed basic income. Discussions around a guaranteed income are being promoted across the political spectrum, by different levels of government, and by organizations throughout Canada.
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Welcome to the inaugural edition of the Cities Reducing Poverty Policy Digest. The Digest aims to provide you with timely poverty-related policy updates and resources from across Canada.
National Policy Updates:
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There’s some very encouraging news on the child poverty and housing fronts in Ontario’s recently released 2017 Poverty Reduction Strategy Annual Report.
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Two types of social wealth building initiatives are on the rise: Community Benefit Agreements (CBA) and Social Procurement. Scotland, Los Angeles, the Vancouver Olympics, and even the 2015 Toronto Pan Am Games/Parapan Am Games were amongst the first to adopt CBA's and social procurement adoption. In fact, Ontario is the first Canadian jurisdiction to pass legislation on CBAs. Ontario’s Bill 6, the Infrastructure for Jobs and Prosperity Act, received Royal Ascent in 2015 and the regulations to support this policy are currently in development.
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The Honourable Jean‑Yves Duclos, Minister of Families, Children and Social Development, announced the release of the Canadian Poverty Reduction Strategy: What We Heard About Poverty So Far report, on Tuesday February 20th via a Facebook Live broadcast.
The report captures invaluable feedback contributed by Canadians through a large-scale Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) nationwide Canadian Poverty Reduction Strategy public engagement process.
The process was started in February 2017 with events led by Minister Duclos, Parliamentary Secretary Adam Vaughan, other Government of Canada ministers and Government officials, and projects led by National Indigenous Organizations, Tamarack’s Vibrant Communities (VC), and the consulting firm Ference and Company.
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British Columbia is one of the most prosperous provinces in Canada, yet poverty remains a serious issue in many communities. According to a new report released today, key indicators of poverty remain startlingly high in the Lower Columbia Region (LCR) of BC’s West Kootenay. For example, the four local foodbanks support approximately 5,000 visits per year. Additionally 1,600 households – 1 in 5 in the region – are in housing need, and in 2013, the last year for which there is reliable data, 990 children were living in poverty.
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