poverty in canada has to be a priority!

Canadians want government to make poverty a priority: report
CanWest News Service January 25, 2007

OTTAWA -- Canadians want the government to put a higher priority on fighting poverty, according to a new report by the National Council of Welfare. ... “Governments should not underestimate the level of concern and knowledge of Canadians about poverty,” ... our respondents strongly agreed that governments should put a higher priority on fighting poverty and on practical ways of doing it.” ... Specifically, people said they wanted an action plan with goals and accountability for results and they want better coordination among governments. The top actions that respondents thought could make a difference included a guaranteed liveable income, affordable housing, childcare and education and training. ... the country’s “tattered patchwork of programs is not working,” ...

Canadians want government to make poverty a priority: report
CanWest News Service January 25, 2007

OTTAWA -- Canadians want the government to put a higher priority on fighting poverty, according to a new report by the National Council of Welfare.

The NCW’s study, released Thursday, drew on the input of 5,000 individuals and more than 400 organizations who responded to an online questionnaire on poverty and income security. The results will be delivered to the federal government.

“Governments should not underestimate the level of concern and knowledge of Canadians about poverty,” NCW chairman John Murphy said at a news conference in Ottawa to launch the report. “Across diverse demographic and income groups, our respondents strongly agreed that governments should put a higher priority on fighting poverty and on practical ways of doing it.”

The group said it was surprised at the overwhelming number of respondents to its survey that said fighting poverty should be a higher government priority and that federal leadership is needed to create an anti-poverty strategy. Specifically, people said they wanted an action plan with goals and accountability for results and they want better coordination among governments.
The top actions that respondents thought could make a difference included a guaranteed liveable income, affordable housing, childcare and education and training.

The NCW, an independent advisory body, says that the country’s “tattered patchwork of programs is not working,” and it proposes four areas of focus to solve poverty: creating a national anti-poverty strategy; developing a coordinated plan of action; ensuring accountability; establishing official poverty indicators.

It calls its four-part plan, a made-in-Canada strategy that offers a practical foundation upon which the government can build.

“Whether solving poverty is approached as an issue of fairness, human rights or economic productivity, there are common elements that are working in different societies and they can work here in Canada,” Murphy said. “This is not a partisan issue but it is definitely a political one.”

The Council said that despite Canada’s wealth and promises made by governments, Canada is falling behind when it could be a global leader in the fight against poverty.

“In 1989, the House of Commons committed to ending child poverty by 2000. But in reality it was a hollow promise -- another generation of children is still growing up without a fair chance in life,” the report said.

Two provinces in Canada -- Quebec and Newfoundland and Labrador -- have their own provincial strategies and are setting a good example for the rest of the country, the report noted.

Quebec has set a goal of achieving one of the lowest levels of poverty among industrialized societies by 2013, a good and measurable target, the report said, and it has also committed the cash to do it. And in Newfoundland, the government is aiming to transform the province into the one with the least poverty in the country and it has also put resources behind its plan.

But the provinces cannot work in isolation trying to solve poverty within their own borders, the NCW says.

“The success of any provincial or territorial effort to reduce poverty will depend on the engagement and cooperation of the federal government. A national strategy is, therefore, in the best interests of all orders of government in Canada,” the report states.

If the European Union can coordinate the efforts of 25 very different countries, then Canada should certainly be able to do it, the NCW believes. The report suggests following the European Union model where member countries must develop plans and report on how they are doing. The information is made publicly available, including on the EU website.

The group studied what some European countries are doing to reduce poverty and said that Canada can replicate several of the strategies.

“Poverty is not inevitable, solutions are within our reach,” Murphy said. “There are common elements that are working in different societies, they can work here in Canada.”

The report concludes that Canada does not lack the ideas to solve poverty, but does lack the will and that unless the country quickly comes up with a plan with specific goals and the means to measure progress, Canadians will continue to live in poverty for generations.