CPJ's Joe Gunn, CWP's Rob Rainer, Senator Jane Cordy and Senator Jim Munson. Deborah Gyapong CCN.OTTAWA (CCN)—The Dignity for All Campaign brought Canadians from diverse perspectives together Feb. 14 to focus on solutions to poverty in Canada.
“Poverty has been a persistent issue in Canada, and in light of our recession, our current economic uncertainty, and rising inequality, it remains an issue of great importance,” Canada Without Poverty (CWP) executive director Rob Rainer told about 200 people who gathered for the event.
CWP along with Citizens for Public Justice (CPJ) co-chair the Dignity for All campaign for a poverty-free Canada, which now boasts the support of 9,000 individuals, 500 local and national organizations, including the Canadian Council of Churches and the Assembly of First Nations, and members of all political parties.
CPJ executive director Joe Gunn presented a brief picture of poverty in Canada, showing that over three million Canadians live in poverty and one in ten are children. Food bank use, by nearly 900,000 Canadians has climbed 26 per cent since the 2008 recession.
There is no one face of poverty, Gunn said in French. But poverty disproportionately affects single mothers and their children; people with disabilities, Aboriginal peoples, newcomers to Canada and racialized groups, he said.
Canada has been successful in combating poverty among seniors, he said, noting the success has been achieved through federal investments such as OAS and GIS.
Poverty is more than material need or having to choose between paying the rent or buying groceries, he said. It is social exclusion, experiencing limited choices and a loss of dignity, he said.
Six provinces already have poverty reduction strategies in place, and another four provinces or territories are formulating them, he said, noting the plans have been formed by governments across the political spectrum. Only British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan lack plans.
Gunn stressed that a federal anti-poverty strategy is needed to coordinate the efforts already underway in the provinces and territories. He pointed out that several unanimous all party-resolutions and many reports show there is a consensus in Parliament on the need to tackle poverty.
But while everyone seems to agree about the extent of the problem, a panel featuring politicians of all stripes and anti-poverty group members revealed major differences on how to solve it.
Suggestions ranged from Green Party MP Elizabeth May’s call for a guaranteed annual income to Conservative Senator Don Meredith’s stress on economic growth, job creation and job training.
“We’ve had enough reports,” said NPD Human Resources critic Jean Crowder, who is shepherding private member’s Bill C-233 to create a national anti-poverty strategy. Crowder picks up the baton from former NDP MP Tony Martin who tried to get a similar bill through the last Parliament.
“I could spout statistics until I turn blue in the face,” Crowder said, noting that everyone knows someone whose life is touched by poverty. “Unless there is a collective will to move forward, it won’t happen,” she said. She pointed out that any changes in OAS risks “deepening poverty for seniors.”
“Let’s not be partisan about this,” said Liberal Senator Jane Cordy, who urged spending wisely and marshaling the federal will to develop a national strategy. She pointed out that programs developed to help homeless people, for example, show big reductions in the cost to society---from a $100,000 a year burden per homeless person on health and other social services, to $35,000 a year.
“Some people need a helping hand,” Cordy said. “We can’t afford to keep people in poverty in Canada.”
May pointed out poverty costs an estimated five to six per cent of GDP in terms of added health care costs, correctional services, loss of productivity and other measurements---totaling some $73-86 billion dollars.
“We know what the problems are,” Meredith. It’s about the end result. How do we get to the end game.” He pointed to the success the Conservative government has had in creating jobs and exercising sound fiscal management during the financial crisis.
Meredith pointed out that he himself had grown up in poverty and as an ordained minister; he continues to work with those who live poverty, especially immigrants from the Caribbean in the Toronto area. “We cannot leave everything to government, “Meredith stressed, noting that individuals and other actors are trying to help.
Crowder said people still “fail to realize the cost of doing nothing.” She also urged people to rise above partisan approaches or to fall to the either extreme of “blaming the person who is poor” or the other of “rescuing the person who is poor.”
