G8 and G20 called to address poverty

The House of Commons gave unanimous consent Wednesday to a motion calling on the government to “do everything possible to ensure” that the G8 and G20 address poverty. The G20 will be meeting early next month in London, England, while the G8 will meet this July in La Maddelena, Italy.

The motion, introduced by NDP Member of Parliament Tony Martin, reads:

That this chamber encourages the government to do everything possible to ensure that the G8 and G20 meetings scheduled for April 2 in London, address especially the core challenge of redressing, among all member states, the increased and enduring poverty and its social and economic effects on individuals and nations, recognizing that critical income security initiatives and social infrastructure investments protect human dignity, the common good, equality of opportunity and economic prosperity, and the Senate be invited to join with this chamber in this encouragement.

A similar motion was introduced in the Senate on Wednesday by Conservative Senator Hugh Segal. While Liberal Senator Sharon Carstairs immediately spoke in favour of the motion, further debate was adjourned so that the Liberal caucus in the Senate could consult on the motion.

There was no return to the motion yesterday, likely because the Senate was busy passing the Budget Bill in a hurry before the parliamentary break next week. The motion will hopefully pass when parliament resumes the week of March 23.

I was around for the very beginning of the motion, at the USBIG Congress in New York, where Segal suggested in his opening address that he and Martin could cooperate to make the House and Senate recognize poverty reduction as a priority. Martin eagerly took him up on the offer, and the two worked all weekend on the text of the joint motion. It was cross-partisan cooperation at its finest, and given the recent poisoned atmosphere of partisan politics in Canada, it was very heartening to observe.

The fact that the motion refers to income security initiatives is also no accident, as both Segal and Martin are supporters of basic income, or guaranteed livable income.

Recognition of social infrastructure investments is also very welcome, given how much of the economic stimulus package focused on physical infrastructure. Social infrastructure is crucial to well-being, in addition to being an area where women are more likely to be employed.

Finally, it was good to see unanimous consent for the priority of poverty reduction. Now if only we could get unanimous consent for the priority of domestic poverty reduction…