In From the Margins

Earlier this afternoon, the Standing Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology’s Subcommittee on Cities released, In From the Margins: A Call to Action on Poverty, Housing and Homelessness.

In a press conference on the report, Senator Art Eggleton, Committee Chair, stated that Canada’s system of lifting people out of poverty is substantially broken and needs to be fixed.

This extensive report is based on a two-year cross-country study involving more than 170 witnesses. The numerous recommendations it contains are all based on the premise that social policy in Canada should help lift people out of poverty.

Specifically, the report recommends that

• measures be put in place so that anyone receiving social assistance will have an income that is at least at the level of the poverty line (after-tax LICO);
• a basic income (based on the OAS/GIS for seniors) be established for people with "severe" disabilities;
• the federal government coordinate a nationwide federal/provincial initiative on early childhood learning;
• tax credits such as the National Child Benefit and the Working Income Tax Benefit be enhanced; and that,
• all levels of government collaborate in the development of national housing and homelessness strategy with specific targets and funding for urban Aboriginal peoples;

Senator Hugh Segal, Deputy Chair of the Subcommittee, spoke about poverty as a cause of many other issues including low birth-weights, illiteracy, and domestic violence.

On the issue of a basic income, Senator Segal said that the consensus in the committee is that we don’t yet know enough about basic income, but there is a need to do more research. He referenced Evelyn Forget’s study and said that the government needs to follow through and complete the analysis on the results.

Both Senators Eggleton and Segal emphasized that responding to poverty is not only a moral imperative but that it makes good economic sense. On the subcommittee’s website, Senator Segal is quoted as saying,

According to 2007 numbers from Statistics Canada, we spend $150 billion dollars each year in federal and provincial transfer payments to individuals, excluding education and health care costs. So how is it that there are still millions of Canadians weighed down by poverty?

The Committee’s recommendations demonstrate the crucial difference between spending, and spending wisely. By breaking the cycle of poverty once and for all, we will be investing in human empowerment – which will drive the health and prosperity of our cities and yield benefits for all of us.

In listening to the press conference, it was interesting to hear references to “poverty eradication” and the necessity to “act now” – language that is consistent with ours and that of our partners.

While the situation of poverty in Canada is devastating, the comprehensiveness of this report and the strength of its recommendations are exciting and encouraging. Let’s hope that this report puts some impetus behind the motion that was unanimously passed in Parliament two weeks ago that “the Government of Canada ... develop an immediate plan to eliminate poverty in Canada for all.”