Ontario Government Introduces Anti-Poverty Legislation

This past Wednesday, February 25, the government of Ontario introduced new anti-poverty legislation that aims to commit future governments to reducing poverty in the province. If it passes, the bill will be the first legislative component of the government’s poverty reduction strategy that it unveiled last December.

The new Poverty Reduction Act – and the government commitment towards poverty reduction that it aims to enshrine into law – is the result of advocacy on the part of the 25 in 5 Network for Poverty Reduction. The Network, which consists of over 350 groups across the province, has been advocating for a provincial poverty reduction strategy with the initial goal of reducing the number of children living in poverty by 25 percent within five years.

Ontario is not the first province to introduce a poverty reduction strategy. Quebec and Newfoundland and Labrador have both adopted strategies, and Nova Scotia and New Brunswick are currently developing ones. Local and provincial poverty reduction strategies are important steps in both addressing regional poverty and in building momentum towards a federal poverty reduction strategy, which CPJ has been calling upon the federal government for.

While opposition members have criticized the legislation for not including any specific poverty reduction goals, it still remains an important step towards making poverty a serious government priority.

The upcoming provincial budget, set for March 26, will outline the specific strategies that the province will undertake to reduce poverty. CPJ applauds the work of the 25 in 5 Network for its advocacy efforts on behalf of the province’s poorest citizens.

While this new legislation is a positive step, there remains much work to be done at all levels of government if poverty in Canada is to be adequately addressed.

We will continue to call upon the federal government to establish a federal poverty reduction strategy through our upcoming Dignity for All Campaign to ensure that every person can live free of poverty.