Dignity for All: The Campaign for a Poverty-Free Canada

Published in the Catalyst, Vol. 32, No. 3 - Summer/Fall 2009

Creating a Canada free of poverty – this is the vision of the Dignity for All campaign, co-founded by CPJ and Canada Without Poverty earlier this year.

Socio-economic issues are at the heart of the challenges many Canadians face. Newcomers arriving in Canada, unable to work because their credentials are not realized, are forced to work for minimum wage at a local laundromat. Homeless Canadians face the reality of a shortage of affordable housing, unable to find a safe place to live. Aboriginal Canadians living on reserves face conditions similar to those in developing countries.

CPJ’s work has touched on many of these issues – newcomers, housing and homelessness, Aboriginal issues – as well as women’s rights, childcare, and others. Socio-economic difficulties have always stood out as a constant in our policy analysis.

Our work is grounded in God’s vision is for a society that has no poverty. Deuteronomy 15:4‐5 states, “There will, however, be no one in need among you, because the Lord is sure to bless you in the land that the Lord your God is giving you as a possession to occupy, if only you will obey the Lord your God by diligently observing this entire commandment that I command you today.”

As a Christian organization, CPJ takes seriously the biblical imperative to create the conditions where no one in the land is in need. For a country as rich as Canada, there is no excuse for growing disparity, for the continued need for food banks or for emergency homeless shelters. We share as a matter of public justice a responsibility to look out for the needs of our neighbours.
God calls us to be generous towards the poor, engaging our whole being – how we act, think, and feel toward the poor, as well as how we view them.

This is why we envisioned the Dignity for All campaign. Creating a poverty-free Canada: where everyone can find secure housing, job training is accessible and affordable, and the human rights of people with disabilities are respected. This is at the core of what we are advocating with the Dignity for All campaign.

So what are we advocating for?

1. A comprehensive, integrated federal plan for poverty elimination: Linked to and in support of current and future provincial and territorial poverty action plans, a federal plan for poverty elimination will provide a pan-Canadian blueprint for reducing and eventually eliminating poverty.

The plan will inspire other efforts to combat poverty and to promote a fair and just society. It will require transparency and accountability by the federal government, with inclusion of robust indicators of low income, material deprivation and social exclusion. It will be comprehensive in its approach, with measures concerning several critical areas, including income security, employment insurance, early childhood development, education and training, and social supports.

2. A federal Act to eliminate poverty, promote social inclusion and strengthen social security: Inspired by similar legislation in other jurisdictions, this Act will ensure an ongoing federal role and responsibility for social development, while demonstrating a lasting federal commitment for action and for accountability to citizens for results.

3. Sufficient federal revenue to invest in social security: In order to fulfill its role and responsibility to ensure social security, generally, and to combat poverty, specifically, the federal government must have sufficient revenue, or “fiscal capacity.” The Dignity for All Campaign will promote public understanding of the link between the taxes Canadians pay and the supports and services we benefit from as a result. The campaign will also advance policy proposals for sufficient and fair taxation.

Our conviction behind this campaign is that Canadians must respect and defend the right of every person to dignity and security.

Show your support for Dignity for All! Sign and return the enclosed postcard or sign-on at www.dignityforall.ca. Together, we can eliminate poverty in Canada!