Recent Blog Posts

A roundup of GLI news from Alaska, Brazil, Haiti and Namibia, as well as upcoming events in Montreal and Ottawa. Read more »

Recently, Canada’s Chief Public Health Officer, Dr. David Butler-Jones, released the 2009 Report on the State of Public Health in Canada, Growing up Well–Priorities for a Healthy Future.

The report looks at a variety of indicators for measuring the state of child public health, as well as priorities for improving health. At the top of the list is the connection of socio-economic status to the state of health. Children born and raised in low income families are often impacted by inadequate access to food, affordable housing and other necessities. This can often lead to long-term health problems. 

Nevertheless, the report concluded that compared to “some” countries, Canada is doing pretty well in terms of fighting child poverty. But which countries are these? Read more »

Until very recently, the United States Government has been using measures developed in the 1960s to determine the number of people living in poverty. Developed under President Johnson in 1963 and 64, these concepts may be a little outdated, to say the least!

But last week, according to the New York Times, President Obama decided to look into new measures of poverty to potentially replace those developed under President Johnson. Read more »

Earlier this week Chandra and I attended a reception hosted by Equal Voice, in celebration of their Experiences mentorship program. Equal Voice is an organization that works in partnership with women in elected positions at all levels of government to encourage women across Canada to become more involved in politics.

Currently only 21% of elected officials in all levels of government in Canada are women. Just 22% of the Members of Parliament in the House of Commons are women. This ranks Canada 49th out of 189 countries, including under several developing countries. The current Federal Ministry has one of the highest proportions of women of any Cabinet, but still only 11 out of 37 (less than half) are women. Read more »

In 2009 Citizenship and Immigration Minister Jason Kenney promised significant reforms to Canadian immigration policy before the end of the year. In the last months of 2009, several small changes were introduced, including improvements to the Live-in Caregivers program and better recognition of foreign credentials. We are still awaiting the major changes.

But before the changes are announced, Minister Kenney and the government should consider what Canadians really think about immigration. Read more »

The Globe and Mail reported today that Canada is facing a jobless recovery, as businesses are not expecting to hire in 2010 and public sector positions are being eliminated.

The article quotes Sébastien Lavoie, assistant chief economist at Laurentian Bank Securities, who predicts that we will see employment restored to its pre-recession level in 2011. Read more »

Last week, just before the government’s presentation of Budget 2010, the Alternative Federal Budget (AFB), a project coordinated by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA), released their Alternative Federal Budget 2010. Employment issues topped their list of priorities. Employment also topped the priority list of Budget 2010. Let’s see how they compare! Read more »

At workshops and presentations, people often ask me what they and their churches can do to get involved in fighting poverty locally. One of my suggestions is to follow the example of Operation Sharing in Woodstock, Ontario: they got rid of their food bank.

Operation Sharing is a local charity based in Oxford County, about an hour’s drive from Toronto. Operation Sharing is owned and run by local churches, with many different denominations contributing board members, volunteers, donations and funding. It was created over 25 years ago by four local United Church ministers. Read more »

“We all live in God's world, we are part of Canadian society, and of our local community. Jesus calls us to be agents of transformation, to seek justice for all.” That was the message that I shared with the congregation of St. Peter’s Evangelical Lutheran Church in a sermon delivered on January 24. Read more »

On February 1, 2010, the Secretary General of Amnesty International Canada, Alex Neve, was the first keynote speaker at The Dish on Dignity. The starting point for his compelling presentation was the first statement of the Dignity for All campaign pledge. He said, "I believe that freedom from poverty is a human right. That it is. And it is not just about believing that freedom from poverty is a human right. Nothing to believe about it friends. Freedom from poverty is a human right.” Read more »

As February comes to an end and T4s are arriving in our mailboxes, many Canadians are beginning to think about tax returns for 2009. Taxes sometimes have a negative connotation, but in terms of lessening the gap between the rich and poor, they could make the difference between living in poverty and having adequate income.

But John Stapleton from the Metcalf Foundation (as cited in the Toronto Star) says that many low income Canadians are not filing tax returns and therefore not accessing the benefits available to them. Stapleton offers multiple reasons for this, most related to a lack of access to services or a misunderstanding of how the system works. Read more »

International Women’s Day is approaching in less than two weeks, and the Canadian Feminist Alliance for International Action and Canadian Labour Congress don’t have great news for women as we prepare to mark that day. In a report released yesterday, they note that the rights of women are being systematically eroded in Canada. Read more »

According to national growth figures in Canada the recession is over and recovery is well underway. But do national trends give a clear indication of the state of families, households and individuals?

Yesterday the Vanier Institute of the Family released The Current State of Canadian Family Finances 2009 Report. As part of the Family Finances series, this report discusses the financial status of Canadian families based on household income, debt, employment patterns and living expenses. The 2009 Report contains an entire section illustrating the impacts of the recession on families, stating that it will be a long time before recovery fully reaches Canadians households. Read more »

On February 10, Ottawa City Council voted to adopt a municipal poverty reduction strategy. The plan, entitled Poverty affects us all: A community approach to poverty reduction, was presented to Council by the Community and Protective Services Committee which approved the plan in January.

However, the acceptance of the entire plan was a contentious issue for several councillors. Most were in agreement with about 90 percent of the plan. The controversy came from two recommendations in particular, 14 and 15. Read more »

Check out the photos from the Dish on Dignity, an event hosted by Citizens for Public Justice, Canada Without Poverty and the Dignity for All Campaign. The Dish on Dignity brought together parliamentarians, social justice advocates and low income folks for a conversation about the reality of poverty in Canada and ways to eliminate it. Read more »