Reduce? Eliminate? Make it history?

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

Poverty reduction, anti-poverty movement, poverty elimination, making poverty history – all of these terms have been associated with advocacy against poverty. What is the difference? Why do some use one term and others, another?

Here at CPJ, we have most frequently used poverty reduction when calling on the federal government to address poverty.

Our 2006 submission to the Standing Committee on Finance was aptly titled Time for a National Poverty Reduction Strategy. In it, we called for “an integrated strategy, across departments of the federal government and across levels of government to substantially reduce poverty and inequality.” A poverty reduction strategy was also the centerpiece of CPJ’s 2008/09 Envisioning Canada Without Poverty Campaign.

The term ‘anti-poverty’ has also been associated with various initiatives to address poverty in Canada. The National Anti-Poverty Organization (now called ‘Canada Without Poverty’), founded in 1971 and governed by a board made up entirely of people who have experiences living in poverty, has long sought to see the end of poverty in Canada. Their name captured the sense of acting against poverty, resisting its very existence.

The international movement Make Poverty History has framed the issue of poverty another way. Desiring poverty to be a thing of the past, with a future untainted by socio-economic challenges, Make Poverty History strives to achieve this by encouraging governments to follow through on both foreign and domestic commitments.

A shared goal

What do all of these terms have in common? They are all actually seeking the same goal: eradicating poverty in Canada for good. No one is comfortable with any level of poverty in Canada, regardless of what word they use to describe how to get rid of it.

Because of this common goal, the Dignity for All campaign calls for the elimination of poverty in Canada – being absolutely clear about the vision we seek. There are no ifs, ands or buts about it – calling on our federal government to eliminate poverty in Canada sets out exactly what, working together, we hope to achieve.

With the Dignity for All campaign we outline a vision of what is possible. And we believe that with Canada’s wealth and abundance combined with its policy and institutional capacity, we can eliminate poverty. The missing piece is the political will to do so.