In Review – Spring 2017

In the Community

CPJ has been active in getting Canadian faith leaders engaged in the consultation process for a Canadian Poverty Reduction Strategy. In January, CPJ’s Darlene O’Leary presented at a United Church webinar organized by EDGE. Darlene and Joe Gunn have also led day-long discussions in Toronto and Ottawa for church leaders. Contact CPJ to get engaged in this process.

In February, CPJ sponsored Grounded, a two-day conference in Calgary on faith and creation care. Keynote speakers included Leah Kostamo and Steven Bouma-Prediger.

On the Hill

CPJ’s Darlene O’Leary and Canada Without Poverty’s Michele Biss met with Liberal MP Sonia Sidhu to talk about housing issues and the work of the Dignity for All campaign. Darlene also joined Joe Gunn to meet with Miles Corak, the newly-appointed Economist in Residence for Employment and Social Development Canada, to discuss the launch of consultations on a Canadian Poverty Reduction Strategy.

During Citizens’ Climate Lobby’s annual day on the Hill, CPJ’s public justice intern, Asha Kerr-Wilson, met with Liberal MP and parliamentary secretary to the Prime Minister Celina Caesar-Chavannes to discuss Canada’s climate change policies. Asha also met with NDP MP Richard Cannings, the deputy critic for natural resources.

Safe Third Country Agreement

CPJ wrote to Ahmed Hussen, the Minister of Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship, to ask him to reconsider Canada’s Safe Third Country Agreement with the United States, a policy that disqualifies refugees from coming to Canada after being denied entry into the U.S. We believe the United States’ new immigration policy discriminates against refugees on a religious and national identity basis. Read the letter here.

Climate Infographics

Over the past few months, CPJ posted a series of four infographics on climate change. The infographics, prepared by former public justice intern Miriam Mahaffy, cover a range of topics including the basics of climate change, the impacts of climate change in Canada, and a guide for how to measure one tonne of GHG emissions in your daily life.

Climate Plan Response

Late last year, the federal government released their national climate change plan. CPJ is encouraged by the range of emissions-reduction measures contained in the new plan. Sadly, the target upon which this climate plan is built is out of step with the intent of the Paris Agreement. Read details on how the new climate plan compares against CPJ’s recommendations at cpj.ca/climate-plan.

Guaranteed Livable Income

In March, CPJ released Towards a Guaranteed Livable Income. This paper represents CPJ’s current thinking on a basic income and its place within a larger anti-poverty strategy and offers a set of recommendations for guiding the development of a Guaranteed Livable Income.

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