CPJ on the Road
The Dignity for All Campaign concluded its series of workshops on our National Anti-Poverty Plan for Canada. In September, Michèle Biss (of Canada Without Poverty) and Darlene O’Leary were in Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver, Victoria, and Whitehorse. For an update on the campaign, read Michèle’s article.
Darlene O’Leary also conducted a workshop with the Anglican Diocese of Toronto. The workshop focused on a Christian response to poverty and highlighted the work of Dignity for All.
For 20 years, the Sisters of Providence of St. Vincent de Paul have held anti-poverty vigils at the Kingston City Hall every Friday. Joe Gunn delivered the keynote address at their final vigil on September 17, reflecting on the changes we’ve seen in social policy over the past two decades.
2015 Election Bulletin
CPJ’s 2015 Election Bulletin, Exercising Faithful Citizenship proved to be a highly useful and effective resource during the 2015 federal election campaign. CPJ printed and distributed over 7,000 copies– nearly five times the usual demand. It was also available for free online and was used in churches and at all-candidates’ meetings across the country.
The Invisible Victims
CPJ’s latest report on refugees, The Invisible Victims, was prepared by Kathryn Teeluck, CPJ’s Public Justice Intern. It examines the effects that a minimum residency requirement for social assistance would have on refugee claimants in Canada. This policy was changed with provisions in the federal government’s 2014 omnibus budget bill, C-43. CPJ’s report provides economic, humanitarian, and legal reasons for providing claimants with social assistance.
On the Margins
In October, CPJ released our annual report on poverty in Canada. On the Margins: A Glimpse of Poverty in Canada provides a breakdown of poverty rates in Canadian provinces and territories as well as major cities and small communities. It also reported on the high rates of poverty among children, single-parent families, Indigenous peoples, and recent immigrants.
Welcome Darlene and Miriam
CPJ is excited to welcome Darlene O’Leary and Miriam Mahaffy to our staff! Darlene is our new Socio-Economic Policy Analyst and will be leading our research, education, and writing on poverty in Canada.
Miriam, our new Public Justice Intern for 2015-2016, is a recent graduate of The King’s University in Edmonton. She will be assisting CPJ’s policy team in our climate justice work.