Feds roll out law to tackle poverty

OTTAWA — As dozens of lowincome Ottawa residents shuffled into a local food bank for a warm meal Tuesday, they were asked to wait quietly, crowded off to the sides of the room until Social Development Minister Jean-Yves Duclos finished using their space to announce federal government’s long-promised anti-poverty law.

A mother in a well-worn blue dress holding her baby was among the group. She bounced the baby on her lap as the dapper cabinet minister and his staff made their way around the Parkdale Food Centre food bank.

Duclos then stood at a podium to share his government’s plans to enshrine into law targets to reduce the rate of poverty in Canada.

These targets would see poverty rates lowered 20 per cent from 2015 levels by 2020 and 50 per cent by 2030.

The law will establish the country’s first official poverty line, using something called the “market basket measure.” It will test whether a family makes enough to afford a set of basic goods and services — something advocacy groups had pushed for in public consultations.

It also proposes to create a national advisory council on poverty, which would provide advice to the minister and include a dedicated adviser on children’s issues and an annual public report on progress made toward the poverty-reduction targets.

“Our vision for Canada is to become a world leader in the eradication of poverty, a vision for a Canada without poverty,” Duclos said.

The new law does not include any new spending for programs meant to help Canada’s poor today.

Duclos pointed to previously announced investments totalling $22 billion since 2015 for lowincome families and the middle class. He also hinted that more could be coming in the 2019 budget.

The proposed legislation comes in advance of another promised bill to enshrine the government’s national housing strategy in law. Both moves would make it difficult for any future government to back out of the plans.

Don Flynn, a board member of the Parkdale Food Centre, said he didn’t hear any tangible steps planned as part of the new law to help the poor and homeless beyond a new measurement tool.