Windsor hosting poverty reduction strategy meeting
The City of Windsor’s Community Development and Health Services Department and United Way/Centraide Windsor-Essex County are hosting the Windsor-Essex Federal Poverty Reduction Strategy Consultation on Tuesday night. Development Jean-Yves Duclos has begun developing a Canadian Poverty Reduction Strategy. “The Government of Canada is committed to strengthening the middle class and helping lowincome Canadians exit poverty so that they have sufficient capabilities to be well and do well,” Duclos says in a discussion paper.
“To achieve this goal, we will need to form partnerships, modernize the existing landscape of supports and encourage sustainable, inclusive economic growth— growth that creates opportunities for all to participate in, and benefit from, our success.”
The government is asking a number of questions of groups that deal with issues surrounding poverty in similar meetings across the country.
The questions are: How do you define poverty? How should it be measured? Are there data gaps that need to be addressed to help improve our understanding of poverty in Canada? What will success look like in a Poverty Reduction Strategy? What target(s) should we pick to measure progress? Which indicators should we use to track progress toward the target(s)? On which groups should we focus our efforts? Which dimensions of poverty should be prioritized? Are there programs and policies that can be improved? What else could we do? How can the Government of Canada align its Poverty Reduction Strategy so that it supports existing efforts by provinces, territories, municipalities and communities? What are some initiatives/innovations in Canada or elsewhere that other governments, community organizations, academia, or businesses have introduced or proposed to effectively reduce poverty? How can the Government encourage an ongoing dialogue with other levels of government, community organizations, academia and businesses on its poverty reduction efforts?
Q: How bad is poverty in Canada?
A: More than three million Canadians live in poverty. This means that 1.9 million families struggle to make ends meet. Many of these individuals have poorer health outcomes, lack access to healthy food, and do not live in safe, adequate and affordable housing. As well, many of these Canadians do not have jobs that provide a living wage, workplace pension plans, predictable schedules to facilitate work-life balance or opportunities for advancement. Accessing these types of jobs can be difficult for many Canadians in poverty due to the barriers they face in accessing post-secondary education and training.
Q: What happens after the meetings?
A: Duclos will engage with members of the Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities to discuss their views and work on poverty reduction strategies. This work will focus on improving the delivery of federal resources and services to inform the Poverty Reduction Strategy.
The Government of Canada will work closely with partners in provincial, territorial and municipal governments — which deliver many programs focused on improving the well-being of Canadians—to discuss how the federal government can strengthen its contribution to reducing poverty.