Reasons to be optimistic in 2016
At Maytree, we work with many partners in addressing systemic challenges related to poverty. Here are some of the projects our partners are working on that have us optimistic about 2016.
Data is back
Late last year, the Liberal government, as one of its first orders of business, reinstated the mandatory long-form census. That was good news for everyone relying on good data for their policy and program work. As Sherri Torjman from the Maytree-funded Caledon Institute of Social Policy wrote, “Canada will, once again, have a strong and reliable body of evidence.”
But the long-form census is only one source of much needed data. Many have come to rely on the Canada Social Report, a major portal for social information. Launched last year by the Caledon Institute, it goes beyond Census-based data and offers sections such as The Welfare Incomes, Social Assistance Summaries and Poverty Reduction Strategies.
This year, the Canada Social Report will expand to include data from the entire sector. The Caledon Institute will be reaching out to organizations that are doing good work to offer the Canada Social Report as a platform to share their results.
Mayors are taking a lead in poverty reduction
Cities will continue to play a key role in creating and implementing strategies that reduce poverty. Vibrant Communities Canada, a learning community led by Tamarack – An Institute for Community Engagement, has long worked with cities that have comprehensive poverty reduction strategies led by multi-sector roundtables.
The past year has seen mayors in many of those communities stepping up and taking a leadership role to make poverty reduction a priority. Edmonton Mayor Don Iveson, Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi and Toronto Mayor John Tory are good examples. Vibrant Communites Canada lists other examples of successes by mayors, including the recent announcement of new advisory panels on poverty by mayors Walter Sendzik in St. Catharines and Matt Brown in London.
In April, Vibrant Communities will bring together these mayors, along with provincial and territorial representatives, poverty reduction roundtable members, and interested individuals from across the country for its conference Cities Reducing Poverty: When Mayors Lead. They will meet for three days to discuss solutions to urban poverty.
The grassroots voice will become louder
To find the right solutions, people with lived experience of poverty need to be engaged. It’s important that their voices are heard throughout the process (and not just at the end for a quick photo opportunity).
One organization that sets the tone is ACORN Canada, a national organization of low- and moderate-income families with 80,000+ members in 20 neighbourhood chapters across nine Canadian cities.
On February 2, ACORN Canada members in six cities (Toronto, Halifax, Ottawa, Montreal, Vancouver, and Calgary) are hosting local events to release the report, Internet for All, which summarizes testimonials from low-income Canadians about how vital yet unaffordable home internet is. The Internet for All report was created as a part of ACORN’s campaign challenging the telecom industry and regulators to ensure broadband internet costs are accessible to low-income Canadians.
Later in the spring, Maytree will work with ACORN to develop leaders through the National Leadership School in Ottawa. The school brings together 25-30 new ACORN leaders from chapters across Canada to focus on skills development and public policy analysis. This will allow ACORN to continue building the capacity of emerging leaders from its network of community members.
The fight to make work pay continues
Another example of an organization that focuses on supporting the voices of people with lived experience is the Workers’ Action Centre (WAC). Supported by the Maytree-funded Ontario Employment Education and Research Centre, WAC has been building a strong movement for workers’ rights across Ontario.
With the ongoing Employment Standards Act review and the recent news that a large number of workplaces have been found in violation of the Act, much work remains to be done around enforcement and the protection of workers in precarious work situations. WAC’s staff and its members will continue to provide great examples of grassroots activism that leads to results.
Building a rights-based culture to poverty reduction
In the fall of 2015, Maytree worked with Canada Without Poverty to adapt its Human Rights Guide to Poverty Reduction into a workshop designed to bring a rights-based approach to the local poverty reduction work of Tamarack’s Vibrant Communities. The workshop was piloted in Windsor and Hamilton with positive response from participants in both cities. This year, we plan to build on the pilot and deliver the workshop in more communities. It will be an important step to building a rights-based culture to poverty reduction in Canada.
These are just a few examples of organizations and projects that have us believing that 2016 is going to be a great year. We’re looking forward to strengthening these (and other) connections to reduce poverty in Canada.