In response to the Province beginning consultations on a new Poverty Reduction Strategy, CCEDNet Manitoba prepared and submitted recommendations to comprehensively tackle poverty in Manitoba. These recommendations were guided by our member

created and endorsed policy resolutions.  The submission was sent to the Honourable Scott Fielding, Minister of Families, and the Honourable Ian Wishart, Minister of Education & Training.

In our submission, we highlighted several areas that are key to addressing the depth and breadth of poverty in Manitoba, including the incorporation of targets, timelines and multi-year funding agreements, using indicators that are co-created with community partners, expanding the practice of social procurement and social enterprise, and consulting with ally/partner coalitions.

The Province has extended their deadline for submissions until February 23, 2018. Poverty is a significant and complex challenge facing our province, and many voices need to be heard in order to create a poverty reduction strategy that is comprehensive and effective. We strongly encourage individuals and organizations to submit recommendations on what Manitoba’s strategy should include. Instructions for submissions can be found here.

To learn more, or to find out how you can use this document to draft your own poverty reduction submissions, contact Darcy Penner at d.penner (at) ccednet-rcdec.ca or 204-943-0547.

Click here to view CCEDNet Manitoba’s full Poverty Reduction Strategy Submission.

CCEDNet Manitoba Recommendations:

Targets and Timelines

1. In developing a comprehensive poverty reduction strategy, the Province should include clear, outcome-based targets and timelines. These targets and timelines should be co-created with community stakeholders.

Co-Creating Indicators

2. The Province has said it will release a new set of indicators which will measure progress on poverty reduction. These should be co-created with community members and the stakeholders affected by the policy and programming decisions.

Social Procurement and Social Enterprise

3. Expand the practice of social procurement into new departments and diversify social procurement activities using a gender-based analysis (social procurement is currently limited to trades-work within Manitoba Housing).
    
4. Initiate a new phase of the Manitoba Social Enterprise Strategy, emphasizing social enterprise development work, as well as supporting social enterprises to access purchasing from different levels of government and other institutions.

Multi-Year Funding Agreements

5. Support community-led development by implementing multi-year funding agreements, to a maximum of five years, with community-based organizations doing community economic development work, thereby allowing long-term community thinking, planning and action.
    
6. Create effective communication channels between the Province of Manitoba and community-based organizations, allowing agencies to provide feedback and make recommendations to policy and programming, as well as providing agencies with a year’s notice of renewal decisions, thereby ensuring that they have sufficient time to plan.

Support for Ally/Partner Coalitions

7. In creating a poverty reduction strategy, the Province should look to and consult with the Child Care Coalition of Manitoba, Make Poverty History Manitoba and Barrier Free Manitoba to ensure that it is truly comprehensive and effective.