Join the Call for a Provincial Poverty Reduction Plan: It is Time for Targets and Timelines!
Be there for the release of "The View from Here" poverty reduction plan Tuesday May 26 10:30 a.m. at the Indian & Metis Friendship Centre 45 Robinson Street in Winnipeg.
The Canadian CED Network encourages all of our members and supporters to join with the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives Manitoba, Make Poverty History Manitoba, and many more in stating that the time to take serious action against poverty in our province is NOW. We would invite every one of you to show up at 10:30 a.m. on May 26th at the Indian & Metis Friendship Centre and demonstrate your support for this very important Poverty Reduction Plan: The View from Here.
While the Province of Manitoba has taken important steps to address poverty and social exclusion in recent years, it has not implemented a comprehensive plan that shows Manitobans how far it has come and where it plans to go in its efforts to reduce poverty and social exclusion.
The causes of poverty and social exclusion are complex and often deeply rooted. Solutions are equally complex and require multiple policy and program interventions. These realities need to be reflected in a poverty reduction plan if it is going to be effective. A comprehensive approach would include an increase in income benefits; an expansion of social housing; increased access to childcare; increased access to recreation; increases in the minimum wage toward a living wage; and establishing policies that provide education and training opportunities that lead to good jobs rather than the precarious cycle of low-wage jobs that is the reality for many.
The View from Here recommends that a cabinet committee chaired by the Minister of Finance be tasked with the implementation and monitoring of the Poverty Reduction Plan. The lead minister should be required by legislation to table an annual progress report in the legislative assembly, so that progress on the plan is transparent to the public, and members of the legislative assembly can monitor and evaluate progress, and seek elaboration on government performance as required. A cross-sectional public advisory board should be appointed to monitor progress and ensure that timelines and targets are met.
There is nothing inevitable about poverty and homelessness in a society as rich as ours. A commitment to a bold plan could lead to a reduction in poverty and social exclusion within a few short years.