A Call to Action on Poverty, Housing and Homelessness

OTTAWA – On Tuesday, the Standing Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology’s Subcommittee on Cities released a report indicating that Canada’s system of social development is in dire need of reform. Entitled From the Margins: A Call to Action on Poverty, Housing and Homelessness, the Report is the summation of two years of cross-country consultations with people living in poverty, community organizations and academic groups as well as provincial and local governments.

“We began this study by focusing on the most vulnerable city-dwellers in the country, those whose lives are marginalized by poverty, housing challenges and homelessness.” stated Senator Art Eggleton, Chair of the Subcommittee. “As our research evolved, so too did our frustration and concern as we repeatedly heard accounts of policies and programs only making living in poverty more manageable -- which essentially entraps people."

The Report makes a variety of key recommendations, but most clearly it urges for national commitment to lifting Canadians in every province and territory out of poverty. The key to achieving this goal is a multi-faceted social support system requiring federal-provincial-territorial cooperation.

The Report also notes that several groups in Canada are currently suffering from high rates of poverty.  Aboriginal people, newcomers to Canada, single parents and people with disabilities are seeing the least amount of positive growth despite the specialized programs currently in operation.

“This shows that our current system is marginalizing the most vulnerable amongst us,” said Poverty Elimination Critic Rebecca Harrison. “Often, many individuals in this group are forced to work twice as hard for the same amount of money due to social systems that use claw backs. The only way to mitigate this marginalization is to break down the stigmas and barriers by enhancing services and offering universal support for all Canadians.”

The Green Party of Canada is committed to creating healthy communities across Canada through a national affordable child care program, programs to eliminate the financial barriers to post-secondary education, programs for affordable housing and the adoption of a genuine progress indicator (GPI) that includes measures of unpaid and voluntary work. 

The Green Party also believes it is time to revisit a major policy initiative -- the use of a negative income tax, or guaranteed liveable income (GLI) for all.  The use of a GLI could eliminate poverty and allow social services to concentrate on problems of mental health and addiction.

"It was Hubert Humphrey who said: ‘The moral test of a government is how it treats those who are at the dawn of life, the children; those who are in the twilight of life, the aged; and those who are in the shadow of life, the sick and the needy, and the disabled’", said Green Party Leader Elizabeth May. “Adopting a GLI in Canada sends a clear message to Canadians and our global partners that we value the contributions of every citizen, seeing them not as an expense but as an investment towards the future prosperity of our nation.”

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Debra Eindiguer
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C: 613.240.8921
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