Government of Canada Announces Consultation Process for Canada’s Poverty Reduction Strategy
Dignity for All campaign leaders welcome announcement of consultation process for a national anti-poverty plan.
For Immediate Release
Ottawa, ON, February 16, 2017 — Earlier this week, Minister of Families, Children and Social Development, Jean-Yves Duclos announced the launch of two initiatives to support the development of the Canadian Poverty Reduction Strategy. This includes both an online consultation process and a public call for nominations for a Ministerial Advisory Committee on Poverty.
Dignity for All lead organizers, Canada Without Poverty and Citizens for Public Justice, are pleased that the consultation process is underway and will be working to ensure the voices of the most vulnerable are included. We are hopeful that there will be strong public engagement and broad efforts to create a comprehensive consultation process, with a particular focus on people with lived experience of poverty.
Leilani Farha, Executive Director of Canada Without Poverty stated, “we are encouraged that national organizations and those with lived experience of poverty – who have been calling for a rights-based anti-poverty strategy for years – will be a critical component of these conversations. Inclusion and respect for personal experience throughout the development and implementation of this plan will be crucial.”
The consultation process involves an option for online engagement that includes a discussion forum, surveys, and “share your stories” link. According to the Minister’s announcement, there will be in-person engagement opportunities as part of the consultations as well. This may include town hall meetings and roundtable discussions. More information is expected about how the public can participate in this process over the five-month time period.
The announcement of an Advisory Committee is a strong nod to human rights as input from those most affected by poverty will be able to help guide the process. The criteria outlined for nominations to the advisory committee include “knowledge of and experience with poverty and poverty reduction” in four suggested areas: academic, service delivery, business, and international expertise. What is most noteworthy is a targeted call for nominations of people who have lived in poverty.
Citizens for Public Justice Executive Director, Joe Gunn stated, “Dignity for All will release supporting materials in the coming weeks to bolster engagement in this process based on our model national poverty plan. Developed in collaboration with national and local organizations, academics, people with lived experience of poverty and many others, it offers a sound foundation for government to develop anti-poverty policy.”
The Dignity for All website will be a source of key information in the coming weeks as more details are revealed.
Website: http://www.dignityforall.ca/
Media Contact:
Brad Wassink, Citizens for Public Justice, at 613-232-0275 x.225 or [email protected](link sends e-mail) (link sends e-mail)
Laura Neidhart, Canada Without Poverty, at 613-986-7761 or [email protected]
