|
Amid all of the other goings on in Ottawa, a significant anniversary was marked this week. November 24, 2009 is the 20th anniversary of a unanimous House of Commons resolution to end child poverty by the year 2000.
As we all know this didn't happen. As recently as 2007, one in ten Canadian children continued to live in poverty. The corresponding child poverty rate in Alberta in 2007 was one in twelve Alberta children, and that was at the height of the economic boom.
But all is not lost. To its credit, the House of Commons passed another motion this past Tuesday (November 24, 2009). The wording of the new motion was as follows:
That, with November 24th, 2009 marking the 20th anniversary of the 1989 unanimous resolution of this House to eliminate poverty among Canadian children by the year 2000, and not having achieved that goal, be it resolved that the Government of Canada, taking into consideration the Committee’s work in this regard, and respecting provincial and territorial jurisdiction, develop an immediate plan to eliminate poverty in Canada for all.
The resolution passed on a voice vote, but there were no dissenting voices, which means it received the support of Members of Parliament from all of the four political parties represented there. Getting this resolution passed was a significant accomplishment due in no small part to the leading efforts of Laurel Rothman and her team Campaign 2000, a national anti-poverty coalition of which the Edmonton Social Planning Council is a member. The resolution was also championed by the all-party Standing Committee on Human Resources (HUMA). Within the committee, MPs Tony Martin and Mike Savage played a key role.
And while the absence of targets is a disappointment, it is encouraging that the resolution talks about eliminating poverty for all (adults as well as children). The HUMA Committee is wasting no time in undertaking its work on a plan to eliminate poverty in Canada. It is holding hearings in Western Canada next week, including one in Edmonton on December 3, at which the Edmonton Social Planning Council will be presenting along with many of our community partners.
|
Thursday, 17 May 2012 
The ESPC is a member of the Edmonton Coalition on Housing and Homelessness (ECOHH). ECOHH sent out a three question survey related to housing security to each political party competing in the 2012 Alberta election. So far, the Progressive Conservatives (PC), the New Democratic Party (NDP), and the Alberta Party responded to ECOHH's questions. Below are their respective answers.
