The Social Planning Council of Winnipeg and Campaign 2000, in collaboration with Council of Canadians with Disabilities and Canadian Council on Social Development hosted a roundtable discussion on August 4, 2010 in Winnipeg, to finalize a consensus document of what the Council of the Federation should do to eradiate poverty throughout Canada.

Representative at the meeting included business, labour, faith groups and civil society groups. Members of Parliament from the Liberal, NDP and Bloc Quebecois also attended. Participants were presented with a document titled; "The Winnipeg Statement" which outlined a comprehensive strategy for poverty eradication and called on government leaders to demonstrate commitment and to work together to eradicate poverty in Canada during the next decade.

The Winnipeg Statement calls on the Premiers to honor their responsibilities and put planning for poverty eradication on the agenda of the Council of the Federation. Two recommendations were outlined and directed to the Council of the Federation to:

A. Establish a working group to outline core provincial/territorial roles and expected federal contributions to a joint plan which would honor the intent of the November 24, 2009 resolution "to eliminate poverty in Canada for all." The working group would prepare a preliminary framework document for review by social services and financial ministers in early 2011, and submit a final report for adoption by the Premiers at their next annual meeting.

B. Request that the federal government delegate its senior officials to meet with the working group by early 2011 to propose terms of reference for a joint federal and provincial/territorial task force to implement the November 24, 2009 resolution, and to include processed for engaging First Nations’ and other Aboriginal communities in the development of the joint plan.

Five preliminary contentions on core and shared responsibilities were presented to participants of the roundtable discussion for input.

To read the full paper, please go to

http://www.campaign2000.ca/whatsnew/releases/Winnipeg%20StatementAug2010.pdf