Month: March 2011

Federal budget imbalance

Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said “Leadership is about finding a balance between needs,” but unfortunately he delivered a budget that ignored the needs of Canadians. Budget 2011 revealed that the government’s priorities are vastly different than the priorities of Canadians. While Canadians want and need a response to social and environmental deficits, Budget 2011 offered a jobs-based approach to economic recovery, a few social policy crumbs, and more “boutique taxes.” Budget 2011 was rich in rhetoric and poor in action, proposing tinkering rather than real change.

Federal budget fails to address real needs of Canadians

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Ottawa, ON: March 23, 2011 – Citizens for Public Justice (CPJ) is disappointed that the federal budget did not address the real needs of Canadians, ignoring the social and environmental deficits.“This budget offers tinkering instead of real change,” said Joe Gunn, executive director. “Instead of a poverty elimination strategy, the government is pursuing a jobs-based approach to recovery that just isn’t sufficient.”

Canadian Immigration: A one-way street

The numbers are out: in 2010 Canada let in the highest number of immigrants in over 50 years. But while Minister of Immigration, Citizenship, and Multiculturalism Jason Kenney may use this as evidence of a clean bill of health for Canadian immigration policy, these numbers do not tell the whole story.

Shallow Government Response to Poverty Report, says CPJ

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Ottawa, ON: ​Monday March 7, 2011 – This afternoon, the federal government released its response to the Parliamentary report Federal Poverty Reduction Plan: Working in Partnership Towards Reducing Poverty in Canada. And with it, Citizens for Public Justice’s hope for Ottawa to meaningfully engage in poverty reduction efforts evaporated.