Citizens for Public Justice

International engagement must be accompanied by more action at home

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Bonn, Germany: November 16, 2017 — The Powering Past Coal Alliance was announced today at COP23 by the Environment Ministers of the UK and Canada. The announcement included a celebration of the partnership established between 25 national and sub-national governments to phase out coal-power around the world and a commitment to achieve the “phase-out in a sustainable and economically inclusive way, while providing appropriate support for workers and communities.”

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Bonn, Germany: November 13, 2017 —As the world convenes for the COP23 climate conference in Germany, Citizens for Public Justice (CPJ) will be there to call for Canada to do its part to implement the Paris Agreement.

“COP23 marks a critical moment for Canadian climate leadership,” said Karri Munn-Venn, Senior Policy Analyst for CPJ. “While some important advances have been made, it is clear that Canada — and the international community — must commit to a much higher level of ambition to close the gap between projected emissions and the Paris targets.”

Current immigration developments south of the border call for a closer look at the relationship between Canada and United States immigration policy. The Canada-U.S. Safe Third Country Agreement (STCA), in operation since 2004, was created under the assumption that both countries tackle immigration in the same way. 

In light of recent policy changes, it’s important to be informed about what the STCA means for refugees who may seek refuge in Canada from the United States.

Here’s what you need to know. 

Citizens for Public Justice calls for stronger refugee resettlement in Canada

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Ottawa, ON: Nov. 2, 2017 — Yesterday, Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) released details of the 2018-2020 Immigration Levels Plan. CPJ was pleased that our recommendation to set multi-year levels was adopted—the first such plan in nearly two decades. The plan outlines, among other things, the number of Government-Assisted Refugee (GAR) and Privately-Sponsorship Refugee (PSR) allocations for the next three years.

Fiscal update suggests the human and economic potential of a comprehensive, fully-funded National Anti-Poverty Plan

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Ottawa, ON: October 24, 2017 — The Liberal government’s Fall Economic Statement made a strong case for the potential of strategic investments to reduce poverty among seniors and low-income families with children. Targeted spending on the Canada Child Benefit, for example, was reported to have lifted hundreds of thousands of children out of poverty, and adjustments to the eligibility and funding of Employment Insurance and various income supports for seniors were held up as lifelines for those “working hard to join the middle class.”

The Canadian Council for Refugees (CCR) recently launched a campaign encouraging the Canadian government to be a leader in refugee resettlement.

October 2017

Read the letter

CPJ wrote to the Minister of Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship, Ahmed Hussen, to express our support for. proposed changes to interest charges on travel loans offered to refugees. The new policy changes outlined that no interest charges would apply to future loans and any outstanding loans would not accrue additional interest. We also repeated our recommendation for the federal government to cover costs for resettled refugee travel to Canada.

Dignity for All hosts over 80 events in every province and territory

FOR IMMIEDIATE RELEASE

Ottawa, ON, October 17, 2017 — Today is the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, and Chew On This! events are being held by over 80 groups in more than 30 cities and towns across the country – from Vancouver to St. John’s to Yellowknife. Volunteers will be handing out 22,000 campaign postcards calling for a national anti-poverty plan that is based in human rights and fully-funded in Budget 2018.

Canada needs a strong, national anti-poverty plan FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Ottawa, ON: October 12, 2017 — People with disabilities and single adults in Canada are experiencing poverty at alarming rates. Both groups are being overlooked by Canada’s current policies. Today, Citizens for Public Justice (CPJ) released Poverty Trends 2017, its annual report on poverty in Canada….

Poverty Trends 2017, our annual report on poverty in Canada, reports that 4.8 million people in Canada (or 13.9%) live in poverty. The report uses the Low-Income Measure (LIM), which defines the poverty rate as a 50 per cent of the median Canadian household income.