FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Ottawa, ON: September 27, 2010 – According to official statistics, at least 3.4 million Canadians live in poverty. As a result of the recent recession, and according to CPJ’s May 2010 research report, Bearing the Brunt, however, the real number is substantially higher. Earlier this year, the Senate unanimously approved a groundbreaking report…
Sister Maureen Wild, SC, asks how we can honour what God creates in Birthing a New Ethic for Ecological Justice. Sister Maureen highlights how our survival depends on choosing life for all creation.
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Ottawa, ON: June 16, 2010 – Citizens for Public Justice (CPJ) praised a new private member’s bill tabled in the House of Commons today calling for a federal poverty elimination strategy. The bill was tabled by Tony Martin of the New Democratic Party and seconded by Mike Savage of the Liberal Party and Yves Lessard of the Bloc Québécois.
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Ottawa, ON: May 4, 2010 – The 2008-2009 recession created poverty for hundreds of thousands of Canadian families, according to a new report released by Citizens for Public Justice (funded by World Vision Canada).
Bearing the Brunt: How the 2008-2009 Recession Created Poverty for Canadian Families reveals the deep impact of the recession by examining key economic trends, comparing them to the baseline of 2007 – the last year for which we have poverty measures available. This trend analysis projects that the poverty rate in Canada rose to 11.7% in 2009, an increase of over 900,000 Canadians compared to 2007. The child poverty rate has likely risen to at least 12%, an increase of 160,000 children compared to 2007.
The recession has had a tremendous impact on Canadians. Job losses and a faltering safety net have added hundreds of thousands of people to the population of Canadians living in poverty. Economic stimulus and deficit spending are most certainly required to confront this vulnerability. Measures to create and sustain jobs and to build a strong and healthy country are needed. But this cannot be done at the expense of those on the margins, excluded from mainstream society.
This paper provides an introduction to guaranteed or basic income, highlighting the policy debates and the history of the idea in Canada. Participants in the BIEN Canada Ottawa conference should read this paper to provide context for the detailed policy discussions and conversations of the conference.
One of CPJ’s founders and a recognized name in religious and political circles, Gerald Vandezande’s life has been one of faithfulness, commitment and passion. Starting with his humble beginnings, the article outlines some life lessons from this Christian social activist.
