CPJ works to advance federal policy measures that will reduce poverty, including measures on income security, affordable housing, childcare, progressive taxation, and jobs and training. CPJ specializes in providing timely political analysis on these issues, and our research is often referenced in the media and is well-used by groups at both the national and community level. We regularly meet with parliamentarians to provide input on poverty-related legislation.
Ending Poverty in Canada As people of faith, we know that we are called to engage with our world in a way that recognizes and affirms the dignity of all people. We are also called to challenge structures and institutions that create barriers to full life and dignity by working for justice. In Canada today,…
Public transit has a vital role to play in reducing emissions (and addressing climate change) by minimizing car commuting, and it needs to effectively serve commuters.
MYTH Poverty is about bad personal choices. FACT Poverty is a complex and multifaceted reality. It is rooted in systemic barriers, structural injustice, inequity, and social exclusion. People living in poverty often experience discrimination based on gender, racialization, disability, and other forms of exclusion that prevent full engagement in society. In addition, a weakened social…
For the past decade, Citizens for Public Justice (CPJ) and the Dignity for All campaign have called for a national anti-poverty strategy for Canada that is comprehensive, rights-based, legislated and fully funded.
The idea of basic income has been presented as a means of securing people’s livelihood in the face of job losses by the thousands. What a basic income may look like is open to a wide array of possibilities.
According to a provincial break-down by Citizens for Public Justice, Manitoba has the highest poverty rate in Canada, with one-in-five currently living below the poverty line. That translates to 25% of children living in poverty and it’s forced 115,000 Manitobans to rely on the province’s Employment and Income Assistance (EIA) programs.
Over the past few weeks, Dignity for All co-leads, Canada Without Poverty (CWP) and Citizens for Public Justice (CPJ), had the opportunity to present as witnesses to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance (FINA), and the Standing Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology, regarding key poverty legislation.
Darlene O’Leary, socio-economic policy analyst with the Ottawa-based advocacy group Citizens for Public Justice, agrees with the human-rights approach. She notes that federal initiatives such as investments in housing, the Canada Workers Benefit, and the Child Tax Benefit are having a positive effect on lived poverty.
The Dignity for All Campaign and Campaign 2000 welcome critical federal action on poverty in the 2019 Budget Implementation Act.
For much of my journey of faith, walking in the way of Christ was discussed largely on the individual level (i.e. your personal relationship with Christ). Several years ago, however, I began exploring a more communal vision of our calling and witness. I was also engaging more with social justice issues and was learning to take a more systems approach to change. In both my faith and the pursuit of social justice, I began to see the power of the collective. And perhaps more importantly, I became more aware of those ahead of me who were already well into the work.
