Dignity for All

Not only does poverty affect individuals and families, it also costs society dearly.  When the impacts of poverty on the health care system, the legal and justice systems, the education system and economic productivity are factored in, the cost of poverty in Canada may exceed $100 billion per year, equivalent to about 6% of our country’s GDP.^[1]  As The Honourable Monique Bégin and others have remarked, Canada is so wealthy that it is able to mask the reality of poverty.

In May 2009 at the Canadian Social Forum in Calgary, two organizations (Canada Without Poverty and Citizens for Public Justice) announced the creation of Dignity for All: the Campaign for a Poverty-Free Canada (DFA).  Its purpose is to galvanize public support to urge the federal government to assume a leadership role and take action on eliminating poverty in Canada.
 

Government Actions

Several federal parliamentary committees have recently studied the federal role and contribution to reducing poverty and inequity in Canada.  These include:

• the House of Commons’ Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills and Social Development,
• the Senate Subcommittee on Population Health,
  
• the Subcommittee on the Status of Persons with Disabilities,
• the Chief Public Health Officer’s first (2008) and second (2009) Report on the State of the Public’s Health in Canada both highlighted the serious health inequities which characterize Canadian society and the impact of the social determinants of health on vulnerable and low income populations.
   

Role of the Federal Government

Yet the federal government has resisted calls urging it to take a leadership role on this issue, claiming this as an area of social policy that falls within Provincial and Territorial jurisdiction.

The federal government’s position ignores the fact that it plays a critical role in ensuring coherence and coordination of social policy across this country, and its lead responsibility to address issues that affect Aboriginal health and well-being.

The federal government has a significant role to play in the design and application of income support mechanisms that will contribute to the reduction and eventual elimination of poverty in Canada.
 

Goals of the Campaign

The DFA has three goals:

1. a federal plan for poverty elimination, to complement and enhance recent and emerging leadership and action by the provinces and territories, notably by Ontario, Québec, Manitoba, Newfoundland & Labrador, and New Brunswick;
2. a federal anti-poverty Act, to ensure (a) an ongoing and appropriate federal role in social policy and social development, and (b) a framework for federal accountability for results; and,
3. sufficient federal investment in social security for all Canadians, Canada lags several OECD countries in terms of its level of taxation and social spending as a percentage of GDP.^[3]

The campaign will include public education to increase the awareness of Canadians about the level of poverty and the need for a federal lead and action on the issue, public mobilization to build a ground-swell of support for federal leadership and action, and non-partisan advocacy aimed at the federal government to urge it to assume a leadership role and take action to eliminate poverty in our country.
 

Endorsement by CPHA

In October 2009, CPHA was approached and invited to endorse the DFA and take a seat on the campaign committee.  The Board of Directors endorsed the campaign in December 2009, and CPHA sits on the 14-member campaign committee.  As of late January 2010, 283 organizations and institutions have endorsed the campaign, as well as 40 federal MPs, 3 Senators and 6 provincial/territorial politicians.

For more information about the Dignity for All campaign, go to: www.dignityforall.ca/