poverty in Canada

The Social Planning Council of Winnipeg has provided the following policy briefing on the new Manitoba Poverty Reduction Act:

On Friday, June 17th, the Manitoba legislature passed important legislation that will give some authority to the government’s poverty reduction strategy. The Poverty Reduction Strategy Act will create the means to define, monitor and enforce what the government does to deal with poverty and social exclusion. This act was embedded in Bill 51, THE BUDGET IMPLEMENTATION AND TAX STATUTES AMENDMENT ACT, 2011.

HungerCount 2010, an annual national study recently released by Food Banks Canada, shows that food bank use in Canada has been on the rise. As reported by the CBC news, food bank use across Canada has hit its highest level since 1997. According to Katharine Schmidt, executive director of Food Banks Canada, "This is a reality check.

Last week I had the opportunity to attend Make Poverty History's presentation to the Standing Committee on Finance. The committee is holding its pre-budget consultations. Make Poverty History presented to members of the committee and submitted a brief containing five recommendations for the Federal 2011 budget. Make Poverty History's brief to the committee can be found here.