Canada Without Poverty

Canada Without Poverty (CWP) is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to eradicating poverty in Canada. Its mission statement says “Poverty is a violation of human rights. We work to address the structural causes of poverty by raising awareness, educating and inspiring others to support its eradication in Canada”.^[1] It is based in Ottawa, with a second office in Vancouver and is run by a board of directors that who have, or have had, personal experience of poverty.^[2] Canada has yet to develop a definitive definition of poverty, which makes it difficult for Canada to act effectively to address the fact that statistically between 10 and 20% or more of Canadians (7 million) can be categorized as living in poverty today.^[3] This is what CWP is working to change.

Origins

CWP was founded in 1971 as a registered charity. It was an outgrowth of the Poor People’s Conference which took place in Toronto in 1971, organized by the National Council of Welfare (NCW), under the auspices of the Canadian Minister of National Health and Welfare.^[4] The original name of the organization was the National Anti-Poverty Organization (NAPO).^[5] This name was changed to Canada Without Poverty (CWP) in 2009. It has had partnerships with the Red Tents Campaign,for All: the campaign for a poverty-free Canada, Voices –Voix, and the Poverty Reduction Coalition. The charity, from the beginning, was organized to become a main umbrella of nation-wide anti-poverty activists; its mandate is address the structural causes of poverty at the federal level legislative and promote poverty eradication. Beginning in 1973, NAPO presented its first research document on hunger and food costs to the Federal Parliament.^[6] It continued, from this first campaign, to address poverty-related issues whether advocating for better health care, higher unemployment insurance benefits, fairer taxation, family benefits, recognition of homelessness and women’s poverty. It has acted as liaison between community groups and the Parliament in power.

In the 1990s NAPO began to expand its forums to regional and international discussions about poverty eradication, including concerns about homelessness, women’s poverty issues, wage inequality and the growing attack on the poor, the result of neoliberal shifts towards the downsizing of government and dismantling of social programs.^[7] From addressing the UN as an NGO^[8] to co-hosting conferences at the regional and international level, NAPO not only increased its presence but drew powerful connections between reality of poverty in Canada and growing poverty as a result of globalization.

In the 1993 it convened a second Poor People’s Conference^[9] and co-hosted a UN Poverty Roundtable in 1998 to deal poverty in the Americas.^[10] In the 2000s it published documents including Voices: Women, Poverty and Homelessness in Canada, a study of female homelessness in Canada, and began a national campaign for a new minimum wage.^[11]

Mission statement

The mission of CWP organization is "to eradicate poverty in Canada for the benefit of all by educating Canadians about the human and financial cost of poverty, and by identifying public policy solutions". These ‘costs’ include financial and ‘human’.^[12] CWP works with stakeholders from government, business, community groups,^[13] to influence legislative priorities at the Federal level regarding income and social support needs. CWP uses a human rights framework which states that all Canadians have a right to equality and dignity; and expect social institutions to uphold the values of caring, responsibility, and accountability based on UN concepts of fundamental human rights. Louise Arbour, Chief Prosecutor at the Hague International War Tribunals and an Honorary member of the CWP Board of Directors, as, has stated “poverty prevails as the gravest human rights challenge in the world”.^[14] In Canada, inequalities of access to social and economic resources contribute significantly to poverty levels across Canada, i.e., those in poverty are often First Nation people, immigrants and refugees, single adults between the ages of 45-64, and single mothers with children, disabled, those in the lowest-paying jobs, full or part-time.^[15] People in poverty in Canada more often access food banks, are often homeless, or in low-cost, sub-standard housing; they are part of the 'working poor' who rely on low wages, or are stuck in the poverty trap of welfare, and face hunger.^[16]

Current activities and impacts/successes

In 2007 the Federal Government cut the funding to CWP which essentially equated to losing 55% of their operating budget^[17]. This seriously impeded their work. Other anti-poverty groups also experienced funding cuts. The Canadian Council for International Co-operation, a group involved in global poverty reduction and connected to CWP, is threatened with complete funding cuts.^[18] However, the organization has refused to simply stop operating. This is evident in its current ongoing plans, and its recent (as of 2012) reorganization into two divisions, in order to press for direct advocacy work more effectively.^[19] In 2009, Canada Without Poverty’s adopted a new logo that “symbolizes rising above one’s poverty line towards a bright future”.^[20]

Organization restructuring

Two new organizational sectors are Canada Without Poverty/Canada Sans Pauvrete and the CWP Advocacy Network/Reseau de Revendication CSP. While CWP continues to produce reports and liaison with Canadian poverty groups, CWP Advocacy Network is not a charity. Incorporated in 2010, it works in concert with CWP for more effective direct action.^[21] The need for greater pressure is evident in the erosion of concern of the Federal government to address poverty.^[22] Poverty deeply impacts individuals, families, society and costs governments perhaps as much as $80 billion annually.^[23] Individually it is characterized by people having to make tough choices between meeting basic needs like deciding whether to eat, buy new shoes, pay the rent etc. Studies have found poverty is strongly associated with poorer health,^[24] physical and emotional, alcohol and drug abuse,^[25] recidivism in the criminal justice system, class divides that threaten Canadian social stability, and higher early mortality rates among those living in poverty.^[26]

Campaigns

CWP and the CWP advocacy network are now involved in a number of significant, comprehensive campaigns including: “Dignity for All: The Campaign for a Poverty-Free Canada”, a campaign they co-founded in 2009 with Citizens for Public Justice. This campaign focuses on three fundamental goals in order to “combat the structural causes of poverty in Canada” .^[27] These goals include the establishment of legislative changes to create an Act of Parliament which would ensure ongoing federal commitment and accountability mechanisms, the establishment of a federal poverty strategy, and adequate income supports for Canadians. This project is supported by over 550 Canadian anti-poverty groups (for example, Acorn Canada, and Alberta Human Rights Commission)^[28] and over 80 members of parliament.^[29] The goal is to increase the number of groups and individuals committed to produce pressure on the government to act for Canadians demanding poverty eradication. The organization was involved in writing Bill C-233, An Act to eliminate poverty in Canada (formerly Bill C-545). The original bill died on the floor in 2010, although it was reintroduced into Parliament by NDP MP Jean Crowder.^[30]

Organizational features

Since it lost its funding in 2007, CWP has been working to develop alternative sources of funding including a CWP Circle 500 Plus fundraising drive.^[31] It is coming up with new fundraising sources, such as the Poverty & Punchline nights where national comedians entertain and at breaks CWP members speak to the important work being done by the organization.^[32]

Current and past CWP Board of Directors are primarily drawn from poverty activists, all of whom have lived in poverty themselves, either as children and/or as adults.^[33] In 2012 there are nine board members who live in regions across the country. All continue to work as activists representing various communities from First Nations to immigrant to urban and rural citizens. The Directors are nine in number, The majority of Directors are women. In September 2012, Leilani Farha took the reins of the organization as its Executive Director. Leilani is a leading expert and advocate on economic and social human rights, especially for women. She has a long history promoting the right to adequate housing, equality and non-discrimination in housing in Canada and internationally. Prior to joining Canada Without Poverty, Leilani was the Executive Director of the Centre for Equality Rights in Accommodation for 12 years. She has extensive experience addressing homelessness, poverty and inequality in Canada through advocacy, casework, litigation, research and community based work. She has been at the forefront of applying international human rights law to anti-poverty issues in Canada, and is known internationally for her work on housing rights and women’s economic and social rights.^[34]

There is also an Honorary Board, made up of Canadian political leaders including Ed Broadbent, former Federal NDP leader, former Prime Minister Joe Clark, and former Canadian Supreme Court Justice Louise Arbour. In February 2012, Elizabeth May, the Green Party of Canada leader joined an all-party panel discussion on poverty organized by the Dignity for All Campaign to ensure adequate discussion on issues relating to the low-income population remain on the public agenda.^[35]

In 2012 CWP employs two full-time and one part-time employee to fulfill all administrative affairs, including fund raising, communications, and organizing the various events and campaigns along with the numerous volunteers.^[36]

References

http://pi.library.yorku.ca/ojs/index.php/crsp/article/viewFile/35220/32057