Current Issues
Seeking Youth Volunteers in Toronto/Ontario for
WITNESSES TO POVERTY PROJECT
“When you see an injustice, you have the responsibility to act.” June Callwood
We are recruiting youth volunteers in Toronto/Ontario for our Witnesses to Poverty Project, Summer 2013.
This is an excellent opportunity to gain community service hours for high school students
The Witnesses to Poverty project offers youth an opportunity to learn about and reflect on key poverty issues and to contribute creative artwork to a multi-media display. Under the guidance of Campaign 2000 and Family Service Toronto staff, youth volunteers will be able to apply and develop their artistic and creative skills to create reflections on poverty in Toronto. Participants will also learn what they can do to influence positive social change to address poverty through art and other actions. Art pieces from the project may be put on display at Family Service Toronto (FST) and/or other public events. Photographs, videos and art submissions may be used in future Campaign 2000 work. Find out more details here.
Want to get involved? Contact us by June 26, 2013!
Youth Rep Contributes to a National Dialogue on a New Agenda for Children, Youth and Families in Canada
Campaign 2000 and Family Service Toronto nominated Cindy Yi from our Youth Action Committee to join youth leaders and representatives from across Canada for a two-day National Youth Engagement Session organized by the National Alliance for Children and Youth. During this meeting, held on May 11-12, youth leaders had the opportunity to review and offer input towards shaping a new agenda for children and youth. Read Cindy's blog posts.
Campaign 2000 Responds to the 2013 Federal Budget: Nothing in the budget for children …
The March 21st, 2013 federal budget ignores Canada’s children, says Campaign 2000. There’s little in this budget for the 979,000 low-income children and their parents who feel the double burden of job loss and economic stress at home. Instead, the budget puts deficit reduction ahead of human development and has not even a hint of a vision for a future in which modern-day families are decently supported.
Please read our March 2013 release in English or French in full as our response to the federal budget.
Steering Away from Austerity Can Reduce Child and Family Poverty in Canada
March 12, 2013: Campaign 2000 partner, the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA) has released its Annual Federal Budget (AFB) alternative and warns that more austerity measures from the federal government could further stall an already stagnant economy. The AFB shows how growth-killing austerity can be replaced by a plan that strengthens the economy, leads to a better quality of life for all Canadians, and eliminates the deficit by 2016.
C2000 press release
CCP press release
Annual Federal Budget 2013: English and French
Annual Federal Budget 2013 in brief: English and French
Open Letter to all MPs: For the Safety and Health of Women, Canada Needs a National Housing Strategy
Feb. 2013
Campaign 2000 joins many national and local partner organizations in signing on to an Open Letter to Members of Parliament: For the Safety and Health of Women, Canada Needs a National Housing Strategy.
Canada is the only G8 country without a coordinated national strategy for homelessness and housing. While we are aware that all levels of government have made increased investments in social and affordable housing, there has yet to be sufficient coordination and resources allocated to adequately address the reality that over 1 million people in Canada experience difficulty retaining their housing.
Housing strategy bill defeated in spite of strong support
Wednesday, February 27th, 2013
For the most recent update on Bill C-400 (The Secure, Adequate, Accessible, and Affordable Housing Act), please visit our partner, Citizens for Public Justice’s website for all the details by clicking here: http://www.cpj.ca/en/housing-strategy-bill-defeated-spite-strong-support
Ontario Campaign 2000 Releases its Annual Report Card on Child and Family Poverty in Ontario
Please read the full report card and our media release by visiting the Ontario Campaign 2000 webpage.
Campaign 2000 releases its new 2012 Report Card in Canada
Campaign 2000 released its annual Report Card on Child and Family Poverty on Wednesday, November 21st in Toronto. This year marks 23 years since the unanimous House of Commons' resolution to end child poverty in Canada by 2000 and three years since the unanimous House of Commons resolution "to develop an immediate plan to end poverty for all in Canada". The report includes recommendations for federal government action, in collaboration with its provincial, territorial and First Nations counterparts.
The 2012 report, entitled Needed: A Federal Action Plan to Eradicate Child and Family Poverty in Canada calls on the Federal Government to take a lead role in child and family poverty reduction. Policy recommendations are offered to all political parties to redress the persistence of child and family poverty in Canada.
Read press release - English and French
Provincial report cards on child poverty are also being released Wednesday, Nov. 21 in British Columbia and New Brunswick. Alberta Report Card was released on Nov. 20.
To view a copy of the national Report Card in English or French, and read other new provincial report cards, please click on the following:
- National Campaign 2000 Report Card, 2012: Needed: A Federal Action Plan to Eradicate Child and Family Poverty in Canada English and French
- Alberta Report Card, 2012
- New Brunswick Report Card, 2012 (English or French)
- British Columbia Report Card, 2012 (available Wednesday afternoon)
Putting Promises Into Action: October 2012
Campaign 2000 recently wrote and submitted an alternative report to the United Nations’ Committee on the Rights of the Child, expressing our concerns about continued lack of progress in tackling Canada’s child and family poverty, which is a clear violation of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (such as “best interests of the child” and “right to life, survival and development”). Please click here for our full submission.
Learn more about how the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child works and how it monitors countries that are signatories of the UN on Child Rights International Network website.
Take Action on October 17 -- the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty
The International Day for the Eradication of Poverty has been observed every year since 1993, when the United Nations’ General Assembly designated this day to promote awareness of the need to eradicate poverty and destitution in all countries, particularly in developing countries - a need that has become a development priority.
Here in Canada, our partner, Dignity for All: the campaign for a poverty-free Canada wants you to show your support for ending poverty in Canada. People in poverty need your support and they need action. You can show your support for ending poverty and ending child/family poverty in Canada this October 17 by joining in a series of actions. Find out how you can participate by clicking here: http://www.dignityforall.ca/
Press Release:
“Premiers’ plan shuffles deck chairs on the Titanic while ignoring the iceberg ”
Jul. 27, 2012, Toronto: The Premiers new plan to address the challenges in our health care system, shuffles the deck chairs on the Titanic while ignoring the iceberg of poverty and inequality, comments anti-poverty groups and physicians concerned with long-term prevention of illness. Unfortunately, the federal government has abdicated its role in helping provinces and territories to avoid this ice berg by pretending that it does not exist. Read full release
To All of Canada’s Premiers: Remember that Poverty Affects All Canadians
For the Upcoming Annual Council of the Federation Meeting in Halifax, July 25-27, 2012
Dear Premiers:
We are writing to you as members of the Council of the Federation which is meeting this week in Halifax and are urging all of you, Canada’s Premiers, that there are three compelling reasons why you need to work together and deal seriously with poverty and inequality which increasingly touches the lives of all Canadians. Please read the letter in full in English and in French.
For the latest e-Bulletin, please click on the link here to read about what’s happening on the poverty reduction front across Canada
Youth Day 2012: Artistic expressions of poverty
Volunteers from left: Thuvaragan Subramaniapillai, Shevon Kepple, Shawna Luff, Trevor Janega and Mounizha Zainullah join FST's Stefanie Morra.
Art was the medium as Serve! Youth volunteers focused on the state of child and family poverty in Ontario at Youth Day on July 22nd at Dundas Square in downtown Toronto. The volunteers staffed a booth sponsored by Campaign 2000 and organized by Family Service Toronto’s Social Reform unit.
FST joins launch of federal
anti-poverty forum
FST’s Laurel Rothman, who coordinates anti-poverty work as part of her role as Director, Social Reform, joined the launch of the new federal All-Party Anti-Poverty Caucus recently launched on Parliament Hill. With at least 40 MPs and Senators signed up, this promises to be a valuable forum for keeping poverty issues on the federal radar screen. The Caucus will convene parliamentarians, non-governmental organizations, community leaders, researchers, and other key activists to ensure that poverty issues are discussed and solutions are proposed.
The Caucus co-chairs are the Hon. Michael Chong, MP (Conservative), Jean Crowder, MP (NDP) and Hon. Art Eggleton, Senator (Liberal). Laurel, centre, chats with Peggy Taillon, CEO of Canadian Council and Social Development and MP Michael Chong.
We encourage you to send a message of thanks and support to each of them: michael.chong@parl.gc.ca, jean.crowder@parl.gc.ca, egglea@sen.parl.gc.ca, and meredd@sen.parl.gc.ca. We’ll be watching closely as this caucus starts its work in the months and years to come.
