(By Roger Annis from The Bullet) The biannual policy convention of the British Columbia Federation of Labour, held in Vancouver from November 24 to 28, reflected a growing anger among unionized workers with corporate attacks and deteriorating economic and social conditions in the province.

The collapse of world financial markets has yet to fully hit the province. But the decline of the U.S. economy, the onset of recession in Canada, and seven and a half long years of right-wing government under Liberal Party Premier Gordon Campbell have taken a heavy toll on working people and produced a determination that “enough is enough.” The convention set a course to campaign to replace the Liberals with a government of the New Democratic Party in the provincial election to take place next May.

But how will the election of the NDP put the province on a better economic footing, and what measures will it introduce to bring relief to working people? Does the labour movement have a particular role and responsibility to fight for working class interests, regardless of which of the two contending parties wins office? Convention deliberations showed that these questions are far from answered.

Capitalist assault on working people
In the province’s principal industry – paper and wood products – 10,000 jobs have disappeared in the past year. Entire towns have lost their economic mainstay. Since the election of the Liberals in 2001, 54 sawmills, paper mills and wood manufacturing plants have closed in the province, costing 20,000 jobs.

Several tens of thousands of health care workers saw their jobs privatized and their wages nearly halved by the Liberals following a defeated strike in 2004. Conditions inside the hospitals for patients and workers alike have declined sharply.

Poverty and homelessness have increased. The minimum wage has been frozen at $8 per hour since 2001, and welfare rates are well below the poverty line. British Columbia has the highest rate of child poverty in Canada for the fourth year running.

The province is a growing emitter of greenhouse gases, notwithstanding the government’s impressive “greenwashing” policies that have lured most environmental groups into its entirely undeserving fold.

The hardest hit by the Campbell government have been the original inhabitants, the two hundred thousand Indigenous people living within the provincial boundaries. Indigenous activists and organizations are exerting steady pressure on the government to tackle the appalling poverty in which most communities live and are demanding political and economic sovereignty. But the government signalled its response early in its mandate when it staged a racist plebiscite in 2002 setting restrictive guidelines for future negotiations. The vote passed with only one-third of voters participating.

Fighting mood
Since 2001, workers have strongly challenged attacks on unions and social services. They have waged militant strikes. The province has twice come to the brink of a general strike – in May, 2004 when health care workers went on strike and were ordered back to work, and in October 2005 when teachers and workers at the telecommunication giant Telus were on strike.

Forestry workers have twice shut down the industry along the BC coast in an effort to resist company takeback demands – in 2004 and 2007.

The BC Fed convention indicated that more struggles of this type can be anticipated. The teachers’ union, for example, told delegates it was gearing up for job action to refuse the government’s plan to introduce standardized, province-wide testing of students. As union leaders and activists explained, such testing discriminates against students from poor families and stigmatizes schools that score poorly.

Workers in hard-hit resource industry towns explained to the convention that they are resisting the devastation of their local economic base. A trade union-based “Stand Up for the North” committee has been formed in northern British Columbia to oppose forest industry plant closings and demand improved employment insurance. Rallies by workers in Prince George and Mackenzie took place on December 11. More can be expected.

Indigenous sovereignty
One of the highlights of the convention was a signing ceremony of a “protocol of cooperation” between the Federation of Labour and organizations of Indigenous peoples in the province. Moving talks were delivered to delegates by Ed John of the First Nations Summit, Stewart Philip of the Union of BC Indian Chiefs, and Shawn Atleo of the BC Assembly of First Nations. A signing ceremony took place after their talks.

All three referred to the historic apology delivered by the federal government earlier this year for the policies of cultural genocide symbolized by the residential school system in Canada. They said that the apology would only have meaning if accompanied by effective action by government to redress injustices and restore Indigenous sovereignty rights.

The Protocol acknowledges mutual objectives including raising awareness of the rights and interests of First Nations, building consciousness of workers’ rights, “achieving social justice for First Nations in BC through joint initiatives to advance reconciliation and close social and economic gaps,” and collaboration on public policy issues of mutual concern.

Forestry in crisis
Delegates identified three reasons for the sharp decline of employment in the forest industry. One is the downturn in the U.S. housing industry. British Columbia softwood lumber exports to the U.S. dropped from $4.9 billion in 2005 to $3.5 billion in 2007, and the downward trend continues. Paper production and exports have also declined.

A second reason is deregulation of the system that allocates the right to cut lumber. Previously, tree cutting rights would be granted to companies on condition that the wood fibre be processed locally. The Liberals have loosened this coupling. One result has been a massive increase in the export of unprocessed logs – nearly doubled since 2000. Another has been escalating prices of tree cutting licenses as “decoupling” makes them attractive to speculators. Forest companies holding licenses are even trying to sell their lands to real estate interests.

A third reason offered for the job decline is the agreement signed between the U.S. and Canada in 2006 to resolve a long-standing trade dispute over competing accusations that lumber industries in the respective countries were receiving subsidies and favourable tax regimes.

In the convention discussion, many forest workers gave angry testimonies regarding the devastation of their jobs and communities. Yet no proposal was presented regarding what to do save for one – to vote for the New Democratic Party in the provincial election next May and hope that it will ease the crisis.

‘Capitalism to blame’
BC Federation of Labour President Jim Sinclair’s speech kicking off the convention explained many of the difficult challenges facing the working class in the province and the world. “Capitalism is to blame,” he said when summarizing the devastating collapse of the world financial system and its consequences.

But what to do? Several times in his speech, Sinclair returned to the theme, “If the corporations don’t clean up their act and start providing jobs and sustainable economic development, then we will step in and do it for them.” Why the “if”? Their system has proven itself spectacularly incapable of running the world. So what are we waiting for?

With the exception of the 2005 teachers strike, the major strikes of the past four years have been lost because the labour movement has not engaged in the level of solidarity action, including strikes, that could have brought victory. Instead, union officials simply point to electing the New Democratic Party as the way to solve our problems. Restricting labour’s strategy in this way weakens the labour movement. Gains cannot be won even under the most friendly of governments without strong pressure from labour’s ranks. Otherwise, the capitalist class uses its many levers of control to veto reforms that cut into their profits and domination.

The Liberal government has similarly ignored the needs of other sectors of the working population. For example, while the Federation of Labour has initiated an important movement for a rise in the minimum wage to $10 per hour, the provincial government and the industries that rely on cheap labour have adamantly refused it. Urgently needed increases to welfare rates have been similarly refused.

The Federation is also enmeshed in the financial debacle now looming over the 2010 Winter Olympics that will open in just over one year in Vancouver. It’s increasingly evident that the Games will leave taxpayers in British Columbia and Canada with a deficit of hundreds of millions of dollars. (For detail, see this author’s article on the recent municipal election in Vancouver at: www.socialistvoice.ca/?p=344.)

The unions and their political party, the NDP, supported the bid for the Games. They will have to deal with the wrath of working people angered over the cuts to government services that will result from deficits in Games financing.

Some new voices
A highlight of this convention was the increased role of young worker delegates. There were 90 delegates under the age of thirty, compared to just 38 at the last convention. They made their presence strongly felt on such issues as raising the minimum wage and fighting for better and affordable daycare. A report of the Federation youth committee laid out the following campaign issues:

* Winning a $10 per hour minimum wage and carrying this forward to win $11 per hour.
* Campaigning in high schools to inform students of their rights as workers.
* Organizing young workers into unions.
* Expanding a “Gen U” email and telephone network to link young workers and union members.
* Holding an annual Young Worker Conference sponsored by the Federation of Labour.

Harper government attack on union rights
The second-to-last day of the convention received dramatic news, while in session, that the newly elected minority Conservative government in Ottawa had just announced legislation that would ban the right to strike of federal government workers and remove the right of female federal government workers to appeal for pay equity measures. The news was all the more infuriating because it was contained in an “economic statement” by the government that made clear it would be doing nothing to address the economic downturn under way in Canada.

In response, Federation leaders introduced a resolution calling on the three opposition parties in Canada’s Parliament to vote down the government’s economic statement and form a coalition government that would address the needs and concerns facing working people in economic difficulty.

The resolution was discussed for 45 minutes and approved near-unanimously. The call for action to oust Harper was welcome; less positive was the proposal for the NDP to enter a Liberal Party-led government.

Only weeks earlier during a federal election, the NDP condemned the Liberal Party as a party of big business and the architect of destructive social and foreign policies. Now it turned on a dime and with very little dissent from the labour movement voted to join a government in which the Liberals would exercise the predominant influence.

The coalition government proposal now sits lamely in Ottawa, spurned by the Liberals as of the selection of their new national leader, Michael Ignatieff. The federal Parliament will reopen in late January. The government has withdrawn its anti-union proposals for now.
Independent labour political action

The convention’s surprising and near-universal support for a coalition government with the Liberals highlights the challenge before the labour movement today. Should we chart a course of political action that is independent of the parties of big business, Conservatives and Liberals alike? Or do we place our bets on political manoeuvring with parties or interests that are entirely hostile to workers interests?

More broadly, can the capitalist system be salvaged and should workers’ interests be sacrificed to achieve that?

These questions are being discussed and debated by growing numbers of workers, as discussions at this convention made clear. Socialists must immerse ourselves increasingly in these discussions and in the experiences of peoples who engage in struggle to resist the capitalist crisis. Our goal must be to find the most effective means to resist the capitalist offensive and defend our immediate interests as workers, all the while fighting for governments that can lead society out of the worldwide impasse that capitalism has created. •

Roger Annis was a delegate to the BC Federation of Labour convention. You can read his daily convention reports at: rogerannis.blogspot.com.

An End to the Countdown
The Beginning of a 25 in 5 Poverty Reduction Strategy

1. Ontario turns corner on more than a decade of poor bashing, says Pat Capponi
2. Poverty Plan Lays Foundation for Action, Budget investments must be next step
3. TAKE ACTION: Investments key in the 2009 Ontario budget
4. Regulating Temp Agencies - Good News for Temp Workers, says Workers Action Centre
5. Hardship of welfare getting harder, Ontario’s welfare incomes falling behind
6. Red letter day for poverty reduction: selected media and partner links
7. Thank you: More than 1,500 endorse 25 in 5 Declaration for Poverty Reduction

“What may get lost in the back and forth over whether the provincial Liberals have gone too far or not far enough in their poverty reduction strategy is that it marks the end of a particularly shameful period in Ontario …  it ends more than a decade of poor bashing, of deliberate and callous targeting of those living in poverty.”

Who said it? Pat Capponi, in Long years of poor bashing finally brought to an end, an op-ed in the Toronto Star (Dec 8)

Poverty Plan Lays Foundation for Action

Ontario is on track to becoming a leader in poverty reduction in a plan that is not only crucial to the province’s economic recovery but is also the right thing to do, says the 25 in 5 Network for Poverty Reduction.

Tens of thousands of people across Ontario called on the government to commit to a plan to reduce poverty reduction by 25% within the next 5 years. They asked for a plan with targets, timelines, and accountability. And the politicians listened - Ontario now has that plan.

By securing this commitment, poverty reduction cannot be ignored in next five provincial budgets.  The next step is to secure sufficient investment in the spring budget and to push for the federal government to come to the table to do its part.

The good news is that the stimulus package needed to kickstart Ontario’s struggling economy is rooted in precisely the investments that are needed in poverty reduction: it’s about new affordable housing and more child care spaces, it’s about putting money into the pockets of low income families so they can make more than ends meet at the local grocery store.

Related Links

The 25 in 5 response to the Ontario Poverty Reduction Strategy

The 25 in 5 Partner Key Messages/Analysis

Pat Capponi’s message to supporters of the 25 in 5 Network

“With Ontario signing on to our vision for a fairer and more just province, we have achieved a real milestone, a concrete foundation from which to continue our efforts. More than this, we’ve demonstrated what can be accomplished when government is prepared to seriously sit across the table with us to develop a poverty reduction strategy that works.” 
Read More…

Official Strategy Document

Looking for the official “Ontario Poverty Reduction Strategy: Breaking the Cycle” documents? Click here.

We have the foundation.  Now the real work begins.

Now, more than ever, it’s time to talk to the politicians who make the decisions, the media that reports on the issues, our colleagues, neighbours and family:   Ontario needs a down payment on poverty reduction in the 2009 budget to make the 25 in 5 commitment a reality.

Every voicemail, phone call, letter and email counts!  Contact the Premier; Finance Minister Dwight Duncan, and your local Member of provincial Parliament and let your voice be heard.  Email to  dmcguinty.mpp.co@liberal.ola.org and dduncan.mpp.co@liberal.ola.org.

Our message is this:

1. Good start, way to go: Ontario is on track to becoming a leader in poverty reduction in Canada.  We applaud our Provincial government for delivering a plan and a promise to reduce poverty by 25% over the next five years, and for demonstrating leadership by investing in Ontario’s most vulnerable citizens.
2. Poverty Reduction Plan is not only the right thing to do, it is also crucial to the province’s economic recovery: Is crucial that we do not press the pause button on this promising commitment now that we have momentum on our side.  Governments at all levels must understand that today’s focus on poverty reduction can become tomorrow’s headline about a strong economy.
3. The place to start is in the 2009 Budget: The roadmap to our collective prosperity runs through investments in poverty reduction.  We need to take the following 3 steps in the upcoming 2009 spring provincial budget:
   • Stimulate local economies by putting money into the pockets of low income families through action that speeds up the implementation of the Ontario Child Benefit, and increases incomes for those on Ontario Works and the Ontario Disability Support Program;
   • Invest in infrastructure development of new affordable housing units; and
   • Invest in infrastructure development through the expansion of early learning and child care spaces.

Action taken in the next budget will be not only the next test of the government’s resolve on its poverty reduction strategy - they will also be investments in our collective prosperity.

OTHER ACTIONS:

Join the Movement for Poverty Reduction in Your Community
Leadership in Hard Times: 25 in 5’s Tour to Promote Poverty Reduction had its last stop this morning in Mississauga. The tour visited 25 cities and talked to hundreds of people across the province. Poverty reduction activists and communities coordinated events and came out to share their input, clearly demonstrating how engaged the poverty reduction movement is right across the province. For information on getting involved locally, visit www.povertywatchontario.ca and check out past events for contacts in your community or contact us at info@25in5.ca.

Make your voice heard for Poverty Reduction at the Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs Pre-Budget Consultations
While oral presentations are now over, you can still submit your feedback to the Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs. You can send a written submission to the Clerk of the Committee at william_short@ontla.ola.org by 5:00 p.m. on Friday, January 16, 2009.

The Interfaith Social Assistance Reform Coalition included the following in their submission:

“ISARC congratulates the province on new positive directions to reduce and eliminate poverty in this province. The announced policy and program changes will affect people who have for too long been in a survival mode. Faith communities appreciate the attention paid to community-based programs where people assist each other to break the cycle of poverty. “

Click here to read their full submission.

There are other ways to TAKE ACTION on our website.

Regulating Temp Agencies is Good News for Temp Workers, says Workers Action Centre

The Ontario government’s announcement of legislation to protect temporary agency workers is good news for temp workers.

“Temp agency workers and the Workers’ Action Centre (WAC) have been fighting for years to get temp workers the same basic rights that their permanent co-workers have - the rights to public holiday and termination pay, vacations and sick days; contract information; the ability to enforce employment rights and be free from shameful fees and barriers to permanent work,” says Deena Ladd, WAC Coordinator. “The Ontario government’s announcement to improve protection of temp agency workers demonstrates that it has heard what workers have said about the realities of temp work.”

Link to press release and backgrounder http://www.workersactioncentre.org/

Hardship of welfare getting harder

Welfare incomes in Canada are increasingly inadequate to meet basic needs,with Ontario seeing the harshest loss over the past two decade, says a new report by the National Council of Welfare.

The report shows the biggest loss in welfare incomes was in Ontario in 1995 under the Mike Harris Conservative government when welfare for able-bodied people was cut by 21.6 per cent and frozen for everyone for the next nine years.  While rates increased slightly under Dalton McGuinty’s Liberals since 2004, they have never reached pre-1995 levels, forcing Ontario’s 675,000 people on welfare and disability support to live far below the poverty line.

More from the Toronto Star story by Laurie Monsebraaten

Check out the National Council of Welfare’s “Welfare Incomes” Report http://www.ncwcnbes.net/en/home.html and for more information visit the National Anti-Poverty Organization at http://english.napo-onap.ca/Default.asp.

Red letter day for poverty reduction: selected media and partner links

Selected media coverage:

Ontario backs ‘25-in-5′ poverty plan, Toronto Star (Dec 4)
http://www.thestar.com/news/ontario/article/548215

First Steps on poverty draw praise from anti-poverty activists, vow to ensure the Liberal government lives up to its promise - Toronto Star coverage
http://www.thestar.com/News/GTA/article/548853 includes historical timeline of poverty milestones since 1792 (Dec 5) http://www.thestar.com/News/article/550392

We can win war on poverty, say Howard Elliot in the Hamilton Spectator (Dec 6)
http://www.thespec.com/article/477848

Watch highlights from the 25in5 press conference on Dec 4, via Sun TV
http://www.torontosun.com/news/canada/2008/12/05/7640611-sun.html#/news/2008/12/04/pf-7638271.html

Peterborough Community Poverty Reduction Strategy Group praise the province’s new strategy to reduce poverty, Peterborough Examiner (Dec 5)
http://www.thepeterboroughexaminer.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1331617

The economic argument for reducing poverty is compelling. It’s the smart thing to do, says Kingston Whig Standard editorial (Dec 8)
http://www.thewhig.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1334803

Ambitious plan to reduce childhood poverty in Ontario by 25 per cent in five years was unveiled at Queen’s Park, London Free Press (Dec 5)
http://lfpress.ca/newsstand/News/Local/2008/12/05/7641981-sun.html

Thumbs up for poverty plan, says Chatham-Kent poverty reduction roundtable, Chatham Daily News (Dec 5)
http://chathamdailynews.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1332927

Poverty plan includes after school programs for ‘high needs’ neighbourhoods, Fort Frances Times (Dec 5)
http://www.fftimes.com/node/217091

In the shadow of the federal political firestorm, Ontario quietly introduced its long-awaited poverty reduction strategy, Cornwall Standard Freeholder (Dec 5)
http://standard-freeholder.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1331075

Ontario’s strategy to lift 90,000 kids out of poverty meets enthusiasm, skepticism - Central to plan is $230M annual increase in provincial child benefit, Sault St. Marie Star (Dec 5) 
http://www.saultstar.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1331693

Poverty plan draws local praise, Sarnia Observer (Dec 5)
http://theobserver.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1330721

We can’t battle poverty with a system that undermines the very people it’s supposed to help, Toronto Star Editorial (Dec 8)
http://www.thestar.com/comment/article/549437 (Dec 8)

Plus selected links from our partners:

We got what we asked for.  Now the real work begins.  Public message from the June Callwood Campaign Against Child Poverty in Toronto Star (Dec 6)
View the ad in PDF format

Peel Action Group: Strategy to fight child poverty a good start (Dec 5)
http://www.mississauga.com/article/21741

Colour of Poverty: Too many gaps in poverty plan… Focus on kids a good start, but breaking down stats by race called key to knowing who needs help (Dec 7)
http://www.thestar.com/article/549804

Wellesley Institute Backgrounder: Ontario’s new poverty reduction plan provides solid foundation; more investments required (Dec 8)

RNAO: Nurses welcome the McGuinty government’s roadmap to lift children out of poverty (Dec 4)
http://www.cnw.ca/en/releases/archive/December2008/04/c7248.html

OFL: Government leadership and grassroots community work yield results on poverty reduction (Dec 4)
http://ofl.ca/index.php/news/index_in/government_leadership_and_grassroots_community_work_yield_results_on_povert/

ACORN: Ontario takes modest first steps towards poverty reduction (Dec 4)
http://www.acorn.org/index.php?id=10850

Marvyn Novick has a goal. He wants to reduce poverty in Ontario by 25 per cent in five years and 50 per cent in 10 years. And he’s looking for your input.  From the Oakville Beaver (Dec 5)
http://www.oakvillebeaver.com/news/article/224496

THANK YOU FOR MAKING A DIFFERENCE!

By endorsing the 25 in 5 Declaration we sent a clear message to the Provincial Government that action on poverty reduction cannot be delayed. We expect a Poverty Reduction Strategy to be announced in the coming days that will reflect the spirit of the 25 in5 Declaration

And you can still add your voice. Visit www.25in5.ca and sign on for poverty reduction by endorsing the 25 in 5 Declaration.

About the Countdown to a Poverty Reduction Plan eBulletins

The 25 in 5 Network is steered by a coalition of Ontario organizations including Campaign 2000, the Income Security Advocacy Centre, the Social Planning Network of Ontario the Interfaith Social Assistance Reform Coalition, The Colour of Poverty Project, the Ontario Coalition for Social Justice, Voices From the Street, among others.

This is a weekly bulletin from 25 in 5 to its contact list of supporters and interested parties across the province. The Countdown Bulletin is intended to keep you up to date on the development of a poverty reduction plan for Ontario and to let you know how you, your organizations and networks can help make it happen.

For more information visit www.25in5.ca

A million children living below the poverty line do not receive free school meals as a result of flaws in the funding system, figures released in parliament show.

Half of pupils from families in poverty are not getting a free lunch because the income threshold to qualify is set lower than the current level used to define poverty. It means that a family of two adults and two children struggling to get by on £18,000 a year has to pay for school dinners, which now cost on average £1.70 a day per child. Children at schools in every local authority in England are affected.

Parent campaigners said the government was letting down some of the most vulnerable "working poor" families.

Headteachers said some schools were losing out on funding as a result of free school meals being too blunt a predictor of deprivation. Schools receive extra money for teaching disadvantaged pupils based on the number on free school meals. The measure is also embedded in the school accountability system.

The "contextually value-added" league tables rank schools according to how well they do, taking into consideration the relative economic hardship of their intakes. The tables are based partly on free school meals, which means that some schools where lots of pupils miss out on free lunches could be wrongly rated.

David Laws, the Lib Dem education spokesman, who obtained the figures through a parliamentary question, said: "For the most disadvantaged children, a school dinner can be the only hot meal they get. As times get tough, paying for school lunches is going to be a real struggle for more and more families."

Jackie Schneider, a parent and teacher who has campaigned about school dinners in south London, said: "The idea that you have children from homes on very tight budgets who don't get a free meal at school is despicable.

"You have to feed children to sustain them through the day. This system disadvantages the working poor."

The revelation, in a written answer seen by the Guardian, means that not only are around a million children slipping through the net, but also that their schools are being underfunded as a result.

Only children whose parents receive welfare payments or are below a £15,575 earnings threshold are eligible for free school meals. Other children whose parents earn just above that amount aren't entitled, the children's minister, Beverley Hughes, confirmed.

Labour has defined child poverty as any child living in a household with an income 60% below the average income before housing costs. That figure currently stands at around £18,000 for a two-parent home with two children, and around £14,000 for a single parent of two children. In 2006-07, the number of children living in poverty rose to 2.9 million - an increase of 100,000.

Kate Green, chief executive of Child Poverty Action Group, said: "That so few of those children [who] the government counts as poor are actually entitled to free school meals shows just how inadequate and mean the system is.

"Even of those entitled, the complexity and the stigma in the system means that one in five children who should get a free meal do not. For families in low-pay work, not having an entitlement to free school meals means that, too often, work does not pay and does not lift families out of poverty."

The government is piloting an expansion of free school meals in three areas of England. In two of the areas, all pupils will get free lunches, and in the third the proportion who qualify will be expanded. Scotland is introducing free meals for all in the first three years of primary school.

Hughes said: "We have invested to improve the quality of school meals, are taking action to increase uptake in deprived areas, and have already announced plans to trial extending free school meals to more low income families."

More than 30 people attended the presentation of the Blueprint in Peterborough on the afternoon of Wednesday, December 10. Convened by the Peterborough Social Planning Council, the session was attended by the Chair of the Peterborough Committee for Poverty Reduction, the City Councillor Chair of the Social Services Committee, members of the health, social services and faith communities, low income people and other interested citizens and community volunteers.

Brenda Dales, Executive Director of the PSPC, introduced Peter Clutterbuck of the SPNO who provide an overview of the 25 in 5 Network and presented the Blueprint.

Discussion covered the following areas:

• A discussion of the reasons for the choice of the Low Income Measure instead of the Low Income Cut-Off to measure progress on the child poverty target.
• A suggestion that the Blueprint give more emphasis to strategies to create affordable housing, noting that the current Affordable Housing Program does not really create housing for very low income people. We should be pointing out the difference between “affordable housing” and “rent-geared-to-income housing”.
• The social determinants of health should also be more emphasized as a key factor in the Blueprint’s imperatives and create an opportunity to bring more people to the table on poverty reduction such as the LHINs. The LHIN in Peterborough is engaged on the poverty reduction issue.
• We must be sure not to let the federal government off the hook for all of its responsibilities to reduce poverty which should include a clear role in affordable housing as well as improving the NCBS and Employment Insurance.
• Reference was made to the Ontario Auditor’s report showing that the investment of provincial funding in mental health remains heavily weighted toward the institutional rather than the community support sector.
• It will be important for the 25 in 5 coalition to engage other sectors in order to advance the proposals in the Blueprint, but it is also very important to have strong representation and participation directly of low income people.
• The sustaining employment part of the Blueprint needs strengthening. Good, stable jobs are the real key to escaping poverty, which any person living on low income will say.
• The removal of barriers for people on OW or ODSP to earn extra money are essential. People on ODSP are now “taxed” 50% for any effort they make.
• It was noted that changes were occurring even this very day to better protect temporary workers through strengthening the Ontario Employment Standards Act and improving enforcement. Federal labour law should also be reviewed and greater protections introduced.
• There should be greater harmonization of federal and provincial programs related to medical expenses and supports for families with members who are disabled, perhaps a tax credit for medical expenses.
• Participants expressed a strong interest in staying engaged with 25 in 5 and asked for guidance about how to participate in the upcoming work of the coalition to strengthen and build on the Government’s Plan.

In closing the meeting, Stephen Kiley, Chair of the Peterborough Poverty Reduction Committee, the body succeeding the Mayor’s Task Force on Poverty Reduction, briefly responded to the presentation and referred to the recently released Root Causes of Poverty Report. As recently appointed Chair, Mr. Kiley expressed his intention to continue the local work and to reach out for broader engagement of other parts of the community on poverty reduction.