Canada Without Poverty (CWP) is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to eradicating
poverty in Canada
Poverty in Canada refers to the state or condition in which a person or household lacks essential resourcesfinancial or otherwiseto maintain a modest standard of living in their community.
Researchers and governments have used different metrics ...
and educating Canadians about the link between poverty and human rights. It is based in Ottawa, with a second office in Vancouver and is run by a board of directors who have, or have had, personal experiences of poverty. Canada has yet to develop consistent poverty indicators, which makes it difficult to effectively help the estimated 1 in 7 or 4.8 million people living in conditions of poverty. 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
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
in 1971, organized by the
National Council of Welfare
The National Council of Welfare (NCW) was a Canadian arm's length advisory body to the federal Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development on poverty and the realities of low-income Canadians.
Its legal mandate was to "advise the Minister o ...
(NCW), under the auspices of the Canadian Minister of National Health and Welfare. The original name of the organization was the National Anti-Poverty Organization (NAPO). This name was changed to Canada Without Poverty (CWP) in 2009. It has had partnerships with the Red Tents Campaign, Dignity for All: the campaign for a poverty-free Canada, Voices –Voix, and the BC Poverty Reduction Coalition.
The
charity
Charity may refer to:
Giving
* Charitable organization or charity, a non-profit organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being of persons
* Charity (practice), the practice of being benevolent, giving and sharing
* Ch ...
, from the beginning, was organized to become a main umbrella of nationwide anti-poverty activists; its mandate is identify the causes of poverty and to promote poverty eradication and human rights. Beginning in 1973, NAPO presented its first research document on
hunger
In politics, humanitarian aid, and the social sciences, hunger is defined as a condition in which a person does not have the physical or financial capability to eat sufficient food to meet basic nutritional needs for a sustained period. In the ...
and food costs to the Federal Parliament. It continued, from this first campaign, to address poverty-related issues whether advocating for better health care, higher
unemployment
Unemployment, according to the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), is people above a specified age (usually 15) not being in paid employment or self-employment but currently available for Work (human activity), w ...
insurance benefits, fairer taxation, family benefits, recognition of homelessness and women's poverty, and/or the fundamental human rights of people living in poverty. It has acted as liaison between community groups and the
Parliament
In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
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. From addressing the UN as an NGO 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
Globalization, or globalisation (Commonwealth English; see spelling differences), is the process of interaction and integration among people, companies, and governments worldwide. The term ''globalization'' first appeared in the early 20t ...
.
In the 1993 it convened a second Poor People's Conference and co-hosted a UN Poverty Roundtable in 1998 to deal with poverty in the Americas. 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
A minimum wage is the lowest remuneration that employers can legally pay their employees—the price floor below which employees may not sell their labor. Most countries had introduced minimum wage legislation by the end of the 20th century. Bec ...
. It also championed the rights of homeless people and won a legal case against the City of Winnipeg which was forced to repeal a by-law prohibiting panhandling.
Mission
The mission of CWP is to relieve poverty in Canada by educating Canadians about the human and financial cost of poverty and by identifying public policy solutions. These 'costs' include financial and 'human'. CWP works with people from government, business and community groups to influence
legislative
A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country or city. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers of government.
Laws enacted by legislatures are usually known as p ...
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 expects social institutions to uphold the values of caring, responsibility, and accountability based on UN concepts of fundamental
human rights
Human rights are Morality, moral principles or Social norm, normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for ce ...
.
Louise Arbour
Louise Bernice Arbour (born February 10, 1947) is a Canadian lawyer, prosecutor and jurist.
Arbour was the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, a former justice of the Supreme Court of Canada and the Court of Appeal for Ontario and a former C ...
, Chief Prosecutor at the Hague International War Tribunals and an Honorary Director of CWP, has stated "poverty prevails as the gravest human rights challenge in the world".
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. People in
poverty in Canada
Poverty in Canada refers to the state or condition in which a person or household lacks essential resourcesfinancial or otherwiseto maintain a modest standard of living in their community.
Researchers and governments have used different metrics ...
more often access
food banks
A food bank is a non-profit, charitable organization that distributes food to those who have difficulty purchasing enough to avoid hunger, usually through intermediaries like food pantries and soup kitchens. Some food banks distribute food direc ...
, 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
In economics, a cycle of poverty or poverty trap is caused by self-reinforcing mechanisms that cause poverty, once it exists, to persist unless there is outside intervention. It can persist across generations, and when applied to developing count ...
of welfare, and face hunger.
Current activities and impacts/successes
In 2006 the Federal Government cut the funding to CWP. This seriously impeded their work. Other
anti-poverty
Poverty reduction, poverty relief, or poverty alleviation, is a set of measures, both economic and humanitarian, that are intended to permanently lift people out of poverty.
Measures, like those promoted by Henry George in his economics clas ...
groups also experienced funding cuts. The Canadian Council for International Co-operation, a group involved in
global poverty
Poverty is the state of having few material possessions or little
reduction and connected to CWP, is threatened with complete funding cuts. However, the organization has refused to simply stop operating. In 2009, Canada Without Poverty adopted a new logo that "symbolizes rising above one's poverty line towards a bright future".
The need for greater pressure is evident in the erosion of concern of the
Federal government
A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government (federalism). In a federation, the self-governin ...
to address poverty.
Poverty deeply impacts individuals, families, society and costs governments perhaps as much as $80 billion annually. 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, physical and emotional, alcohol and drug abuse, recidivism in the criminal
justice system
The contemporary national legal systems are generally based on one of four basic systems: civil law, common law, statutory law, religious law or combinations of these. However, the legal system of each country is shaped by its unique history and ...
, class divides that threaten Canadian social stability, and higher early
mortality
Mortality is the state of being mortal, or susceptible to death; the opposite of immortality.
Mortality may also refer to:
* Fish mortality, a parameter used in fisheries population dynamics to account for the loss of fish in a fish stock throug ...
rates among those living in poverty.
Campaigns
CWP is now involved in a number of significant, comprehensive campaigns including: "Dignity for All: The Campaign for a Poverty-Free Canada", a campaign that was co-founded in 2009 with
Citizens for Public Justice
Citizens for Public Justice (CPJ) is an ecumenical, non-profit organization that promotes justice in Canadian public policy through research and analysis focused on poverty reduction, ecological justice, and refugee rights.
CPJ defines public jus ...
. This campaign focuses on three fundamental "wants" in order to address the "structural causes of
poverty in Canada
Poverty in Canada refers to the state or condition in which a person or household lacks essential resourcesfinancial or otherwiseto maintain a modest standard of living in their community.
Researchers and governments have used different metrics ...
" . 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 and almost 130 Members of Parliament and 15 Senators. 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.
CWP 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.
Organizational features
Current and past CWP Board of Directors are primarily drawn from poverty
activists
Activism (or Advocacy) consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived greater good. Forms of activism range fro ...
, all of whom have lived in poverty themselves, either as children and/or as adults. In 2012 there were nine board members who lived in regions across the country. All continued to work as activists representing various communities from
First Nations
First Nations or first peoples may refer to:
* Indigenous peoples, for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area.
Indigenous groups
*First Nations is commonly used to describe some Indigenous groups including:
**First Natio ...
to immigrants to urban and rural citizens.
In September 2012,
Leilani Farha
Leilani Farha is a Canadian lawyer who is the Global Director of THE SHIFT, a housing initiative. Between June 2014 and April 2020, she was the United Nations special rapporteur on adequate housing.
Career
Farha is legally trained and an alumna ...
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. In June 2014, Leilani was appointed as the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Adequate Housing which she does in addition to her role as CWP Executive Director.
There is also an Honorary Board, made up of Canadian political leaders including former Federal NDP leader
Ed Broadbent
John Edward "Ed" Broadbent (born March 21, 1936) is a Canadian social-democratic politician, political scientist, and chair of the Broadbent Institute, a policy thinktank. He was leader of the New Democratic Party from 1975 to 1989. In the 200 ...
, former Prime Minister
Joe Clark
Charles Joseph Clark (born June 5, 1939) is a Canadian statesman, businessman, writer, and politician who served as the 16th prime minister of Canada from 1979 to 1980.
Despite his relative inexperience, Clark rose quickly in federal polit ...
, former Member of Parliament
Monique Bégin
Monique Bégin, (born March 1, 1936) is a Canadian academic and former politician.
Early life
Bégin was born in Rome and raised in France and Portugal before emigrating to Canada at the end of World War II. She received a MA degree in soc ...
and former Canadian Supreme Court Justice Louise Arbour. The fifth Honorary Board member is
Ovide Mercredi
Ovide William Mercredi (born January 30, 1946) is a Canadian politician. He is Cree and a former National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations. He is also the former president of the Manitoba New Democratic Party.
Early life and career
A ...
, a Cree who serves as the Chief of the Misipawistik Cree Nation. In February 2012,
Elizabeth May
Elizabeth Evans May (born June 9, 1954) is a Canadian politician, environmentalist, author, activist, and lawyer who is serving as the leader of the Green Party of Canada since 2022, and previously served as the leader from 2006 to 2019. S ...
, the
Green Party of Canada
The Green Party of Canada (french: Parti vert du Canada) is a federal political party in Canada, founded in 1983 with a focus on green politics.
The Green Party is currently the fifth largest party in the House of Commons by seat count. It el ...
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.
In 2015 CWP employs four employees to fulfill all administrative affairs, including fund raising, communications, and organizing the various events and campaigns along with the assistance of numerous volunteers.