April 13, 2012
Honourable Diane Finley
Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development
House of Commons
Ottawa, ON
K1A 0A6
Dear Minister Finley,
The Canadian Association of Social Workers (CASW) is adamantly opposed to the recent decision of the Government of Canada to eliminate the National Council of Welfare.
The National Council of Welfare provides vital information and research to inform both government and Canadians on paths forward to minimize and reduce cycles of poverty experienced by a growing number of Canadians.
With the elimination of the Statistics Canada long-form census and now the National Council of Welfare, CASW is deeply concerned that evidenced-based decision-making in regards to national policy decisions will become increasingly difficult to implement in the absence of reliable information.
Further to this, civil society movements seeking to support the development of national plans and strategies to reduce poverty in Canada will not have the evidenced-based reports generated by the National Council of Welfare to support their efforts.
Consequently, CASW is respectfully requesting that the Government of Canada reverse its recent decision to dismantle the National Council of Welfare. The reversal of this decision would send a clear signal to Canadians that the Government of Canada has not abandoned efforts to support a national strategy to complement the plans of the provinces and territories that have made poverty reduction a priority.
Yours sincerely,
Morel Caissie, MSW, RSW
President
cc. The Honourable Stephen Harper, Prime Minister of Canada
Ms. Jean Crowder, NDP Critic (HRDC)
Mr. Rodger Cuzner, Liberal Critic (HRDC)
M. Jean-Francois Fortin, Bloc Critic (RHDC)
Hon. James Michael (Jim) Flaherty, Minister of Finance
Peter Julian, NDP Finance Critic
Hon. Scott Brison, Liberal Finance Critic
M. Daniel Paillé, Bloc critic des finances
National Council of Welfare
Dignity for All Campaign
Canada Without Poverty
Canadian Council on Social Development
Executive Director of Provincial/Territorial Associations
