For Immediate Release
November 18, 2010

The Canadian Association of Social Workers (CASW) is encouraged by the release yesterday of the long-awaited report, entitled “Federal Poverty Reduction Plan: Working in Partnership Towards Reducing Poverty in Canada", by the Parliamentary Committee on Human Resources and Skills Development (HUMA). 

“The report is based on a three-year study on the federal role in addressing poverty and will be a core element in developing a national strategy to reducing poverty in Canada,” stated CASW President, Darlene MacDonald. “As a contributor to the report, CASW is encouraged by the collaborative approach of the parliamentarians on the HUMA committee and we hope that this approach will be mirrored in its delivery.”

Canada has five million people living in poverty, including hundreds of thousands who are visibly homeless and millions more without the means to meet basic human needs. These facts underscore the critical importance of a comprehensive national plan that compliments provincial poverty reduction strategies.

“The will of the people is to end poverty in Canada and our hope is that with this report, eliminating poverty in Canada has become the will of parliament as well,” stated MacDonald.

The HUMA report adds to the momentum in the fight against poverty in Canada. It builds on the “In from the Margins” Senate report (2009) that highlighted the tremendous cost of failing to address poverty, the 2009 unanimous resolution to develop a federal plan to eliminate poverty for all, and the June 2010 tabling of a private member’s bill for a Poverty Elimination Act.  

“The Government of Canada has 120 days to respond to this report, and with an election on the horizon, Canadians expect that each political party will publicly commit to implementing the recommendations of this report,” stated MacDonald. “Shelving the report, as has been the practice of the current and previous governments, is not an option for the ballot box this time around.”

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For more information:
Darlene MacDonald, MSW, RSW
President
casw@casw-acts.ca 
Tel.: 613.729.6668 
Fax.: 613.729.9608