Poverty Reduction Strategies

Poverty reduction strategies being announced by certain governments is a welcomed development in the war on poverty in Canada. Strategies in the area of poverty reduction are necessary because the existence of poverty is a complex situation brought about by historical thinking about the "poor" and what they should be entitled to. Our society's ideas of how we should treat those who are not able to support themselves comes from a time when individuals had to fend for themselves or had to depend on the charitable works of religious groups and others.

Our society is changing. For some time it has been acceptable to think of poverty as caused by the way society is structured which makes it difficult if not impossible for some people to be self sustaining. Lack of opportunities for some in our society leaves them vulnerable to a life of poverty and no way of escaping. Governments forced by community-based organizations have accepted the fact that they have an important role to play in alleviating poverty.

Over the last few years governments have announced poverty reduction strategies that give the impression that a new approach is being thought out that will set targets for not only the reduction but the elimination of poverty. Such bold announcements hold out much promise and time will tell if such targets can reasonably be met. Nevertheless, the goals have been set and in all cases after much collaboration with community groups close to the poverty problem. This is obviously much better and holds out greater promise than simply throwing money at specific segments of the poverty experience and hoping that this will somehow solve the overall problem.

A new report just released by the Canadian Association of Social Workers on December 1, 2009 reviewed the poverty reduction strategies that have been developed to date by provincial governments titled: “Tuning into Poverty the Provincial Way”. It reviews the strategies developed by five provinces: Quebec; Newfoundland and Labrador; Nova Scotia; Ontario; and Manitoba. Not included in the CASW report was the New Brunswick poverty reduction strategy which was announced in November, too late for the report, and also the commitment of the Federal government by way of a motion in the House of Commons on November 24, 2009 to, " …develop an immediate plan to eliminate poverty in Canada for all". No target dates were established for the reduction or elimination of poverty.

Most of these strategies were reached after an extended collaboration with relevant stakeholders and community groups recognizing that a meaningful strategy could not be developed in isolation from those living and working directly with the problem. Some of the targeted goals for the reduction and elimination of poverty may be optimistic but, nevertheless, they represent a target that time will reveal if it was realistic or not.

The government of Quebec was the first province to set out a strategy in 2002 to have the least number of persons living in poverty among the industrialized nations within ten years. The government of Newfoundland and Labrador made a commitment in 2005 to fund specific strategies in the budgets of 2006, 2007, and 2008 but with no target date for elimination or reduction of poverty. The government of Ontario developed a strategy in 2007 with the goal of reducing poverty by 25% in five years and 50% in ten years. The governments of Manitoba, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick developed their strategies in 2009. Manitoba set no targets or time lines for the reduction of poverty; Nova Scotia to "break the cycle of poverty" by 2020; and New Brunswick "aims to reduce income poverty in the province by 25 per cent and deep income poverty by 50 per cent by 2015."

These are notable commitments on the part of governments and time will show if they were effective in actually reducing poverty or not. Nevertheless, these commitments mean that social policy as it relates to poverty is becoming acceptable and seen not only as a way for governments to address the problem but also recognizes that social democracy may be the path to address a serious humanitarian problem that has plagued society for years. It also reveals the values that underlie a caring society and its search to care for those that find themselves trapped in a life with little opportunities available to them. Lets hope that other provinces and territories and the Federal government will join the group and make this a truly national commitment.