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Senate Report on Poverty Shelved by Harper Government

Earlier this year, the Senate of Canada unanimously endorsed In from the Margins: A Call to Action on Poverty, Housing and Homelessness, a landmark report containing 74 recommendations to help lift Canadians out of poverty.

OTTAWA (September 28th, 2010) - Yesterday, the Government of Canada issued essentially a non-response to the report, instead choosing to list its apparent accomplishments in reducing poverty in Canada without directly commenting on a single recommendation contained within the report.

“The response the Government of Canada has given to this report leads CASW to truly question the government’s commitment to support the provinces and territories with developing a national poverty reduction plan to compliment their own,” stated CASW President Darlene MacDonald.

Canadians only have to look back less than a year ago when on November 24, 2009 the Parliament voted unanimously to support the Government of Canada to develop an immediate plan to eliminate poverty in Canada for all.

“Poverty is not a political game to be played at the whim of politicians in order shape public opinion in their favour,” stated McDonald. “It’s a lived reality of at least 3.4 million Canadians and CASW expects concrete actions to the commitments made by government, regardless of who is in the Prime Minister’s Office.”

 

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The National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) is one of Canada's largest labour organizations with over 340,000 members. Our mission is to improve the lives of working families and to build a stronger Canada by ensuring our common wealth is used for the common good. NUPGE