the politics of poverty

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an open letter to all candidates in this election:

Ending poverty, both globally and in Canada, should be at the forefront of this federal election. With over 1.2 billion people living in extreme poverty globally and with one child in six in Canada being poor, Canadians want to know what candidates and political parties will do to help end poverty.

Make Poverty History is calling for more and better aid, trade justice, 100% debt cancellation for the poorest countries and an end to child poverty in Canada. I call on you to take leadership and, if you have not yet done so, publicly pledge to work towards ending poverty at home and abroad. Ending poverty must be an election issue and a priority for the next government.

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A copy of this was sent by e-mail to the leaders of the major parties: Paul Martin, Stephen Harper, Jack Layton, Gilles Duceppe, and Jim Harris (given Harper's comments about enshrining property rights in the Charter, I highly doubt he would have anything to say in response). Other candidates were also contacted. Jaipaul Massey-Singh, the Green Party candidate for Brampton-West, and Susan Barclay's (NDP candidate for Kenora) campaign manager replied to confirm that he has faxed in his pledge. The campaign manager for Jagtar Shergill, the NDP candidate for Brampton-West, stated that they "both support and endorse all of the goals of the Make Poverty History campaign". Other candidates, Kevin Modeste (NDP, Ajax-Pickering), Andrew Mason (NDP, Saskatoon-Humboldt), Holly Heffernan (NDP, Calgary Southwest) -- who also bragged about wearing the white band -- and Mike Jones (Green Party, Saskatoon-Humboldt), forwarded their respective party's collective response*. Sue Greetham, Conservative Party candidate in the Yukon, simply wrote "Thank you for making my position that much easier through your support for these essential issues" (but didn't detail her own commitment to the issues).

Four candidates have provided responses that are longer than a few lines or that don't involve an "official" party position. Michael Ignatieff, the Liberal Party candidate for Etobicoke-Lakeshore, provided this response:

Dear Friend,

I have received your e-mail about the Make Poverty History Campaign and feel compelled to write to you directly about it. I agree without reservation that we need to address each of the issues advanced by the Make Poverty History Campaign.

I am proud that Canada is committed to the Millennium Development Goals and that the Liberal government is committed to increasing the effectiveness of our development dollars. Canada has made significant progress in recent years improving its performance on international development assistance. The Liberal government has cancelled all of its bilateral debt to the poorest countries.

Canada’s International Assistance Envelope has increased by 8% annually since 2002-2003 and will continue to increase by 8% each year subsequent. The 2005 Federal Budget provided an increase of $3.4 billion over the next five years for international assistance and commits to doubling this budget to over $5 billion by 2010.

As a member of Parliament I will work hard to advance our national goal of maintaining increases beyond 2010 and accelerate the projected rate of growth in international assistance as our fiscal position continues to improve.

Canada’s direct country-to-country assistance will be focused on 25 developing countries, more than half of those in Africa. These are among the world’s poorest countries but have the capacity to use aid effectively. I believe that targeting our efforts to the sectors of governance, health, basic education, private-sector development, and environmental sustainability, with gender equality as an overall theme, will lead to an increased impact in poverty reductions.

As a human rights professor, I have taught my students that good public policy is built on a stubborn respect for facts, however inconvenient they may be. But good public policy is also disciplined by the art of the possible. I believe wholeheartedly that we can, and we must, continue to work vigilantly to eliminate the scourge of poverty. We must scrutinize, review, and revise our plans for addressing world poverty on a continuous basis; we have this responsibility and we must not shirk it.

Make Poverty History's cause is a just cause and its supporters like you should be commended for your desire to make a meaningful difference in the world we live in. I pledge to work towards fighting poverty here at home and abroad.

Thank you for taking the time to send me an e-mail on this very important subject. Happy Holidays to you and your loved ones.


Most sincerely,


Michael Ignatieff
Liberal Candidate, Etobicoke-Lakeshore

1278 The Queensway (at Kipling)
Etobicoke, Ontario
M8Z 1S3
www.michaelignatieff.ca
T. 416.503.3817
F. 416.503.0232

Roy Cullen, Liberal incumbent for Etobicoke North, wrote:

Dear Mr. Saguil;

Thank you for your email. I commit myself to end poverty at home and abroad. To do this we need to set realistic and achievable goals. Our government has increased our International Assistance by 8% annually since 2002-2003 and in the 2005 budget, Canada increased international assistance by $3.4 billion over the next five years. Budget 2005 committed $342 million to accelerate the fight against AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria and polio in Africa.

We are also continuing to lead efforts to forgive the debt of the world's poorest countries by providing $206 million for a new Canadian debt relief initiative and contributing $34 million to the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) debt relief initiative. We have already cancelled the Canadian debt loads of eleven of the world's poorest countries.

We also need to fight corruption because corrupt elected officials and governments slow the fight against poverty. I am very active in the Global Organization of Parliamentarians Against Corruption (GOPAC).

Should you require any further information on this matter, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Yours sincerely,

Roy Cullen
Liberal candidate for Etobicoke North

Gary Gervais of the Green Party (Winnipeg Centre) wrote:

Dear Paul,

Thank you for taking the time to write me about the Green Party of Canada and inquire about our policies on Poverty.

The Green Party advocates child-focused policies on home, health, and family. Poverty goes beyond the deprivation of physical needs to include social and human needs as well. Society pays a large toll for child poverty, including higher health costs, higher crime rates, and a degraded social fabric.

In 1989, the old-line political parties voted unanimously in favour of a motion to end child poverty in Canada by the year 2000. Since then, the rate has remained unchanged, at around 15 per cent, or one million children. As a result of short-sighted cuts to our social programs, many families no longer have a basic income. Canada now ranks a dismal 26th out of 29 ‘developed’ countries in terms of child poverty rates. The Green Party proposes new funding networks for locally run health and social programs, as well as a greater focus on well being and nutrition. The Green Party is also committed to serving the long-term goals of Canadians, without sacrificing the right to security, happiness, and health.

Because we believe that reducing child poverty starts with a stronger commitment to guaranteeing that every family has an equal opportunity to provide for their children, we will work to create a “Comprehensive Anti-Poverty Strategy for Canada”. This strategic attempt to improve child and family well-being will call for tougher wage regulations in order to ensure a living wage for all working Canadians, raise benefit levels and increase eligibility under the Employment Insurance Act, remove GST on education supplies and family products and expand child tax credits and benefits.

The Green Party would support and encourage provinces that adopt a basic income strategy to ensure that the benefits of a living wage are available to every citizen through existing federal programs. The Green Party is committed to creating tax incentives for businesses to implement flexible schedules and on-site childcare. We will support a nation-wide healthy lunch and snacks program from Kindergarten through to Grade 12. We will also support child-focused programs that boost self confidence and foster a love of learning.

The Green Party will seek to boost funding for early childhood education and work with other governments to link local childcare and education centers into a national network. Finally, we will implement affordable housing programs, combat racism in hiring practices and give greater recognition to foreign qualifications.

If you require more information on Poverty, please feel free to contact Katie Boudreau at kboudreau@greenparty.ca. For general background information and the 2006 Green Party of Canada platform, please visit www.greenparty.ca. You can access media releases through the Newsroom, located on the left side of the Home page. The Media Releases section is the first item in the drop-down menu.

The policies of the Green Party of Canada are socially progressive, fiscally responsible and environmentally sustainable. They are founded upon six fundamental principles: ecological wisdom, social justice, participatory democracy, non-violence, sustainability, and respect for diversity. Thank you once again for taking the time to write to me. If you have any questions, please contact me.


Best regards,

Gary Gervais

Green Party – Winnipeg Centre
Telephone: 998-8448
E-mail: ggervais@greenparty.ca
Web: www.garygervais.ca
Blog: http://greenparty-wpgctr.blogspot.com/

Roger Valley, Liberal Party incumbent for Kenora, wrote:

Dear Paul,

Thank you for raising this issue. I agree that poverty must be an election issue. Especially in a riding like Kenora where there are thousands of people that live below the poverty line, and especially among Aboriginal people. This is unacceptable.

I have advocated tirelessly for the Government of Canada to increase it's efforts to close the gap for Aboriginal people and I welcomed the outcome of the First Minister's Meeting where over $5 billion was pledged to do exactly that. However we must ensure that this money is distributed in a way that will have a direct impact for our communities.

As for global poverty, I couldn't agree more that Canada must increase it's efforts in terms of foreign aid. I sat as a Member of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs that recommended exactly that to the House of Commons. It must be understood, in an increasingly global community, that global poverty affects us all. We must do more.

Thank you for your time in writing me with your concerns.

Sincerely,

Roger Valley, MP

* to be posted subsequently

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