URGENT - re - the Chew on This 2020 campaign !?
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Colour of Poverty
Sep 22, 2020, 5:25:45 PM9/22/20
to Colour of Change Network
Colour of Change Network members - as we weren't able to fully succeed in getting some of our preferred language and policy priorities ( ie. robust implementation of federal and other employment equity ) included into this year's "Chew On This 2020" Campaign organized by Dignity for All - see below our suggested text for the letter you can use for the campaign - for both the Media as well as your MP, etc, etc !
Sincerely,
--
When you add yourself to and support this year's Chew On This Campaign - www.chewonthis.ca - just simply delete the existing template letters and then cut and paste the below draft into those spaces - then you can edit this version as you feel best and appropriate !
Thank you for supporting the campaign and for taking the time to use this more focused letter template - michael
Re: Justice for People in Poverty
Poverty is a violation of people’s rights and dignity. Canada’s laws and systems are legally required to protect people’s right to an adequate standard of living. But hunger, homelessness, and poor health outcomes are just a few symptoms of a much larger problem.
People in Canada are more likely to experience poverty if they are Indigenous ( First Nations, Inuit or Métis ); people of colour; women, transgender, or gender nonconforming; if they are single; if they are 2SLGBTQQIA+, if they have a (dis)ability; if they live in Northern or remote regions; or if they are new to Canada or have precarious immigration status. These same communities also bear the brunt of environmental and public health crises, including climate change and the current COVID-19 pandemic, which has exposed gaping holes and inequities in our system, exacerbating the depth and breadth of poverty, inequality and inequity across Canada.
The rights of people in these groups and others living in poverty are being violated year after year by government policy and funding decisions that perpetuate intersecting forms of systemic exclusion and oppression including, but not limited to, colonialism, racism, white supremacy, sexism, patriarchy, ableism, heteronormativity, homophobia, gender normativity, ageism, and classism. These systemic inequalities prevent specific peoples and communities from accessing the opportunities, services, and resources they need, often leading to multi-generational cycles of poverty. They also exclude people from the decision-making processes that create the very laws and systems that affect them most. Charity and good intentions will not solve this problem.
Government commitments such as the Poverty Reduction Strategy, the National Housing Strategy, and the stated intention of implementing the UN Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples are steps in the right direction, but have not gone the distance. For climate change, COVID-19 relief and recovery efforts, and poverty alike, the proposed commitments are not sufficiently ambitious or integrated across all government policies and systems to ensure equitable and effective impact. As all three crises disproportionately affect the same groups of peoples and communities, we need a transformative way of conceptualizing, implementing, monitoring, and evaluating all policy decisions to build a more fair, equitable and sustainable future.
We call on the Government of Canada to do what is legally and morally required to uphold and protect the rights of people experiencing poverty and other forms of systemic exclusion and oppression across Canada:
1. Fulfil your legal obligations to protect people’s rights to an adequate standard of living and end poverty in Canada by 2030. Honour the dignity of each person and community experiencing poverty and other intersecting forms of systemic exclusion and oppression by putting their rights and well-being first in federal budgets, legislation, and programs.
2. Set specific targets to end poverty and improve measures of equitable well-being across all communities - particularly those experiencing systemic exclusion and oppression. This includes, but is not limited to, Indigenous Peoples ( First Nations, Inuit or Métis ); peoples of colour; women, transgender, or gender nonconforming; people with (dis)abilities; newcomers to Canada; people with precarious immigration status; people who are single; children and youth; people who are 2SLGBTQQIA+; and people living in Northern and remote areas. These targets should meet or exceed the requirements of existing human rights obligations, including the UN Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the Sustainable Development Goals. Targets, methods for data collection and analysis, monitoring and evaluation, as well as other accountability mechanisms should be co-developed with those peoples and communities experiencing poverty and other intersecting forms of systemic exclusion and oppression in Canada, to best ensure meaningful and fully equitable impacts and outcomes.
3. Prioritize funding for strategies that reduce poverty and improve measures of well-being, fairness, equality and equity among communities experiencing systemic exclusion and oppression. Engage in ongoing collaboration and consultation with peoples and communities experiencing poverty and other intersecting forms of systemic exclusion and oppression ( including children and youth in these communities ) to evaluate and monitor the impact of existing laws, programs, and policies on their physical, mental, social, and economic well-being. Mandate the collection of data disaggregated by all the relevant sociodemographic identities to better measure and understand the impact of government policies on poverty. Reallocate funding from systems that contribute to poverty and inequality and invest in those that close the gaps between the rich and the poor. This should include funding for both universally accessible public systems ( e.g. universally accessible, publicly funded health care, including pharmacare, dental care, vision care, mental health, and physiotherapy; robust employment equity obligations - including through the use of Community Benefit Agreements - attached to all government expenditures, investments and transfers; childcare; education; subsidized housing; guaranteed basic income ) and local, community-led strategies, paired with strong federal regulations and tax justice to ensure a more fair and equitable distribution of wealth and power across the country.
Current commitments and initiatives lack sufficient ambition, power, relationships, and resources to bring about real justice, equity and fairness. People’s lives hang in the balance. For over a decade, Dignity for All and our supporters have called for a rights-based, comprehensive plan to end poverty in Canada, sending thousands of postcards and letters from people across the country calling for urgent action. Now in the midst of a pandemic, we see more and more the price of inaction. We urge you to work with people with lived experience of poverty and other intersecting forms of systemic exclusion and oppression to bring about the changes we need to protect people’s rights and dignity, and to build a more equitable, resilient and sustainable society.
I ask for the opportunity to meet with you in the near future to discuss these recommendations and facilitate collaborative relationships moving forward. Please contact Colour of Poverty - Colour of Change at - colouro...@gmail.com - for follow-up opportunities.
Poverty is a violation of people’s rights and dignity. Canada’s laws and systems are legally required to protect people’s right to an adequate standard of living. But hunger, homelessness, and poor health outcomes are just a few symptoms of a much larger problem.
People in Canada are more likely to experience poverty if they are Indigenous ( First Nations, Inuit or Métis ); people of colour; women, transgender, or gender nonconforming; if they are single; if they are 2SLGBTQQIA+, if they have a (dis)ability; if they live in Northern or remote regions; or if they are new to Canada or have precarious immigration status. These same communities also bear the brunt of environmental and public health crises, including climate change and the current COVID-19 pandemic, which has exposed gaping holes and inequities in our system, exacerbating the depth and breadth of poverty, inequality and inequity across Canada.
The rights of people in these groups and others living in poverty are being violated year after year by government policy and funding decisions that perpetuate intersecting forms of systemic exclusion and oppression including, but not limited to, colonialism, racism, white supremacy, sexism, patriarchy, ableism, heteronormativity, homophobia, gender normativity, ageism, and classism. These systemic inequalities prevent specific peoples and communities from accessing the opportunities, services, and resources they need, often leading to multi-generational cycles of poverty. They also exclude people from the decision-making processes that create the very laws and systems that affect them most. Charity and good intentions will not solve this problem.
Government commitments such as the Poverty Reduction Strategy, the National Housing Strategy, and the stated intention of implementing the UN Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples are steps in the right direction, but have not gone the distance. For climate change, COVID-19 relief and recovery efforts, and poverty alike, the proposed commitments are not sufficiently ambitious or integrated across all government policies and systems to ensure equitable and effective impact. As all three crises disproportionately affect the same groups of peoples and communities, we need a transformative way of conceptualizing, implementing, monitoring, and evaluating all policy decisions to build a more fair, equitable and sustainable future.
We call on the Government of Canada to do what is legally and morally required to uphold and protect the rights of people experiencing poverty and other forms of systemic exclusion and oppression across Canada:
1. Fulfil your legal obligations to protect people’s rights to an adequate standard of living and end poverty in Canada by 2030. Honour the dignity of each person and community experiencing poverty and other intersecting forms of systemic exclusion and oppression by putting their rights and well-being first in federal budgets, legislation, and programs.
2. Set specific targets to end poverty and improve measures of equitable well-being across all communities - particularly those experiencing systemic exclusion and oppression. This includes, but is not limited to, Indigenous Peoples ( First Nations, Inuit or Métis ); peoples of colour; women, transgender, or gender nonconforming; people with (dis)abilities; newcomers to Canada; people with precarious immigration status; people who are single; children and youth; people who are 2SLGBTQQIA+; and people living in Northern and remote areas. These targets should meet or exceed the requirements of existing human rights obligations, including the UN Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the Sustainable Development Goals. Targets, methods for data collection and analysis, monitoring and evaluation, as well as other accountability mechanisms should be co-developed with those peoples and communities experiencing poverty and other intersecting forms of systemic exclusion and oppression in Canada, to best ensure meaningful and fully equitable impacts and outcomes.
3. Prioritize funding for strategies that reduce poverty and improve measures of well-being, fairness, equality and equity among communities experiencing systemic exclusion and oppression. Engage in ongoing collaboration and consultation with peoples and communities experiencing poverty and other intersecting forms of systemic exclusion and oppression ( including children and youth in these communities ) to evaluate and monitor the impact of existing laws, programs, and policies on their physical, mental, social, and economic well-being. Mandate the collection of data disaggregated by all the relevant sociodemographic identities to better measure and understand the impact of government policies on poverty. Reallocate funding from systems that contribute to poverty and inequality and invest in those that close the gaps between the rich and the poor. This should include funding for both universally accessible public systems ( e.g. universally accessible, publicly funded health care, including pharmacare, dental care, vision care, mental health, and physiotherapy; robust employment equity obligations - including through the use of Community Benefit Agreements - attached to all government expenditures, investments and transfers; childcare; education; subsidized housing; guaranteed basic income ) and local, community-led strategies, paired with strong federal regulations and tax justice to ensure a more fair and equitable distribution of wealth and power across the country.
Current commitments and initiatives lack sufficient ambition, power, relationships, and resources to bring about real justice, equity and fairness. People’s lives hang in the balance. For over a decade, Dignity for All and our supporters have called for a rights-based, comprehensive plan to end poverty in Canada, sending thousands of postcards and letters from people across the country calling for urgent action. Now in the midst of a pandemic, we see more and more the price of inaction. We urge you to work with people with lived experience of poverty and other intersecting forms of systemic exclusion and oppression to bring about the changes we need to protect people’s rights and dignity, and to build a more equitable, resilient and sustainable society.
I ask for the opportunity to meet with you in the near future to discuss these recommendations and facilitate collaborative relationships moving forward. Please contact Colour of Poverty - Colour of Change at - colouro...@gmail.com - for follow-up opportunities.
Sincerely,
--
michael kerr
Coordinator
Colour of Poverty - Colour of Change
# 505 - 123 Edward St.
Toronto, Ontario M5G 1E2 Canada
Phone - 416-966-3882
Fax - 416-971-6780
E-mail - kerr.m...@gmail.com
Web-site - www.colourofpoverty.ca
Colour of Change Network - https://groups.google.ca/group/ColourofChangeNetwork
YouTube Channel - www.youtube.com/colourofpoverty
Facebook Group - https://www.facebook.com/groups/colourofpoverty.colourofchange
Twitter - @colourofpoverty #racesEDJ
Coordinator
Colour of Poverty - Colour of Change
# 505 - 123 Edward St.
Toronto, Ontario M5G 1E2 Canada
Phone - 416-966-3882
Fax - 416-971-6780
E-mail - kerr.m...@gmail.com
Web-site - www.colourofpoverty.ca
Colour of Change Network - https://groups.google.ca/group/ColourofChangeNetwork
YouTube Channel - www.youtube.com/colourofpoverty
Facebook Group - https://www.facebook.com/groups/colourofpoverty.colourofchange
Twitter - @colourofpoverty #racesEDJ
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