On May 6, 2009, all parties in the Ontario Legislature voted unanimously to approve an amended Bill 152: The Poverty Reduction Act, 2009.
The Bill was originally introduced by government on February 25, 2009.
Two dozen community activists recommended improvements to the legislation over two days of hearings in April. ISAC staff presented a submission on Bill 152 on behalf of both ISAC and the 25in5 Network for Poverty Reduction. As a result of these submissions, many amendments were made to the Bill that make it a much better piece of legislation.
The legislation is particularly significant because it acknowledges that poverty is not inevitable and that government can and should create policy to reduce poverty.