On Tuesday, August 21, the federal government released Canada’s first-ever national Poverty Reduction Strategy. Canada’s Poverty Reduction Strategy (CPRS), entitled Opportunity for All, sets targets and timelines for reducing poverty, puts in place a new National Advisory Council on Poverty, and establishes an official national poverty line. The CPRS also commits to public reporting on …
Federal Budgets
Federal Budget 2018: Income Security Highlights
The federal Liberal government introduced its third budget last Tuesday, February 27. The Budget and all associated documents are available at this link: https://www.budget.gc.ca/2018/docs/nrc/2018-02-27-en.html Here are a few highlights on income security and related issues. This list is not exhaustive – some helpful resources are included at the end of this email that can provide …
Federal Fall Economic Statement: Good news but much more work to be done
The federal government released its Fall Economic Statement yesterday, which included new investments in the Canada Child Benefit (CCB) and the Working Income Tax Benefit (WITB). Since 2016, advocates have been pushing the federal government to speed up their plans to index the CCB to inflation, which was originally scheduled for July 2020. The announcement …
The 2017 Federal Budget and Income Security
The federal Budget announced on March 22 does very little to address the poverty and income inequality that Canadians are experiencing right now. The Budget did announce important investments over time in key areas like housing and childcare as well as modest changes to Employment Insurance and federal labour law. There are also targeted investments …
The 2016 Federal Budget and Income Security
The government of Canada has made a number of significant investments in improvements to federal income security programs in Budget 2016. After ten years of erosion of government’s commitment in these areas, Budget 2016 reverses the trend of reduction in access and benefit levels, and makes improvements in programs for children, seniors, and unemployed workers. …
