The Campaign for a Poverty Free Canada



Dignity for All is a multi-year, multi-partner, non-partisan campaign. This campaign’s vision is to make a poverty-free and more socially secure and cohesive Canada a reality by 2020. The conviction behind this campaign is that Canadians must respect and defend the right of every person to dignity and security.

Everyone has a role to play in building a poverty-free and more socially secure Canada – governments at all levels, businesses of all sizes and types, community and other civil society organizations, and individuals.
The federal government, with its particular policymaking, legislative, taxation and redistributive powers, has an especially critical role. The Dignity for All Campaign is therefore aimed primarily to achieve federal action.
The campaign has three goals:

1. A comprehensive, integrated federal plan for poverty elimination: Linked to and in support of current and future provincial and territorial poverty action plans, a federal plan for poverty elimination will provide a pan-Canadian blueprint for reducing and eventually eliminating poverty. The plan will inspire other efforts to combat poverty and to promote a fair and just society. It will require transparency and accountability by the federal government, with inclusion of robust indicators of low income, material deprivation and social exclusion. And it will be comprehensive in its approach, with measures concerning the following and other thematic areas:
   1. Income Security
   2. Food Security
   3. Housing Security
   4. Child Care and Early Childhood Development
   5. Education and Training
   6. Labour Standards
   7. Job Creation including a Green Jobs Strategy
   8. Unemployment Insurance
   9. Health Supports
   10. Particular supports for vulnerable populations
2. A federal Act to eliminate poverty, promote social inclusion and strengthen social security: Inspired by similar legislation in other jurisdictions, this Act will ensure an ongoing federal role and responsibility for social development, while demonstrating a lasting federal commitment for leadership and for accountability to citizens for results.
3. Sufficient federal revenue to invest in social security: In order to fulfill its role and responsibility to ensure social security, generally, and to combat poverty, specifically, the federal government must have sufficient revenue, or “fiscal capacity.” The Dignity for All Campaign will promote public understanding of the link between the taxes Canadians pay and the supports and services we benefit from as a result. The campaign will also advance policy proposals for sufficient and fair taxation.