On the road to reduce poverty

From the July 7th edition of The Toronto Star:

By Carol Goar

The experts and activists have spoken. Now the Senate committee examining urban poverty wants to hear from the people.

This summer, Senator Art Eggleton and his five colleagues (three Liberals, two Conservatives) head out to ask Canadians what they want to see in a national poverty reduction plan, how it should be designed and who should pay for it.

They'll visit eastern Canada in August, Toronto and Montreal in September and the four western provinces in October.

The committee will provide witnesses with a 90-page report that distills the testimony it has heard over the past 18 months and sets out a list of options – 103 in fact – ranging from the complete replacement of the current income support with a guaranteed annual income to a few low-cost adjustments.

Even those who don't plan to attend the hearings will find Poverty, Housing and Homelessness: Issues and Options (available at by clicking here) an excellent primer.

To read the entire article, click here.

Photograph of Senator Art Eggleton courtesy of the Senate of Canada.