Good morning, Mr. Chairman, members of Parliament, and guests. Thank you for the opportunity to present here today.
Adaoma and I will focus our presentation on three recommendations and ideas on the leadership role that the federal government can play to support social and skill development for our vulnerable.
The Peel poverty reduction strategy is a three-year community plan that was created in 2012 to address the growing issue of poverty in our community of Peel, which consists of Mississauga, Brampton, and Caledon. This multi-sectoral table is co-chaired by the United Way of Peel and the Region of Peel. The Peel Poverty Reduction Strategy Committee is a member of vibrant communities, cities reducing poverty, which is a national initiative of 50 communities across Canada.
Why is addressing poverty in Peel important?
With a rapidly growing population, currently at 1,386,000, Peel is one of the fastest-growing regions in Canada. In 2011, there were 17.1% of Peel residents living in poverty. As such, with this level of poverty, our focus in Peel is on the following identified issues that were determined with the community: safe and affordable housing, affordable and accessible transportation, income security, economic opportunities, and food security.
We strongly believe that the government has a role to play. As the economy continues to change and more jobs transform from full time to part time and precarious, federal, provincial, and municipal governments have a role to play in supporting people, beyond traditional social transfer payments and services. Governments have the infrastructure in place to provide training and employment opportunities to Canadians, especially those facing disabilities or multiple barriers and experiencing poverty.
Poverty is fundamentally about limited access to income, supports, and resources. It is also about the inability of individuals and families to live independently, to focus on wellness, and to be involved in community life. Programs and services that are integrated and put people, rather than systems, first are crucial in helping people to get what they need, when they need it.
The following are two recommendations on the federal role.
The first one is to remove systemic barriers. Canadians experiencing poverty often cite how systems prevent them from moving forward. Silo approaches to service delivery at the federal, provincial, and municipal levels of government make things harder for people to get the supports they need when they need them.
Therefore, our recommendation is to encourage the federal government to mandate all departments that deliver services to work with provincial and municipal ministries and departments to share data, streamline processes, and use a “one-door approach” to delivering services.
As such, we have two examples. First, the Canada Revenue Agency could work more closely with municipal social services departments to ensure clients are receiving the full tax benefits and credits to which they are entitled. Second, employment insurance staff could work with social services staff to ensure clients who are exiting EI and moving to social services programs are better supported during the transition period from one program to another.
Our second recommendation is to address racism and discrimination. There are higher rates of poverty among indigenous and racialized Canadians, which is partly a result of racism and systemic discrimination, which often manifests itself in subtle, hidden ways. The federal government needs to acknowledge the role racism and discrimination plays in preventing indigenous and racialized people from moving out of poverty.
We encourage the government to ensure that the pending federal poverty reduction strategy consultations include questions about racism and discrimination, and identify specific recommendations and mechanisms to address these issues. We encourage the federal government to undertake the collection and analysis of ethno-racially and otherwise appropriately disaggregated data across all federal departments, ministries, and public institutions.