What is Canada doing to reduce poverty among the working-age population?
The Canadian National Council of Welfare argues that the only way to reduce poverty in Canada is through a national, long-term anti-poverty strategy that includes measurable targets and timelines, as well as a plan of action to encourage cohesion among governments and departments. The publication of its report Solving Poverty: Four Cornerstones of a Workable National Strategy for Canada, in late 2007, made the issue central to the 2008 Speech from the Throne.6 In April 2008, the House of Commons Standing Committee on Human Resources, Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities unanimously agreed to devote a series of hearings to the development of a national poverty plan. The policy response to working-age poverty in the last several years has included: • The 2009 federal budget provides for increases in the Working Income Tax Benefit by $580 million in 2009 and subsequent years. • The 2009 federal budget increased the basic personal income tax exemption and the two
