Past News > Campaign 2000 Interrnational Day for the Eradication of Poverty

Campaign 2000 calls for an End to Child Poverty in Canada

Post date: October 26, 2005

Volunteers participating in October 17 events at St. James Anglican Cathedral in Toronto

Make Poverty History display: Deliver more and better aid. Make trade fair. Cancel the debt. End child poverty in Canada

St. James Anglican Cathedral wrapped in Make Poverty History banner

Photos by John Bonnar

Make Poverty History Day of Action : Canadians coast to coast act to end child poverty at home

On October 17, Campaign 2000, together with the Make Poverty History campaign and other organizations, marked the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty by calling for an End to Child Poverty in Canada. Events were held in 50 cities across the country.

Some of the activities included :

In Toronto - over 150 people participated in a poverty breakfast followed by the wrapping of St. James Anglican Cathedral and schools in Scarborough and Etobicoke with white "Make Poverty History" banners
In Ottawa - over 150 people participated in a rally on Parliament Hill
In Kingston - approximately 400 participants formed a solid white band around City Hall.
In St. John, NB - community groups chalked up the floor of the City Market to paint a graphic picture of poverty.
In Charlottetown - a 'Walking Tour of Poverty of Charlottetown' featured a float with a clothesline for a 'dirty laundry airing'. The walking tour highlighted the various anti-poverty issues at play in the community.
In Victoria approximately 100 people participated in a film screening of "HidE & go HoMeLesS", followed by a public dialogue on Making Poverty History in Victoria.
Fifteen municipalities issued Make Poverty History proclamations for October 17, including the cities of Langford, Nanaimo, Parksville, Port Alberni, Port Coquitlam, Port Moody, Prince George, Richmond, Vancouver, Victoria and White Rock in BC, as well as Calgary, Kingston, Saskatoon and St. John.

The same day, Canadians across the country wore white bands in support of the campaign and sent emails to Finance Minister Ralph Goodale, Social Development Minister Ken Dryden, and their own MPs, urging them to take action to end child poverty in Canada.

On Oct 16 and 17 in Ottawa, Campaign 2000 also held a National Forum on Child & Family Poverty. Funded by Social Development Canada, the Forum was part of the project entitled "Social Inclusion: Charting Pathways to Progress on Child and Family Poverty" and was attended by 70 participants representing Campaign 2000's partners in all provinces and territories.

Guest speakers included Duncan MacLennan who reported on the British Government's successful plan to reduce child poverty in the UK, and Alain Noell who spoke about Quebec’s law to abolish poverty in that province. The forum agenda included updates on provincial initiatives across the country affecting child poverty and a discussion of strategic priorities and actions for Campaign 2000 to focus on over the next 1-2 years.

United Nations International Day for the Eradication of Poverty

"The level of child poverty in Canada is unacceptable. Low income children are at higher risk of living in sub-standard housing, having poor health, not enough food, unsatisfactory grades in school and inadequate access to friends and recreation"
Laurel Rhothman, National Coordinator of Campaign 2000 and Make Poverty History Steering Committee Member

"These statistics point to a betrayal of Canada's children. What makes the persistence of child poverty all the more disturbing is that Canada is a rich country"
Dennis Howlett, Executive Director of the National Anti-Poverty.

October 17 is the United Nations International Day for the Eradication of Poverty. The United Nations encourages non-governmental organizations to devote this day to events supporting the eradication of poverty around the world and in their own countries.

In Canada, more than one million children, or one in six, are poor, every month 770,000 people use food banks, and 40% of those relying on food banks are children.

More than 15 years ago the House of Commons unanimously resolved to eliminate poverty among Canadian children by the year 2000. Instead, five years after the deadline, over one million children still live in poverty.

The Make Poverty History campaign is calling for more and better aid, trade justice, 100% cancellation of the debt owed by the poorest countries and an end to child poverty in Canada.

To date, over 250,000 Canadians have signed on to the Make Poverty History campaign. To add your support go to www.makehistorypoverty.ca .

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