Roads Out of Poverty Chemins pour sortir de la pauvreté 1

Dr. Cathy Rogers Common Front for Social Justice Former bureaucrat Sociologist Welcome 2

Facts I believe to be true 1. We need pathways that reduce poverty, but more than that, we need Roads that Eliminate & Prevent Poverty 2. In the end, roads that are wide & solid enough to include everyone, will reduce costs to New Brunswickers 3

Giving the “Facts of Poverty” Meaning Correlated with other issues  individual & systemic Personal, social, & economic Interacts & intersects with, & aggravates other issues Barrier to growth Infers particular responses 4

What are these appropriate responses? Engagement & collaboration of all stakeholders Commitment to long-term vision Setting aside of competing interests Intentionally including of all voices & perspectives 5

Roads Out of Poverty Chemins pour sortir de la pauvreté Nature & Urgency of Poverty Facts of New Brunswick Poverty 6

Nature & Urgency of Poverty Complex – Personal in experience, but not only personally- rooted Structurally & systemically rooted & experienced – The facts have meaning Facts/statements never just or merely that – Feedback loop  poverty & other problems become cause & consequence of one another Urgent!!! – Due to nature, complexity, & responses – Ideas informed by research AND experiences, prejudices interests, contexts – Poverty greatest social ill 7

Meaning in some of NB’s “Facts of Poverty” Minimum wages low & not indexed to real CoL #s of unemployed rose by 11,000 from Nearly 40,000 depending on IA In March 2012 alone, 20,000 relied on food banks 23% children 0-12 access to child care Still, pay gap remains between women/men 8

Meaning in some of NB’s “Facts of Poverty” About 20% have no drug plan Growing # of seniors’ pensions at risk; 1 in 7 persons is over 65 & in own homes; there is no public program for this The right to appeal disability is restricted There is disproportionate income tax paid by corporations & individuals 9

So, what are the Roads Out of Poverty? Que sont les Chemins pour sortir de la pauvreté Conceptually ? Practically ? 10

Conceptually … Challenge assumptions about poverty Consider the meaning behind “the facts” of poverty in New Brunswick – What does it say about who we are or on what road we are walking? Let the meaning must move us to building the road with a strong foundation (front end) & wide birth (inclusive) See the problem as urgent 11

Practically … Increase minimum wages by 25 cents/hr/ year … 4 years to reach $11/hr in 2017 (=$520/yr +) Cancel EI changes Report publicly food bank & soup kitchen data (& bring back other data sources cut) Develop public child care system Legislate full pay equity Adopt shared drug plan (40% paid by uninsured, 30% by employers not providing insurance, 30% by gov’t) 12

Practically … Roll back to 65 OAS benefits; gradually implement 2-fold increase in CPP/QPP benefits; increase OAS/GIS benefits; implement strict legislation regarding pension funds; & develop quality long- term care policies for seniors to stay in homes longer Develop open, informed, impartial, independent, tripartite review process for workplace injury/disability claim & create fund for support & protection organization Revert tax rates to 2008 & add a 5 th rate of taxation of 21% for earners over $150,000 13

And … Strongly support families & children, particularly those at-risk, and lone individuals also at risk Take seriously how poverty intersects and interacts with education, and how barriers to education aggravate other problems Develop partnerships, encourage social networks, & foster collaboration 14

Roads Out of Poverty CONCLUSIONS Chemins pour sortir de la pauvreté 15 Everyone suffers in an unequal society Poverty costs We need New Brunswick solutions, incorporating our contexts, values, and priorities

Facts I believe to be true 1. We need pathways that reduce poverty, but more than that, we need Roads that Eliminate & Prevent Poverty 2. In the end, roads that are wide & solid enough to include everyone, will reduce costs to New Brunswickers 16