Poverty Free Saskatchewan (PFS) is a network working toward poverty elimination. Our goal to reduce and eventually eliminate poverty in Saskatchewan will require involvement and commitment from all levels of government, business, community organizations and individuals.
Many other provinces and regions have already implemented their own poverty reduction plans. We hope you will consider asking candidates some of these questions to highlight the importance of this issue in this election campaign.
QUESTIONS:
1. IF ELECTED, WILL YOU SUPPORT ENACTMENT OF A LAW THAT COMMITS THE PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT TO CREATING A COMPREHENSIVE POVERTY ELIMINATION PROGRAM?
2. ARE YOU PREPARED TO PRESS THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TO JOIN THE FIGHT AGAINST POVERTY BY ENHANCING PROGRAMS WITHIN FEDERAL JURISDICTION (E.G. THE CANADIAN CHILD TAX BENEFIT, EMPLOYMENT INSURANCE)?
3. HOW DO YOU AND YOUR PARTY PLAN TO ADDRESS HOUSING ACCESS AND AFFORDABILITY AS ESSENTIAL TO POVERTY ELIMINATION?
4. HOW DO YOU AND YOUR PARTY PLAN TO ADDRESS INCOME SECURITY FOR EQUITY-SEEKING GROUPS AS ESSENTIAL TO POVERTY ELIMINATION?
5. HOW DO YOU AND YOUR PARTY PLAN TO ADDRESS EDUCATION, TRAINING AND EARLY CHILDHOOD LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT AS ESSENTIAL TO POVERTY ELIMINATION?
6. HOW DO YOU AND YOUR PARTY PLAN TO ADDRESS ENABLING AND
REWARDING WORK AND PARTICIPATION IN OUR COMMUNITIES AS ESSENTIAL TO POVERTY ELIMINATION?
7. HOW DO YOU AND YOUR PARTY PLAN TO ADDRESS IMPROVING ACCESS TO AND QUALITY OF SERVICES FOR LOW INCOME PEOPLE AS ESSENTIAL TO POVERTY ELIMINATION?
8. HOW DO YOU AND YOUR PARTY PLAN TO ADDRESS PROMOTING HEALTH AND PREVENTING ILLNESS AS ESSENTIAL TO POVERTY ELIMINATION?
Background Information
Poverty is a multi-dimensional social problem that often includes issues
concerning income, cost-of-living, health and social cohesion. Poverty affects a diverse group of persons in our communities and requires a comprehensive
strategy by governments, business and community organizations to adequately address. The government-led component of such a plan must be cross-cutting and integrated, providing resources from all levels and departments within government to ensure that the problem of poverty is attacked from every angle.
A poverty elimination plan should lay out overarching goals for the whole of the provincial government, and include the development of implementation plans within key ministries and collaboration at the federal level.
To ensure that governments and other organizations are held to their
commitments and that anti-poverty efforts survive successive governments,
accountability is key. Measurement of performance, monitoring progress and
reporting are fundamental to ensure the success of a poverty elimination
program. Any successful plan to reduce or eliminate poverty must address its
multi-faceted nature.
