A resolution from Prince George City Council was passed at the Federation of Canadian Municipalities in Ottawa last week. The annual meeting was attended by 2,000 representatives from communities across the country.
The Intergovernmental Dialogue on Poverty Reduction calls on the federal government to coordinate with municipalities, provinces and indigenous organizations to make sure its Canadian Poverty Reduction strategy will make an impact.
“We would like the federal government to take a look at [the resolution] and say yes, we understand what you’re trying to do – where are the parallels that we can find?” says Mayor Lyn Hall. “And that’s no different than with the provincial government as well. When we talked about a poverty Reduction Program we’re including all levels of government.”
As the resolution notes, Canada is ranked 20th out of 31 industrialized countries when it comes to the number of people in the country who live below the poverty line. Food bank use has across the country increased by 27.8% since 2008.
The federal government will be wrapping up consultations on its Canadian Poverty Reduction Strategy this month.
Hall says the resolution is about ensuring efficiency.
“We just want…alignment so that we’re not all doing something different and the federal government and the provincial government are doing something different. We think for it to work properly and for us to achieve the goals under the poverty reduction programs we need to be aligned with federal and provincial governments.”
The resolution will also be discussed at the Union of BC Municipalities meeting in September.
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