In advance of the Leaders Debates on June 14/15, Campaign 2000 has prepared an assessment each party's commitments to tackle child and family poverty - see 2-pager attached. Each party is evaluated according to the benchmarks outlined in Campaign 2000's Social Investment Plan for Families and Children*:
1. INCOME SECURITY: CANADA CHILD TAX BENEFIT (CCTB)
BENCHMARK: raise the Canada Child Tax Benefit to $4,900 per child per year by 2007 and end the clawback by provincial government of federal benefits from families on social assistance
2. EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION AND CARE
BENCHMARK: invest sufficient federal funds to develop a publicly funded, pan-Canadian child care system that is fully inclusive and meets the needs of every child. This will require that the federal government annually increase its allocation to $6 billion by 2008.
3. AFFORDABLE HOUSING
BENCHMARK: develop a federal housing strategy that will commit the government of Canada to aid the development of 25,000 social housing units annually. This will require at least $2 billion in each of the next four years.
4. RENEWING CANADA'S SOCIAL SAFETY NET
BENCHMARK: raise federal transfers for social services and introduce principles to ensure social assistance provides adequate income support to all families without other means of support.
5. MORE GOOD JOBS AT LIVING WAGES
BENCHMARK: Raise federal minimum wages, establish a federal-provincial Living Wage Commission to make recommendations on how to improve the availability of good jobs with living wages.
6. MATERNITY/PARENTAL LEAVE AND UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE
BENCHMARK: Restore eligibility for Employment Insurance
The assessment is available on our website at www.campaign2000.ca .
*The full Social Investment Plan for Families and Children is laid out in Campaign 2000's policy document "Pathways to Progress: Structural Solutions to Address Child Poverty" available at http://www.campaign2000.ca/res/dis.html
Contact: Liyu Guo, Pedro Barata, Campaign 2000 - - tel: (416) 595-9230
Related site: Assessment each party's commitments to tackle child and family poverty- 2pp, pdf.
