Poverty is a complex phenomenon with no single or easy solution.  Nonetheless, as Nelson Mandela says: “Poverty is man-made and it can be overcome and eradicated by the actions of human beings.” 

Those actions are potentially numerous.  They range from initiatives focused on discrete problems (e.g., food insecurity) or opportunities (e.g., early childhood education); to those targeted to specific demographic groups susceptible to poverty (e.g., credentials certification for recent immigrants); to those scaled from local to pan-Canadian levels (e.g., affordable housing investments).

However, as Amnesty International has written in support of its new, worldwide Demand Dignity campaign to tackle global poverty:

“Whatever plan is pursued, whatever projects are prioritized, whatever aid package is agreed, no solution to poverty without human rights at its core will have any long-term impact.  Protecting the rights of those living in poverty is not just an option – it is an essential piece of any solution….Economic growth is an important component of a strategy to tackle poverty, but it cannot be the only piece.  Governments must create the conditions that allow people living in poverty to claim their human rights, to empower themselves, so that they can be masters, and not victims, of their destiny.”
 
Canada Without Poverty agrees with Amnesty International: critical for poverty’s eventual elimination in Canada is for poverty to be widely recognized as a human rights violation.  As Louise Arbour, former Supreme Court of Canada justice and former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said on the occasion of International Human Rights Day 2006: “By tackling poverty as a matter of human rights obligation, the world will have a better chance of abolishing this scourge in our lifetime.  Poverty eradication is an achievable goal.”

Also critical for poverty’s eventual elimination is effective leadership by each of Canada’s federal, provincial and territorial governments, as well as the local governments of Canada’s most populous municipalities.  This means, for example at the senior government level, (1) explicitly recognizing poverty as a human rights issue; (2) passing legislation to ensure enduring governmental commitment and accountability for results; (3) developing and implementing comprehensive plans to combat poverty; and (4) ensuring sufficient public investment in social security.  Currently, not one of Canada’s federal, provincial or territorial governments passes all of these tests.

In tandem with visionary, proactive public sector leadership is a requirement for corporate social responsibility by businesses and employers of all types in Canada.  Paying living wages or better, providing fair and equitable benefits, and ensuring other decent working conditions for all employees, whether unionized or not, is a major part of the solution.

As well, there is need for broad and deep community engagement to combat poverty.  This may be among geographic communities and among communities of interest (e.g., persons with disabilities across Canada).  Building perspectives, understandings and commitments to act on poverty, across sectors of interest (such as modeled through the Vibrant Communities initiative), is a particularly valuable role that can be played at the neighbourhood or town- or city-wide level.

“Money,” quips Woody Allen, “is better than poverty, if only for financial reasons.”  Accordingly, one of the breakthroughs required to make poverty elimination real is for income security for all to be guaranteed.  Indeed, the universal right to food, housing and social security cannot be realized without ensuring sufficient income necessary to meet such needs.  Provision of a basic income for every person, whether in the paid workforce or not, is a key means for guaranteeing income security for all.