By: Jeffrey Simpson - Globe and Mail - July 20, 2011

The poor, it is said, will always be with us. Yes, but how many poor must there be?

In Canada, there are too many poor people. The country that often likes to congratulate itself can’t take comfort from an inescapable fact: We’re becoming a more unequal society.

Legislative committees and think tanks sometimes work on poverty, but, for the general public, income inequalities are consigned to the dead-letter box in this apparently conservative age. Even the NDP, which takes poverty more seriously than the other parties, has taken to talking incessantly about the “middle class,” figuring that’s where the voters are and where the poor would rather be if they could.

The Conference Board of Canada, hardly a bastion of far-left thinking, just reminded Canadians about the growing income inequalities in their society.

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On the agenda for the Council of the Federation Meeting, July 20-22, 2011

Excerpt from Campaign 2000 letter to Premiers.

"Last year, Campaign 2000, the Social Planning Council of Winnipeg, the Canadian Council on Social Development and the Council of Canadians with Disabilities called on all Premiers to honour their responsibilities and include an action plan for poverty eradication on the agenda of the Council of the Federation. We submitted “The Provincial and Territorial Road to Poverty Eradication: Statement of the Winnipeg Roundtable to the Council of the Federation” that was endorsed by a wide range of organizations from coast to coast to coast. The Statement reflects the widespread demands of Canadians that the federal, provincial and territorial governments work together to address poverty in Canada, rather than blaming each other for doing little or nothing."

For for the complete PDF document, click on the link below.

 Final C2000 Letter to Premiers - July2010

Ottawa, June 27, 2011 -

Today, the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance is inviting Canadians to participate in its annual pre-budget consultation process. The Committee will invite witnesses to appear at hearings in Ottawa and in the communities indicated below. The results of our consultations, including our recommendations, will be tabled in the House of Commons in December 2011. The suggestions by Canadians and by the Committee will be considered by the Minister of Finance in the development of the 2012 federal budget.

Experience has shown that, following a financial crisis, economic stagnation may occur. Although Canada did relatively better that most industrialized countries during the recent global financial and economic crisis, the nation’s economic recovery is likely to be affected by a range of global and domestic factors and uncertainties: the fragile recovery in the United States, high levels of debt in some European countries, natural disasters, the withdrawal of fiscal stimulus measures, the impact of a strong Canadian dollar on various sectors and the rising indebtedness of Canadian households, among others.

CBC News - The Canadian Press

Census workers are settling for incomplete long questionnaires in the final push of the summer collection period, raising concerns the data will be even more compromised than originally feared.

The new, voluntary National Household Survey was the controversial replacement for the long-form census, which was eliminated last summer by the Conservative government.

The Tories said it wasn't right to threaten Canadians with jail time or fines for not answering the detailed questions on everything from religion to education levels.

Former industry minister Tony Clement urged Canadians to fill out the forms anyway, but the government is doing less to ensure they are returned and fully filled out.

Under the previous system, census workers would call up a household that had not filled out its mandatory long questionnaire, and then pay a visit – or even several – to make sure it was completed.

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