PROVINCE INVESTS $950 MILLION THIS YEAR IN ALL ABOARD POVERTY REDUCTION STRATEGY
– – –More Than 560 Organizations, Individuals Helping Guide Priorities: Irvin-Ross, Mackintosh
The province is committing $950 million this year to fighting
poverty and promoting opportunities for low-income Manitobans including
more than 30 new initiatives and program enhancements, Housing and
Community Development Minister Kerri Irvin-Ross and Family Services and
Consumer Affairs Minister Gord Mackintosh announced today.
“We have heard loud and clear from more than 560 organizations and
individuals how cuts to front-line services disproportionately affect
vulnerable Manitobans,” said Irvin-Ross. “We are therefore renewing our
commitment to poverty reduction, while carefully choosing the
initiatives that will be most effective in this economic downturn.”
The province set its priorities for program enhancements and new
initiatives under ALL Aboard based on research and discussion with
stakeholders and individuals living in poverty, the minister said. At
the top of the list are housing, getting Manitobans off welfare, more
child care and building awareness of existing supports.
The new initiatives build on work done last year including:
· launch of
the province’s HOMEWorks! low-income housing strategy, which includes a
homeless and mental-health housing component;
· enhancing
the Rewarding Work strategy, including Rebound to help those affected by
the recession, to get more Manitobans off welfare;
· a higher
minimum wage;
· launching
the Opening Doors Disability strategy;
· adding help
for rent payments;
· expanding
child care under the Family Choices five-year strategy; and
· launching
Service Link to make existing low-income services more understandable
and accessible.
Also, the province will introduce a suite of measures in 2011 to
gauge progress under the four pillars of the ALL Aboard poverty
reduction strategy. The suite of measures will be based on advice
received from stakeholders and will form the basis of the annual report
to the public to demonstrate progress on poverty reduction and social
inclusion, Irvin-Ross said.
“Although we have boosted financial supports for
low-income families by $76 million per year, which for a family of four
on income assistance means an increase of 38 per cent since 1999, we
are emphasizing investments that get people off welfare and into good
paying jobs,” Mackintosh said. “Since its launch two years ago,
Rewarding Work has assisted more than 4,000 people to access training
and 1,200 people have left income assistance.
“Additionally, almost 500 people have been completely diverted
from welfare to our new training and support initiative called
Rebound. We will continue to strengthen these efforts.”
According to the market basket measure*, one of the suite of
indicators proposed to measure progress, Manitoba had the third-lowest
incidence of poverty compared with other provinces. The incidence of
child poverty has been cut in half since 2000, lifting 28,000 children
out of poverty.
“The ALL Aboard strategy recognizes that poverty costs us all. All
Manitobans benefit from reducing poverty and promoting prosperity,”
Irvin-Ross said.
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*Market Basket Measure, Human Resources Canada, 2007.
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