ACORN Canada: Federal Peoples Platform
ACORN Canada: Federal Peoples Platform
ACORN Canada: Federal Peoples Platform
Prosperity
ACORN’s Federal People’s
Platform
September 2008
ACORN Canada
The Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, Canada
www.acorncanada.org
From Poverty to Prosperity:
ACORN’s Federal People’s Platform
Executive Summary
ACORN Canada has been building community organizations and developing leadership among low and
moderate income residents in communities across Canada for over 4 years. During this time ACORN’s
chapters have worked independently and collectively on a number of innovative campaigns on a number of
critical issues.
In the pages below ACORN has laid out a platform that has been developed through 4 years of grassroots
community organizing. The issues identified we’re set as priorities by ACORN’s low and moderate income
membership, and represent what they believe it will take to move From Poverty to Prosperity.
Table of Contents
The CMHC estimates that as many as 1.5 million Canadians are currently experiencing core housing need,
meaning that they are under-housed or face an unsustainable financial burden to maintain their current
housing situation. This national housing crisis is exacerbated by 2 factors; the fact Canada remains the only
industrialized nation without a national housing strategy (Shapcott, 2008) and that only 5%of Canada’s
housing stock is dedicated to social housing, as compared to a European average of 13%1.
The federal government signed an Affordable Housing Framework Agreement with the provinces and
territories in 2001, in which it committed to spend $1 billion on housing and match any additional provincial
and territorial allocations, only 23% of these funds have been delivered to date2.
In 1996 the Federal Liberal Government got rid of the federal minimum wage. Canadians should have a
national minimum wage that guarantees they don’t have to live in poverty. Canadian economists say “There is
a common, but incorrect, assumption that higher minimum wages destroy low-wage jobs and increase
unemployment among those they are most intended to help.”3
Further, firms that contract with the Federal Government or receive federal assistance (be it economic
development grants, venture capital financing, or any other type federal government assistance) should be
required to pay a living wage.
1
Czischke, Darinka. (2006). “Social Housing in the European Union: Overview of Key Approaches, Trends and Issues.” In Darinka
Czischke (Ed.), Current Developments in Housing Policies and Housing Markets in Europe: Implications for the Social Housing
Sector. Brussels: CECODHAS European Social Housing Observatory. 7-16.
2
Shapcott, Michael. (February 2008). Wellesley Institute National Housing Report Card. Toronto:
Wellesley Institute.
3
http://www.makeworkpay.ca/index.php?section_id=8
From Poverty to Prosperity:
ACORN’s Federal People’s Platform
Canada's patchwork of public programs is currently unable to accommodate four out of five children seeking
childcare, that’s a shortage of 1.4-million spaces. This shortage drives many families to options that may short-
change their kids, or that put profit before childhood development. The federal government needs to restore
the federal-provincial child care funding agreement and work with the provincial governments to create the
desperately needed affordable, accessible, publicly funded, quality nonprofit child care.
Compel banks to fund the return of financial services to communities they have abandoned – either by
re-opening facilities or creating a fund to encourage alternative financial providers such as credit
unions.
Improve transparency by requiring banks to provide statistics and report on the number and nature of
loans (including mortgages), rates of loan approvals, default rates, borrowers’ income levels, and other
information about their lending practices.
Legislate Community Reinvestment targets to ensure Canada’s banking sector invests in the Canadian
communities where they’ve made their money.
Work with Canada’s credit unions to develop a “small loan” program that provides an alternative to
payday loans.
Up to 500 000 people live and work in Canada without legal status, access to education, health care, or the
ability to vote4. ACORN is calling for a government that will:
Strong neighbourhoods require strong foundations. Drugs like crack cocaine are a serious social and economic
problem that undermine our neighbourhoods foundations. The Canadian Centre for Substance Abuse
estimates the total cost of substance abuse in Canada to be $39.8 billion, which represents a cost of $1,267 to
each individual Canadian.5 While social issues like drug addiction are undermining the social fabric of our
communities, a failure to invest in basic infrastructure leaves our neighborhoods with broken streetlights,
dangerous parks and unsafe streets. The Federation of Canadian Municipalities that shows Canada’s municipal
infrastructure deficit is now $123 billion.6 The social and infrastructure deficit left be years of Federal
underfunding are straining our communities’ resilience, and are challenges that must be met by the next
government
4
“Rallies protest deportation of illegal workers” CTV News, May 27, 2006
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20060527/immigration_rallies_060527/20060527?hub=CTVNewsAt11
5
“The Costs of Substance Abuse in Canada 2002: Highlights”, Canadian Centre on Subatance Abuse
http://www.ccsa.ca/CCSA/EN/Research/Costs_of_Substance_Abuse_in_Canada/TheCostsofSubstanceAbuseinCanada.htm
6
‘FCM report says infrastructure "near collapse"’ Press Release, November 20, 2007
http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/November2007/20/c2278.html
ACORN is calling for a government that will:
Expand the Canada Health Act to ensure that rehabilitation and detox centres are open and bed spaces
are available for people who need them.
Eliminate the municipal infrastructure deficit in the next decade.