It’s tax time: Calgarians living on low incomes may be missing out on benefits from not filing

A challenging economy and the pandemic have disproportionately affected women and their families, but there’s hope for a better future

In advance of International Women’s Day, Calgary’s Women In Need Society and Vibrant Communities Calgary Forge Partnership to Help End Poverty in our city

Using Technology to Expand Momentum’s Reach

VCC's executive director Meaghon Reid discussed the budget in two interviews with Global and CBC

Poverty Snapshot in Calgary - Laying Bare Inequities: Covid-19, Gender, Race and Precarious Employment

Poverty in the 'New Normal' - The Time to Act is Now

The building blocks of early literacy development for every child in Calgary

Talking Together, Reading Stories Aloud and Owning Books

New survey data shows two-thirds of Albertans support a basic income

Celebrating the Rich and Beautiful Indigenous Culture in Calgary

Exploring the Impact of the CERB on Income Support

Has COVID created an opportunity for greater recognition of community, inclusion and transformational change in how we address social problems?

A bird’s eye view of Enough for All advocacy goals and the groups leading them.

Adult Literacy and Foundational Learning 

Enough for All is working to make poverty history in Calgary. It aims to ensure that Calgary is a strong, supportive and inclusive community, where everyone has sufficient income and assets to thrive, where all Indigenous people are equal participants in Calgary's future.

Enough for All is Calgary’s community-driven poverty reduction strategy based on 15,000 hours of consultation with citizens, the business community, government, non-profits, and academia.

Poverty in Blackfoot is kimatapsini, which means “to have empathy and compassion for someone”. In the old days, no one suffered for need of food, shelter, protection or transportation. The leadership, the war chiefs and warriors who were in charge, took care of all the people in their community. Leadership, in the old days, meant not only to protect the people but see to it that they had everything they needed for sustenance. The people were communal. They practiced collectivism and interdependence. They shared everything. Family connections were strong. They had built-in systems that accommodated their beliefs, laws, clan system, societies and spiritualism. That was their way of life — their survival depended on it.

In this episode, Peter and Jill discuss the ramifications, and what we might be able to do in our day-to-day lives to make a difference.

Episode 1 - The Indigenous Perspective on Poverty

Income from employment that is sufficient to cover the cost of living in a given region is not only vital to reducing poverty but is a necessary component to a resilient city and economy. People need more than the bare minimum, this includes enough income to cover bank fees, education and training, internet costs, and the ability to save for an unexpected event. Other principles identified by Living Wage Canada include a wage that enables working families to have sufficient income to cover reasonable costs, promote social inclusion, and support healthy child development.

Working in collaboration with other municipalities, Vibrant Communities Calgary has adopted the new standardized methodology to calculate the living wage rate for Calgary.  The 2020 living wage is $20.69 per hour, a substantial 27% increase from the 2018 rate of $16.45, and a difference of 39% from Alberta’s minimum wage of $15 per hour.  

2020 has been a tough year. While the data is not all in, this year has brought inequities to the surface, in our own city and worldwide. 

Among those harder hit include Calgarians who were experiencing poverty before COVID-19 began. Parents, especially mothers, are struggling to balance work and childcare, and many are leaving employment altogether. Racialized groups and people with lower incomes are less likely to be able to work from home and much more likely to contract COVID-19. Unpaid sick leave was always an issue of poverty, but today it is a matter of public health. 

The intersection of COVID-19, the recession, and increasing food prices has made the vulnerable more vulnerable. We don’t have all the information yet, but need to be prepared to support Calgarians facing unprecedented challenges. As such, we’ll share the most recent data we have on poverty in Calgary and what we know about this radical new context.

Vibrant Communities Calgary and EndPovertyEdmonton believe the Alberta government plays a pivotal role in ensuring public safety, wellbeing, and in creating the right environment for civil society to adequately do its job. While we realize these are extraordinary times, Alberta’s debt and increasing health care costs are long standing challenges. When the causes of health care and opportunities for savings are closely examined, the evidence points overwhelmingly to various issues related to poverty. We understand and respect the difficult choices your government has had to make during an extremely challenging year, and we believe this submission presents a path forward towards modernizing our policies for the Alberta of today, helping create a strong foundation for the future. 

Poverty Talks! gathered with community members for the 2020 International Day for the Eradication of Poverty.

Poverty exists along a continuum from those not at immediate risk of poverty to those living in conditions of deep poverty. This report examines the characteristics of those at risk of living in income poverty with income just above the poverty line, as well as those in shallow and deep poverty.

The Risk and Depth of Poverty in Calgary: A Socio-Demographic Profile

Albertans are facing elevated levels of unemployment, employment volatility, and income instability as we work to recover from the overlapping crises of the COVID-19 pandemic and the crash in oil prices that have shocked Alberta’s economy. This brief highlights opportunities to improve the effectiveness of Alberta’s Income and Employment Support programs. These programs will be essential to the province’s economic recovery as Albertans seek support to meet their essential needs and find new opportunities to become self-sufficient through employment.

Social Policy Collaborative Income Support Policy Brief 2020

At the Business Council of Alberta, we spend a lot of time thinking about shared prosperity—how can we ensure that all those who call Alberta home have the opportunity, security and belonging to live the life that they aspire to? According to recent reports from Vibrant Communities Calgary and End Poverty Edmonton, more than 120,000 Calgarians and 100,870 Edmontonians live in poverty, respectively, and poverty is over-represented in children, women, newcomers, persons with disabilities, Indigenous Peoples, and the working poor.

Meaghon Reid and Erick Ambtman are Executive Directors for Vibrant Communities Calgary and End Poverty Edmonton, respectively, organizations that have a big, audacious goal to end poverty in Alberta. They join BCA president and host of this episode, Adam Legge, to dive into the relationship between poverty and shared prosperity, how COVID-19 has both accelerated the problem but also the opportunity for solutions and how businesses help drive meaningful action in reducing (and eliminating) poverty in Alberta.

Meaghon and Erick share several concrete ways businesses can help reduce poverty in Alberta beyond a cheque, including

Look at or develop social procurement policies to use purchasing power to support local community businesses

Look at vendors and contractors and their practices around paying a living wage and supporting the well-being of employees

Consider your ability to pay a living wage for employees

Assist with innovation for social service agencies and non-profits and look for opportunities to provide knowledge and insight to service agencies

Reach out to service agencies in your community to learn what they need and add supplies or materials to your bulk order

For the complete conversation on these ideas, please go to 43:35.

More Than a Cheque: Reducing Poverty and Building Shared Prosperity in Alberta

Vibrant Communities Calgary is the steward of Enough for All, Calgary's poverty reduction strategy. We held our 2020 virtual AGM on 8 July 2020.

Leger was contracted by EndPovertyEdmonton in collaboration with Vibrant Communities Calgary to conduct an online survey with Albertans to assess awareness, behaviours, attitudes, lifestyles and socio-demographics in regards to ‘Basic Income’.

The results of this research will help EndPovertyEdmonton and Vibrant Communities Calgary with future communications.

Basic Income Perception Survey with Albertans

A detailed list, linking out to many helpful resources for people who may be struggling during COVID-19.

New protections are in place for residential and mobile homes site tenants facing financial hardship due to COVID-19.

Information for Employees, Renters, and Utility Customers in Alberta during COVID-19

We all experience stress and feelings of anxiety in challenging times, but now we may feel overwhelmed by a number of simultaneous stressors - isolation, financial and employment uncertainty, kids home from school and getting cabin fever – all things that are beyond our control during this pandemic.

Drug Free Kids Canada: Supporting yourself and your family during COVID-19

The year 2019 marked the beginning of phase two for Calgary’s Poverty Reduction Strategy. The refreshed strategy Enough for All 2.0: Leveraging Our Communities’ Leadership to Tackle Poverty in Calgary (E4A 2.0) was developed after several months of community consultation and is informed by the evaluative learnings from phase one, the first four years of the strategy (2015-2018). This evaluation report shows progress and identifies gaps in the Goals, Levers of Change, Principles and the role of the Champions and Vibrant Communities Calgary (VCC) in advancing the strategy. 

The short and long-term influences of the provincial deficit, Alberta’s economic downturn and the COVID-19 pandemic are yet to be determined. It is likely that demand for resources will increase at a time when funding for social programs is at risk. We may also see a ‘new level of vulnerability’ and poverty as Calgarians who were managing before the pandemic now deal with reduced income from unemployment and mounting debt related to deferred mortgage and/or utility payments and/or use of credit to obtain emergency supplies. 

Transportation is not just a mobility issue, it's a social, dignity, and living a full-life issue. The Income Support / AISH payment date change has made it hard for people to purchase their low-income transit passes in Calgary. Can the City of Calgary implement a 2-day relaxation on bus passes because of the date change?

Children are at higher risk of abuse because they are home all of the time. There is no escape or refuge. School was an escape for some kids. Food security for a lot of children is also an issue, as some are no longer receiving the food they need.

What Are We Hearing: Early Learning and Care

With nowhere to go, exercise options have been limited. It's been challenging to get into an exercise routine with only having access to one's apartment or backyard. However, for those living close to green space and parks this has presented an opportunity, but there is still a fear of getting fines when in public spaces.

What Are We Hearing: Physical and Mental Health

The technology gap seen during COVID-19 shows how many people depend on the education system to do the teaching. The effect of adult literacy on children is detrimental and creates a cycle of poverty and illiteracy.

What Are We Hearing: Adult Literacy and Foundational Learning

Shifting some laws from criminal and warrant based to fine based is putting a higher burden on people's financials. Systemic racism is embedded in the justice system which makes it unfair to access.

Rent as the highest percentage of monthly expenses comes at the cost of not being able to afford other needs like costs for a doctor to fill out AISH paperwork or basic home repairs or fluctuating energy bills. It's challenging if not impossible to only spend 30% or lower of monthly income on housing when you are living in poverty. We need more housing and fewer barriers to access affordable housing. Not everyone qualifies for help, even if they need it.

Normally working part-time would mean that applying for CERB was a viable option. Even if you do qualify, income support is clawed back. Feelings of depression have increased because of uncertainty created by COVID.

Not filing your taxes? You could be missing out!

Laying Bare Inequities: COVID-19, Gender, Race and Precarious Employment

Reflecting on Basic Income Through the Lens of Poverty Reduction

Combating poverty in the earliest stages of life

Overcoming Stigma: Poverty is Not a Choice

Together, Let’s End Poverty in Calgary

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