This year the federal government will issue a statement on International Day for the Eradication of Poverty. Based on previous statements, it will likely be full of fine words. But to eradicate poverty, we need to look past the fine words and focus on the action of the federal government and others who have the power to reduce poverty but are failing to act.

Ottawa (06 Oct. 2021) — This year trade unionists around the world are marking World Day for Decent Work, on October 7, with the theme Just Jobs and calling on governments to develop job plans. What is also being made clear is that, to be effective, these plans need to involved unions, employers and others. And new jobs must be climate-friendly with the goal of a zero-carbon economy.

Ottawa (05 Oct. 2021) — On Monday, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) released information from the Pandora Papers, records from 14 companies that help the wealthy use tax havens. The information is a reminder that there is still a lot to do to curb the use of tax havens.

Where parties stand on tax fairness is the real test of whether they really want to help low- and middle-income Canadians and reduce income inequality. Years of tax cuts that went largely to the wealthy and large corporations have failed to deliver the economic growth we were promised. Instead, those tax cuts led to income inequality and the underfunding of our public services. We will not have a fair recovery unless the federal government is willing to ensure that the wealthy and large corporations are paying their share.