Calgary & Edmonton, Alberta
In February, the project team travelled to Alberta for several days of conversations and meetings as part of the Localizing Canada’s Commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals project. Starting off in Edmonton, the team met with longtime Campaign 2000 members Public Interest Alberta and the Edmonton Social Planning Council. Connecting for the first time in-person, the meetings rejuvenated our connections to Alberta partners as they gear up to launch their annual report card on child and family poverty.
In Calgary, the team met with local and provincial government representatives to discuss poverty-related issues including a universal basic income, increasing affordable housing stock and how frigid temperatures impact the city’s unhoused population. These themes emerged again as the team hosted a community roundtable and conversation in partnership with PovertyTalks! and Vibrant Communities Calgary.
The events were hosted at the Genesis Centre, a local hub funded and built in a community-driven effort led by the four surrounding neighborhoods in Calgary’s north-end which have some of the highest rates of poverty in the city.
Iqaluit, Nunavut
In early March, the project team travelled to Iqaluit, Nunavut, and partnered with Amautiit, the Nunavut Inuit Women’s Association, for a week of conversations and meetings about ending poverty. One conversation brought the Amautiit board members from across the territory together to talk about what ending poverty would mean for women in Nunavut. The board members shared about the legacy of colonialism in Nunavut, the inadequacies of the Nutrition North program, and the need for Inuit-led solutions to end poverty in their communities.
The team, in partnership with Amautiit, also held two community drop-ins and met with many organizations throughout the week, including the Qajuqturvik Community Food Centre, the Elders’ Society, the Islamic Food Bank, Pauktuutit Inuit Women of Canada, and Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated (NTI), which ensures that promises under the Nunavut Agreement are carried out. The theme of food sovereignty and supporting access to traditional food was prominent throughout the week, as the Food Centre’s pipes had frozen and they were unable to serve the 500 people who usually rely on accessing a meal there. The team was grateful to learn from all the people they met with and experience a week in Iqaluit.
