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Introduction

PROJECT

From 2021-2024, Campaign 2000, Citizens for Public Justice and Canada Without Poverty co-led a national community-based research project that engaged communities experiencing poverty to recommend indicators measuring progress towards eradicating poverty and achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

This project, Localizing Canada’s Commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals,builds on Campaign 2000’s ongoing monitoring of government progress towards ending child and family poverty, aiming to address the limitations of the Canadian Indicator Framework for tracking progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), specifically SDG 1: No Poverty.

Through the project, the research team held 17 community conversations with 227 people affected by poverty and intersecting forms of marginalization in every province and territory. The project website hosts summaries of each community conversation.

This local framework is based on the knowledge and experiences shared by participants in the Charlottetown community conversation, co-hosted by BIPOC USHR on May 2, 2023.

FINDINGS

Measurement of progress towards poverty eradication in Canada should reflect the lived realities of people experiencing poverty. The indicators used in the Canadian Indicator Framework for measuring progress towards SDG 1: No Poverty are the Market Basket Measure (MBM) and the prevalence of asset resilience.[i] Campaign 2000 report cards and early research from this project highlighted the limitations of these two indicators to track progress towards SDG 1.[ii] [iii]

The project set out to address these gaps with an emphasis on localizing measures of poverty reduction and centring the knowledge and experience of lived experts. Local visions of communities free from poverty emerged. The frameworks drawn from this research reflect participants’ subjective, multidimensional experience of poverty, which is wide-ranging, affects every aspect of life, and differs place to place and community to community. The frameworks also reflect poverty as a violation of human rights resulting in short- and long- term physical, mental, spiritual, and social harm.

These findings highlight the importance of community-based, culturally relevant, localized measures and indicators for ending poverty and the need to urgently recognize and address the systemic intersecting power structures that create and deepen inequities and experiences of poverty.

In addition to the 17 local frameworks, the findings are illustrated in a National Community-Based Indicator Framework, intended to supplement the Canadian Indicator Framework. It outlines dimensions, measures, indicators, and data sources for poverty eradication (including recommendations and gaps, where no indicators exist) that reflect the knowledge and experiences of lived experts and community organizations across the country.

While the findings depict a broad range of expertise from across the country, they remain a snapshot of 227 people, in 17 places, at one moment in time, and further engagement and community-based research is required to continue to centre lived experts in the work of poverty eradication and achieving the 2030 Agenda.

UNDERSTANDING THE FRAMEWORK

The entire framework falls under Sustainable Development Goal 1: End Poverty in All its Forms Everywhere.

The framework is organized by 12 interdependent dimensions of communities with no poverty. These dimensions are interconnected and non-hierarchical – all connect and contribute to the multifaceted way that people experience poverty in Canada. Many of the indicators could fall under multiple dimensions, but for the sake of length, they are each only shown under one.

Dimensions:

In each dimension, measures refer to qualities of communities with no poverty.

Indicators are statistical definitions of the measures.

As living documents, the local frameworks offer Example Indicators and Data Sources. The local frameworks are intended to complement the National Framework, highlight local priorities, and demonstrate opportunities for continued work in localizing measurement towards ending poverty in Canada. They are accompanied by living action recommendation documents.

fst campaign icons harmony and connection

fst campaign icons harmony and connectionSocial inclusion and community connection

Community members feel valued and connected, have opportunities to participate in society and culture, care for and support each other, and live in harmony.

MeasureIndicatorData Source
Having someone to turn to for supportExample: Percentage of people who often or always feel they have people they can depend on to help them when they really need it.Statistics Canada Social Survey and Community Health Survey
Being able to borrow from and share with community members  
Feeling loved and cared for  
Community members support each others’ wellbeing  
Communities have gatherings  
People share meals and eat together  
Having designated spaces and gatherings for people who share identities and experiences  
Having friends in your community  
Having family in your community  
Having opportunities for growth and accomplishment  
Youth can participate in activities and have access to opportunities  
fst campaign icons social justice

Equality, justice, and freedom

Everyone’s human rights are upheld. Communities are free from systemic inequality and injustice, discrimination, oppression, violence, and trauma, and the harms of colonization.

MeasureIndicatorData Source
Everyone has dignity  
Freedom from intergenerational trauma and abuse  
Freedom from colonial structures and harm  
Freedom from disparities created by capitalism  
People and corporations with high incomes are taxed fairly  
Nobody profits from the exploitation and disenfranchisement of others  
Freedom from exploitative labour  
Freedom from racism  
Freedom from anti-Black racism  
Pay equity for Black women  
Freedom from racist and tokenistic hiring practices  
Immigrants are accepted and welcomed in communities  
Immigrants are supported with infrastructure  
Immigrants have equal access to opportunities and programs  
Equitable and barrier-free access to health care for racialized immigrants  
Freedom from housing discrimination and exploitation for immigrants  
Freedom from discriminatory predatory lending  
Freedom from discrimination based on length of time you have lived on PEI  
Freedom from inequities based on historic familial power dynamics on PEI  
Freedom from gender discrimination  
Drug use does not result in incarceration  
fst campaign icons hope for the future

Joy, happiness and hope for the future

Everyone is able to be happy, feel ease, and have the time and freedom to enjoy life. People have hope, can imagine the future, and don’t feel trapped in cycles of poverty and isolation.

MeasureIndicatorData Source
Having hope  
Having space for many kinds of love  
Feeling like things are working in your community  
Seeing people smiling in your community  
Communities embody decolonial love  
fst campaign icons economic stability

Income and material security

Incomes reflect the cost of living. People have the ability to pay all their bills, meet all their basic needs, have some flexibility to not live paycheque to paycheque, and are able to thrive.

MeasureIndicatorData Source
Everyone can meet their basic needs  
Everybody has enough money to get byExample: Census Family Low Income MeasureT1 Family File
Freedom from fear or worry about paying bills  
Freedom from living paycheque to paycheque  
Being able to pay all your bills at once  
Being able to save for vacations  
Being able to afford leisure and pleasure  
Feeling like you can buy a home one day  
Being able to afford clothes  
Freedom from debt  
Having confidence that you can pay for everything you need that month  
Being able to have the money to handle an emergency without debt  
Incomes reflect local cost of living  
Jobs pay a living wage  
Being able to survive and thrive regardless of employment status  
fst campaign icons work fulfillment

Decent work

People can work in jobs with a living wage, safe work conditions, opportunities for growth, and job training. Work is fulfilling and allows people to use their skills.

MeasureIndicatorData Source
Being able to have a stable, secure job  
Jobs pay a living wage  
Minimum wage is a living wageLiving wage compared to minimum wageMacKillop Centre for Social Justice and CCPA-NS living wage calculation
Employment income increases with inflation  
Access to job training and opportunities for growth  
Freedom from exploitative labour  
Everyone is paid equally for their work  
Workplaces are supportive and mitigate burnout  
Everyone is recognized for their accomplishments at work  
Immigrants can work in their field of practice  
Freedom from racism and tokenism at work  
Clear accountability practices in workplaces for racism and discrimination  
Freedom from racist and tokenistic hiring practices  
Freedom from stigma of unemployment or seasonal work  
Traditional seasonal work practices are embraced  
Work is creative and fulfilling  
Being able to work to fulfill your passion or interest  
fst campaign icons equal education

Education for all

Everyone has equitable access to affordable, quality education, training, and learning supports.

MeasureIndicatorData Source
Education is valued by governments and communities  
Children have equitable access to quality education  
Access to quality local post-secondary education  
Education is well-funded  
Everyone has free transportation to get to school  
All children have access to French programs if desired  
Children and youth are taught financial literacy and budgeting in schools  
Equitable and barrier-free access to medical school  
fst campaign icons community housing

Right to housing is realized

Everyone has a home. There is adequate, affordable secure housing for all, free from discrimination, and reflecting the needs of communities and neighbourhoods.

MeasureIndicatorData Source
Everyone has a home  
Housing is affordable for all  
Having stable, secure housing  
Freedom from eviction and renoviction  
Housing is in good repair  
Freedom from stress about housing  
Rent is regulated and controlled  
Affordable housing supply reflects needs of neighbourhood and population  
Ability to scale up or down with housing without financial repercussions (e.g., seniors can downsize)  
Freedom from discrimination or exploitation from landlords  
Equitable access to housing for immigrants and people of colour  
Seniors have access to affordable housing  
Freedom from housing discrimination for people receiving social assistance  
Equitable access to mortgages  
fst campaign icons secure nutrition

Food sovereignty and security

Everyone has access to nutritious, affordable, culturally appropriate food; the ability to hunt, harvest, grow, and share food according to cultural values; and the freedom to choose what they want to eat.

MeasureIndicatorData Source
Everyone has enough food  
Food is affordable  
Freedom from fear and worry about not being able to eat  
Children have enough to eat at school  
Communities have vegetable gardens and orchards  
Ability to fish and farm according to traditional or cultural values  
Nobody needs to use the food bankFood bank useCharlottetown Food Bank
Food banks offer healthy and varied food  
fst campaign icons healthcare access

Health and mental health

MeasureIndicatorData Source
Everyone has access to free healthcare  
Feeling like you receive good quality healthcare  
Everyone has a family doctor  
Having good mental health  
Mental health supports are well-communicated in the community  
Feeling supported to care for your own mental health  
Everyone has access to affordable dental care regardless of income  
Being able to navigate the healthcare system with ease as a racialized immigrant  
Freedom from addiction  
Access to harm reduction and addiction supports  
fst campaign icons service accessibility

Equitable access to services, programs, and supports

Services and supports are accessible and coordinated, with no arbitrary bureaucratic barriers or discrimination. Community organizations are resourced and are by communities, for communities.

MeasureIndicatorData Source
Programs and services are widely accessible and barrier-free  
Everyone can get the support they need, regardless of income or other factors  
Programs and services are flexible and address the shifting needs of community members  
Community organizations created by and for communities are supported and resourced  
Organizations by and for communities have power to make changes  
Feeling comfortable with organizations and services  
Worker’s compensation is supportive and accessible  
Schools have free breakfast and lunch programs for children  
Food banks are accessible to all  
Service providers are no longer necessary  
fst campaign icons family time

Connected and supported families and children

Families are supported to stay together and spend time together. The child welfare system is equitable, trauma-informed, and reflects needs of children and families. Everyone has access to affordable childcare. 

MeasureIndicatorData Source
Having a supportive family  
Children are free from abuse  
Children are free from sexual abuse  
Everyone has access to affordable childcare  
fst campaign icons government accountability

Accountable and engaged governments and institutions

Governments are accountable to communities. Policy-making is community-engaged, trauma-informed, responsive, and based on local needs and values.

MeasureIndicatorData Source
Governments care about people, not profit  
Governments are accountable to communities  
Government promises are backed up by long-term solutions  
Governments ensure infrastructure reflects needs of growing population  
People with marginalized identities are involved and centred in policy and program design  
Policies account for historical and cultural context of communities  
Policies reflect local needs and values  
Policies address harms of colonization  

[i] Statistics Canada. (2021). The Canadian Indicator Framework for the Sustainable Development Goals. Statistics Canada. https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/11-26-0004/112600042021001-eng.htm

[ii] Campaign 2000. Pandemic Lessons: Ending Child and Family Poverty is Possible. February 14, 2023. https://campaign2000.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/English-Pandemic-Lessons_Ending-Child-and-Family-Poverty-is-Possible_2022-National-Report-Card-on-Child-and-Family-Poverty.pdf

[iii] Barrie, H., & Sarangi, L. (2022). Literature Review: Localizing Canada’s Commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals. Campaign 2000: End Child and Family Poverty. https://sdg.campaign2000.ca/wp-content/uploads/Campaign-2000-Localizing-SDGs-Project-Literature-Review-May-2022.pdf