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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 Iqaluit community conversation, co-hosted by Amautiit Nunavut Inuit Women’s Association on March 5, 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
Ability to contribute to the communityExample proxy indicator: Involvement in community and activity in (First Nations/Métis/Inuit/Aboriginal) organizations, social events or cultural activitiesStatistics Canada Indigenous Peoples Survey
Being able to live by Inuit values  
Ability to share country food with neighbours, family, and friends  
Community members help each other  
Having the skills and traditional knowledge to go out on the landExample: Measurement of community support for land-based livelihoodsSuggested in The Makimaniq Plan II for future data collection (p. 37)
Elders are respected and supported  
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
Inuit are self-determining  
Inuit communities are self-governing, free from colonial government interference  
Freedom from intergenerational trauma and harms of colonization  
Freedom from intergenerational impacts of poverty  
Freedom from racism, including impact of racist policies  
Freedom from bias and discrimination against Inuit  
Inuit communities receive reparations to address long-lasting effects of poverty created by government policies  
Freedom from discrimination and stigma of experiencing poverty  
Freedom from stereotypes, particularly in representations of hunting and as reflected in policies  
Food subsidies are inclusive and reflective of Inuit needs and values, with adequate support for hunting and harvesting  
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 for the future
Being able to envision a future without poverty or food insecurity  
Being able to heal from trauma  
Freedom from struggling  
Freedom from desperation  
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 thrive  
Everyone can meet all their basic needs  
Freedom from the trauma and scarcity mindset that living in poverty creates  
Hunters can support multiple households  
Incomes reflect the cost of living and different costs across communities in Nunavut  
Cost of living in Nunavut is equitable compared to the rest of the country  
Incomes are flexible and reflect changing life circumstances  
Freedom from worry about money  
Having enough money to have enough to eat  
Everyone has a living wage  
Freedom from living paycheque to paycheque  
Ability to save money  
People have enough money to meet basic needs and have spending money for leisure  
Being able to save enough to buy a house  
Hunting and harvesting country food is affordable and adequately subsidized  
Northern Living Allowance and other subsidies reflect the actual cost of living  
Social assistance and employment insurance rates reflect cost of living  
Social assistance staff are supportive, not punitive  
Social assistance is low-barrier  
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
Equitable access to job opportunities for Inuit  
Smaller communities have job opportunities for all community members  
Jobs pay a living wage  
Jobs do not arbitrarily require high levels of formal education or experience  
Jobs offer opportunities for advancement and growth  
Everyone has access to job training  
Ability to work a job that you want  
Housing security is not tied to employer  
fst campaign icons equal education

Education for all

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

MeasureIndicatorData Source
Inuit have equitable opportunities for education  
People have opportunities for education outside colonial school system  
Graduation rates are high  
School attendance rates are high  
Students are supported to meet their basic needs, including food, internet, counselling  
Schools are resourced to support high attendance rates (enough teachers, supplies, classrooms, etc.)  
Children and youth learn life skills, emotional skills, language, and culture  
Youth have access to financial literacy and budgeting training in school  
Schools support diverse learning styles  
Schools have breakfast and lunch programs  
Education adequately prepares youth for desired post-secondary and work opportunities  
Everyone has access to opportunities for skill development, both for business and for wellness  
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 affordable, sufficient, and safe housing  
Housing supply reflects needs and size of population  
Housing is not overcrowded and unit size reflects number of people living there  
Being able to save enough to buy a house  
Housing policies account for subsidies and do not allow for higher rent due to subsidies  
There are no waitlists for public housing  
Housing security is not tied to employer  
Access to emergency shelters for everyone who needs them  
Shelters support people to transition to stable housing  
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 always has enough to eat  
Ability to share country food with neighbours, family, and friends  
Ability to choose what you want to eat  
Children are free from hunger  
Everyone can eat traditional foods  
Elders receive good quality country food  
Hunters can support multiple households  
Nutritious and culturally appropriate food is more accessible and affordable than processed food with low nutritional value  
Programs supporting hunting reflect its wide-ranging significance and benefit (nutrition, cultural enrichment, training for youth, transferable skills, etc.)  
Youth are taught how to hunt according to Inuit practices  
Food subsidies are inclusive and reflective of Inuit needs and values, with adequate support for hunting and harvesting  
Food and shipping subsidies are equitable across communities  
Nobody needs to use a food bank  
Having enough money to order food in bulk  
Having enough space in your home to store food in bulk  
fst campaign icons healthcare access

Health and mental health

MeasureIndicatorData Source
Freedom from suicideExample of forthcoming indicators/data for this dimension: Qanuippitaa? National Inuit Health Survey
Everyone has regular access to culturally relevant and trauma-informed counselling
Counsellors are from the communities they support
Counsellors are adequately trained to support patients with intergenerational trauma
Freedom from drug and alcohol addiction
Freedom from overdose or toxic drug deaths  
Freedom from the negative health impacts of hunger and food insecurity  
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
Services and programs have enough resources and stable staff and meet their own delivery and capacity needs
Services, programs, and supports have low staff turnover and remain consistent and sustainable
Access to programs and supports for new entrepreneurs  
Access to support navigating and accessing funding opportunities  
Social assistance program is low-barrier and supportive  
All communities have food banks  
Schools have breakfast and lunch programs  
Programs supporting hunting reflect its wide-ranging significance and benefit (nutrition, cultural enrichment, training for youth, transferable skills, etc.)  
Food subsidies are inclusive and reflective of Inuit needs and values, with adequate support for hunting and harvesting  
Food and shipping subsidies are equitable across communities  
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
Parents receive enough money to support their children, rather than foster parents receiving that money after child apprehension  
Families are free from violence that results from poverty and poor living conditions, such as hunger and overcrowding  
Single parents are able to make ends meet and spend time with children  
Youth have people to teach them how to hunt  
Children have safe places to go  
Children and youth do not have to work to support their families  
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
Inuit are self-determining and self-governing
Inuit and lived experts are in positions of power  
Governments are proactive and address root causes of issues  
Seeing change happen  
Historical policies that created and sustain poverty are changed and their harms are meaningfully repaired  
Governments recognize that poverty is multifaceted and needs to be addressed from all angles  
Policies reflect different needs of different communities  
Having confidence that future generations won’t have to keep having these conversations  
Data on poverty reflects realities of communities and local understandings of poverty  
Data is collected by communities, for communities  

[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