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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 Montreal community conversations, co-hosted by ATD Quart Monde on May 5, 6 and 12, 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
Everyone is valued
People share with each other
Everyone can contribute to the community according to their strengthsRate of community involvement and volunteer workIndicators of Well-Being In Quebec, no data yet available
Community members help and support each other  
Communities have solidarity with each other  
People share information with each other  
Communities have gatherings and share meals  
People are empathetic to each other  
Feeling like people care  
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
Poverty is not disproportionately experienced by marginalized communitiesLow Income Measure, disaggregatedStatistics Canada, Census of Population
Freedom from discrimination and exclusion  
Freedom from prejudice  
Wealth and income are distributed equitably  
Freedom from discrimination for living in social housing  
Freedom from discrimination against people who experience poverty  
First Nations people are connected to their culture and supported to heal from the harms of colonization  
Freedom from stereotypes about low-income neighbourhoods  
Everyone is equal  
Everyone is paid equally  
Military and weapons spending is low  
The country is peaceful  
Freedom from violence  
Freedom from exploitation  
Freedom from capitalism and consumerism  
Freedom from drug trafficking  
Freedom from gambling, casinos, and lotteries  
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
Freedom from misery  
Feeling hopeful  
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
Social assistance reflects the cost of living
Everyone can meet their basic needs  
Everyone can buy clothing  
Nobody needs to panhandle  
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
   
Jobs are low-barrier and do not arbitrarily require years of experience  
Everyone has a job who wants one  
Nobody needs to collect cans to get by  
Being able to work because you want to, not just to survive  
fst campaign icons equal education

Education for all

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

MeasureIndicatorData Source
Children with learning disabilities are supported  
School classrooms are in good condition  
Teachers teach up-to-date material  
Children have the supports and resources they need to complete homework  
Schools are well-funded and offer good quality education  
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 everyone  
Housing is treated as a right, not a commodity  
Everyone has access to stable, secure housing  
Freedom from eviction and renoviction  
Housing is safe and in good repair  
Housing is up to code and legal  
Everyone has access to social housing who needs it  
Social housing is in good repair  
Everyone is free from overcrowded housing  
Rent is affordable for all  
Landlords keep rents consistent and stable  
Ability to move without financial repercussions  
Everyone has access to emergency shelters when needed  
Seniors have access to affordable 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
Nobody is hungry  
Everybody can afford groceries  
People share meals and eat together  
Everyone can eat nutritiously and well  
Freedom from having to use a food bank  
Everyone knows how to cook  
Everyone is fed  
fst campaign icons healthcare access

Health and mental health

MeasureIndicatorData Source
Freedom from addiction  
Freedom from suicide  
Everyone is healthy  
Everyone has access to a bathroom  
Everyone has access to mental health supports  
Health care is preventative  
Mental health care is preventative  
Nobody smokes  
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
Organizations support people’s dignity and humanity
Everyone has access to free public transportation  
Social workers and service providers are adequately trained  
Services and programs are well-communicated to the community  
Families experiencing poverty have access to services and supports  
Community organizations are no longer needed  
Community centres are well-fundedDollar per person support for community organizations that promote social inclusion and reduce inequalityIndicators of Well-Being in Quebec, Statistics Canada
All neighbourhoods have community centres  
Community organizations have power to make change  
Community organizations bring people together  
Community members refer each other to supports  
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
Children are free from abuse  
Children are free from poverty  
Families are supported to exit poverty and be connected  
People are supported to exit poverty during pregnancy  
Youth are healthy and motivated  
Freedom from family violence  
Staff in the child welfare system are well-trained in trauma-informed care  
Parents are supported, not judged  
Families are supported to stay together  
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 and policy-makers are connected to people experiencing poverty and understand their lived realities
Policies reflect local needs and values
Governments recognize work of community organizations and advocates  
People with lived experience of poverty are in positions of political power  
City budgets support local priorities and projects  
Government salaries are reasonable compared to the average person’s salary  
Government spending is responsible and equitable  

[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