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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 St. Stephen community conversation, co-hosted by Vibrant Communities Charlotte County, Horizon Community Health, Future St. Stephen, and the Human Development Council of Saint John on August 9, 2022.

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  
Feeling connected to your communityExample: Percentage of population aged 12 and over who reported a sense of belonging to their local community as being very strong or somewhat strong.New Brunswick Wellbeing Indicators, Statistics Canada Table 13-10-0096-01
People share with their neighbours  
Being able to help others  
Feeling like you can ask for helpExample: 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
Everyone contributes to the community according to their strengths  
Community members collaborate to address challenges  
Communities have gatherings and share meals  
People from different backgrounds gather and connect  
Different generations are connected  
Everyone is celebrated  
Having a person to cheer you on  
Everybody has a friend  
Trusting your neighbours  
Communities have public places for people to gather and connect, like libraries  
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 can live in dignity  
Everyone is respected  
Freedom from stigma, discrimination, judgment, and bias  
Freedom from abuse and violence  
Freedom from wealth and income inequality  
Freedom from stigma of receiving social assistance  
Wealth is not valued above people  
People are not blamed for experiencing poverty  
Communities are united, not divided  
Freedom from violence against women  
Feeling safe walking in your community at night  
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
Feeling optimistic and hopeful for the future  
Freedom from struggling  
Freedom from despair  
Freedom from feeling trapped  
Having choices  
Being able to have fun  
Being able to laugh  
Seeing people smile in your community  
Being able to identify things that are working well in your life and community  
Having faith  
Having access to live music  
Creativity is nurtured  
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 needsExample: Census Family Low Income MeasureT1 Family File
Everyone has enough money to pay for all their bills at once  
Freedom from worry about paying bills  
Freedom from having to decide between rent and food  
Everyone has clean clothes  
Everyone has access to a phone and internet  
Being able to save money  
Having disposable income  
Incomes reflect the cost of living  
Incomes allow you to live in your own community  
Minimum wage is a living wage  
Social assistance rates reflect the cost of living and increase with inflation  
Being able to meet your needs and thrive is not tied to working  
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
There are enough job opportunities for everyone who wants to work  
Employment income allows you to live in your own community  
Local wages and salaries are competitive with the rest of the country  
Minimum wage is a living wage  
Having a job is not a reflection of your worth as a person  
fst campaign icons equal education

Education for all

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

MeasureIndicatorData Source
Children are educated  
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  
Utilities are regulated and affordable  
People with disabilities have affordable, accessible housing  
Freedom from housing discrimination for people receiving social assistance  
Rent is regulated and affordable  
Freedom from eviction  
Freedom from fear of eviction  
Rental housing is inspected and regulated  
Existing buildings are used for housing and emergency shelter  
Everyone has access to emergency shelter  
Men have access to emergency shelter  
No waitlists for housing  
Access to cooperative 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 has enough to eat  
Everyone can afford food  
People share meals and cook together  
Communities grow their own food  
Children have enough to eat  
Schools have breakfast programs  
Parents are free from worry about not having enough to feed children  
fst campaign icons healthcare access

Health and mental health

MeasureIndicatorData Source
Everyone is mentally healthy  
Everyone has access to mental health care  
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 are well-communicated in various formats  
Services and programs are low-barrier with few eligibility requirements  
Knowing where to find resources  
Services are well-coordinated and communicate and collaborate with each other  
It feels easy to access services and get the help you need  
Feeling like service providers care about you  
Community organizations are well-funded and can grow their capacity  
Schools have breakfast programs that are accessible to all children  
Everyone has access to affordable, accessible transportation  
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 have time to spend with children  
Families are connected  
Family members drop by each other’s houses  
Family members value each other  
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 make systemic changes to address systemic issues  
Politicians show up to community gatherings and events  
Politicians respond to community concerns  
Policies reflect local needs and values  
Governments meet with community members to understand their experiences and ideas  

[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