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Poverty & Human Rights Virtual Roundtable Series


In 2015, Canada committed to the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).  These goals are part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, a global call to action to achieve social, economic and environmental prosperity.  Enshrined in the 2030 Agenda is a commitment “to realize human rights for all,” including economic, social and cultural rights.

The Localizing Canada’s Commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals Project (SDGs Project) is developing a community-driven indicator framework for the federal government to use to measure progress towards achieving several of the SDGs, including Goal #1: No Poverty.  The SDGs Project uses principled, community-based and participatory research approaches to engage people who experience systemic marginalization and poverty, community service organizations, advocates and organizers from coast to coast to coast that will inform the measurement framework for realizing rights and ending poverty in local contexts. 

The roundtable format included presentations, guest speakers and breakout discussions and will feature those who have been engaged through the SDG’s Project.  Participants had an opportunity to connect with organizations and individuals dedicated to ending poverty from across the country for movement-building.

Roundtable 1 : June 14, 2023 12 PM – 2 PM EST | Connecting lived expertise to public policy: meaningful engagement as a means to advancing human rights

Speakers included:

Roundtable 2 : June 15, 2023 12 PM – 2 PM EST | Holding government to account: legal and policy levers for ending poverty

Speakers included:

Roundtable 3 : June 16, 2023 12 PM – 2 PM EST | Poverty-free communities are possible: strengthening the national anti-poverty movement

Speakers included:

Registration for the event is now closed.

Speakers Bios

Samantha (Sam) Bonnar

Community Cares Youth Outreach

I am a single Indigenous mom of a beautiful eleven-year-old girl, two loving dogs and a silly cat named Kit Kat. I graduated from the Social Services Program at Nova Scotia Community College (NSCC) and have worked at Community CARES Youth Outreach located in Sydney Mines, serving the vulnerable sector, researching data, and finding first voice experiences on housing, food, mental health, and addiction issues. I have also been co-facilitating a successful woman’s peer support group for the past two years for Nova Scotia Mental Health Association. Ever since I was a little girl, I have always had a passion to help populations made vulnerable within society. I feel this is because I myself have firsthand experience with struggling in every aspect of life. I hope to support individuals with gaining success in their lives and to be given opportunities to reach their full potential.

Marie Christian

VOICES: Manitoba’s Youth in Care Network

Marie Christian is a First Voices advocate who has worked alongside young people in and from care to make their voices heard on topics that impact their lives, such as the effects of financial and relational poverty. Marie is the Executive Director of VOICES: Manitoba’s Youth in Care Network.

Jack Bogaard

Voices Influencing Change

Jack Bogaard is from the Skeetchestn Shuswap Nation and has been supporting people living on the streets for many, many years.  Jack sat on the Safe at Home Steering committee in 2017 as a person with lived experience of homelessness and saw first hand the importance of his voice, and the need for more people with lived expertise to be at decision making tables. He was the impetus for the Voices Influencing Change program. Jack is a keen listener, a leader and teacher. He is known for his ability to live with an open heart and an open mind which leads him to remind us all to “create a good day”. He gets strength from drumming, carving with mammoth ivory and cedar wood, biking and walking on the land.

Shalini Konanur

South Asian Legal Clinic of Ontario

Shalini Konanur is the Executive Director and senior lawyer at the South Asian Legal Clinic of Ontario (SALCO), which works with low-income South Asians from across Ontario to provide legal support in income maintenance, tenancy, immigration, employment, family, human rights, and gender-based violence.  SALCO/Shalini are also a founding and steering committee member of the Colour of Poverty – Colour of Change, which works to advocate for racial equity for low-income Indigenous, Black, and racialized communities in Canada.  Shalini has been an intersectional anti-poverty activist for over 20 years working on both grassroots campaigns and systems levels changes to address the racialization of poverty and access to justice for marginalized communities.

Jennifer Chartrand

Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs – First Nations Family Advocate Office

Jennifer Chartrand (Anishinaabe/Metis) (B.S.W.) Policy Analyst at the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs – First Nations Family Advocate Office (AMC-FNFAO). I have worked at the First Nations Family Advocate Office since 2018 in various roles working to support First Nations families overrepresented within the Child and Family Services (CFS) system in Manitoba. I am currently working to complete my thesis for my Master of Social Work in Indigenous Knowledges at the University of Manitoba.

Sahar Raza

National Right to Housing Network

Sahar is the director of policy and communications at the National Right to Housing Network and sits on Oxfam Canada’s Board of Directors. As a daughter of immigrants and racial justice advocates, she is deeply committed to amplifying marginalized voices and advancing practical pathways to social and environmental justice. She holds a master’s degree in Communication & Culture (Politics & Policy stream) and has a decade of experience in research, policy analysis, and communications, all focused on tackling systemic issues rooted in colonialism, discrimination, and privatization. She now works to end homelessness and build more equitable and just societies through the implementation of fundamental human rights, both locally and abroad.

Raymond Funk

Vibrant Communities Charlotte County (Southwest New Brunswick Service Commission)

Raymond Funk is a Community Development Coordinator who works to increase capacity, connection and collaboration for communities and community serving organizations in Southwest New Brunswick.

Over the past 3 years, and during the pandemic, Raymond worked as the Coordinator for Vibrant Communities Charlotte County (VCCC), a non-profit focused on poverty reduction and providing ‘back-bone support’ for community work. Currently Raymond is working with community and municipalities, amidst the backdrop of New Brunswick’s local governance reforms, to develop a regional Community Development strategy.

Raymond earned his Bachelor or Arts from St. Stephen’s University, where he also worked as a Community Life Coordinator, in a unique learning environment which focuses on community living, spirituality and study abroad terms as a way to engage in thoughtful, just and compassionate living.

When he is not building community capacity, Raymond can be found gardening at his local community garden or volunteering at the St. Stephen Coffee House, a venue that supports live local music for all ages and skill levels.

King Kxndi

King Kxndi is an Artist. Political Scientist. Activist.

Andrea Hatala

ODSP Action Coalition

Andrea has been the recipient co-chair of the ODSP Action coalition for 3 years now and has been a member of the coalition for many years as well.   She has participated in many advocacy activities such as workshops and presentations through the years.  After working with the coalition for so many years Andrea understands coalitions and how to form them.  

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