By Jim Silver
Provincial government policy can be designed to punish those in poverty, or to reduce poverty. Both approaches have been tried in Manitoba, the first in the 1990s and the other more recently. We can compare these approaches by examining Winnipeg’s inner city.
Over the past 15 years, and especially the past five years, Winnipeg’s inner city has benefitted from a community-led form of development supported by substantial public investment. The Winnipeg Foundation, United Way of Winnipeg and other such public bodies, and especially the provincial government, have led the way in investing public dollars in initiatives and strategies driven in large part by inner city community-based organizations (CBOs). Neighbourhood renewal corporations, women’s resource centres, youth-serving agencies, alternative educational institutions, social enterprises and a wide variety of Aboriginal organizations have developed sophisticated anti-poverty strategies in which public dollars have been invested.
By Tina Keeper and Shauna MacKinnon
Winnipeg Free Press columnist Gordon Sinclair’s depiction of Wab Kinew is offensive with damaging implications that reach beyond the election (WFP March 12th and 26th, 2016). Sinclair uses his privileged position as a columnist to portray Kinew as a violent man who can’t be trusted; a person with ulterior motives and someone to be feared. It’s shocking that Sinclair, a powerful and intimidating man himself, describes feeling physically threatened by Kinew stating that he offered to shake Kinew’s hand at a recent press conference because “walking up and offering my hand to him first was a good idea, because you know what they say. A man can’t hit you when you’re shaking his hand.”
Having attended that event, we were taken aback by Sinclair’s representation of events, especially in the context of a city and province struggling to deal with deep-rooted racism.
While there is no excuse for the misogynistic, homophobic words Kinew communicated in past years, there is a broader conversation that needs to take place and longer term implications to be considered.
By Greg MacPherson and Molly McCracken
The province has invested widely in community development and “place-based” approaches to renewal and poverty reduction, with many positive results. Place-based approaches such as these are now being adopted in communities across the country as research shows that residents overwhelmed by poverty need complementary supports and resources close to home. Innovative, grassroots, community-led initiatives make a difference and are a wise public investment. Take the West Broadway neighbourhood as an example.
By Lynne Fernandez
Winnipeg’s public transit system is in great need of improvement if it is to meet the needs of those who rely on it – seniors, low-income people, youth and persons with disabilities who cannot drive. By allowing people to get to work regardless of their schedules, an efficient transit system is one of the best ways to fight poverty and inequality in our city. Affordable transit also gives lower-income families the ability to participate in recreation and education, get to appointments, and to socialize.
Book Launch
Thursday, April 7
7 pm
McNally Robinson Grant Park
All are welcome
In Solving Poverty, Jim Silver, a vetran scholar actively engaged in anti-poverty efforts in Winnipeg’s inner city for decades, offers an on-the-ground analysis of this form of poverty. Silver focuses particularly on the urban Aboriginal experience, and describes a variety of creative and effective urban Aboriginal community development initiatives, as well as other anti-poverty initiatives that have been successul in Winnipeg’s inner city. In the concluding chapter Silver offers a comprehensive pan-Canadian strategy to dramatically reduce the incidence of urban poverty in Canada.
By Shauna MacKinnon
For Manitoban’s concerned about poverty, there will be much to consider when sorting through political party platforms and promises in search of a meaningful poverty reduction plan. Poverty alleviation is a long-term proposition. No provincial political party can end poverty in the short term and certainly not in isolation of a federal government commitment. So beware of those politicians who offer silver bullets and quick fixes. Look to those who offer thoughtful honest responses that demonstrate an understanding that the circumstances for individuals living in poverty can be complicated and breaking the cycle of poverty requires multiple policy responses and a long-term commitment.
Here are some things to look for:
Does the party have a comprehensive plan?
Since 2007 the Manitoba government has undertaken a series of steps to regulate fringe banks. Arguably this is contributing to the common good, because of the growth of fringe financial services and the process of financialization. Financialization is reflected in the increasing size and importance of financial markets. Consumers are faced with a proliferation of credit products in a rapidly changing marketplace and it is increasingly difficult for financially vulnerable community members to make informed choices.
By Lynne Fernandez
Although the 137 page fiscal update is much shorter on detail than a full budget would be, there are enough broad strokes to give us a bit of an economic picture. And that picture generated no shortage of criticism.
No government should be immune from criticism and the checks and balances imposed by opposition parties. But society is not served by uninformed, knee-jerk criticism that is clearly meant to bolster the fortunes of partisan politics or the already wealthy. The reaction of the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce gives us a case in point. Let’s unpack a couple of its executive vice-president Loren Remillard’s quotes that appeared in the Free Press.
By Mark Hudson
Manitobans recognize that universities play a variety of important social roles, well beyond preparing people for successful careers. University research plays a foundational role in advancing our understanding of the world, helps develop solutions to critical social problems, and contributes from the ground up in innovating new processes, materials, and technologies. Universities teach students to address complex issues and think critically. They prepare people to be competent, effective, and informed citizens. Universities are places of free debate, in which ideas are tested, challenged, made to see if they stand under the burden of scrutiny. These contributions do not show up easily in a simple cost-benefit calculation. They are social, not individual returns to the investment made in universities. Yet university funding in Canada and Manitoba does not reflect these crucial roles.
Enter to win two ticket to see Naomi Klein in Winnipeg on April 8th! See Fernwood publishing here. Tickets may be purchased at www.naomikleinwpg2016.eventbrite.ca/
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