Communities leading the way need provincial support

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 …

Who’s Doing What about Poverty Reduction?

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 …

Regulating Fringe Banking in Manitoba: a work in progress

By Seed Winnipeg 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 …

Fight food insecurity with income

By Molly McCracken The rise in food costs disproportionately affects the poor as food makes up a larger portion of their spending. Increased income, educational programs and northern food subsidies need to work hand in hand if the …

Investing in Social Enterprise to reduce poverty and green house gases

By Lynne Fernandez A new Errol Black Chair paper explains how a combination of governmental policies and initiatives in Manitoba allows social enterprises to reduce Manitoba’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions while training and employing Inner City workers. The …

Mothering Project: Effective prevention with vulnerable families

By Carole O’Brien  “The root causes of neglect—including poverty, poor housing, food insecurity, and substance abuse—lie beyond the scope of the child welfare system to resolve. But a collaborative approach, working with parents and harnessing the collective resources …

Gains are Being Made: The State of the Inner City Report 2015

By Jim Silver First published in the Winnipeg Free Press Dec 10, 2015 It has recently been claimed in the media that nothing is working in the fight against poverty. The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives’ State of …

Community plays important role in poverty reduction

By Shauna MacKinnon Appeared in the Winnipeg Free Press December 4th, 2015. I teach in the department of Urban and Inner City Studies at the University of Winnipeg. Our program is located on Selkirk Avenue in Winnipeg’s North …

No silver bullet to ‘solve’ poverty

In response to “Generosity doesn’t solve poverty” Winnipeg Free Press article December 17 Mary Agnes Welch is right when she says charity is “not fixing the province’s most serious problem.  However, her critique of provincial anti-poverty efforts falls …

What We Need in the Throne Speech

By Jim Silver An issue that needs to be addressed in the forthcoming Throne Speech on November 20th, is the persistence in Manitoba of a deep, complex and damaging poverty. Important gains have been made in recent years …