Excerpts from the report:
The cornerstone target across Canada would be to assure every parent working full time, full year a living standard out of poverty.
To achieve this goal would require the following initiatives from the federal government:
- Increase the NCBS to create a full child benefit of $5,100 (2007 dollars)
- Increase federal work tax credits to $2,400 a year
- Establish a federal minimum wage of $10 an hour (2007 dollars)
- Major federal investments in essential resources such as early learning and child care, social housing, and restoration of Employment Insurance eligibility.
Provinces would be expected to contribute in the following areas:
- Raise and index minimum wages to a poverty reduction standard of $10 an hour (2007 dollars)
- Invest provincial revenue in affordable housing initiatives
- Invest provincial revenue in extended drug and dental coverage
- Invest provincial revenue in early learning and child care
The just differential target across Canada would be to reduce the depth of poverty for families with children on social assistance to at least 80% of the poverty benchmark.
To achieve this goal would require the following initiatives in most provinces:
- Families to receive full child benefits of $5,100 (2007 dollars) without clawbacks and rate reductions in social assistance payments
- Full indexation of social assistance rates in all provinces starting in 2008
- Annual increases to social assistance rates of 3% or more above inflation also starting in 2008
To restore the fiscal capacities of Canadians to invest in our country, all federal savings from lower public debt charges from now to 2012 should be directed towards investments in poverty reduction and other national priorities. Parliament should consider the adoption of a sunset clause for all general tax cuts implemented by the federal government since 2000.