News & Events
A Reflection from our Director.
The discovery over the past few weeks of mass burials of indigenous children in unmarked graves at Residential Schools demands a response. Yet, what response can there possibly be? As a settler, I have personally struggled to come up with anything meaningful to say in the aftermath. Apologies are hollow. Rage seems insufficient. Words fail. But silence too is unacceptable … Read
Just Released: Submission by the Canadian Poverty Institute to the Government of Canada providing background and recommendations for reforms to protect precarious workers in the gig economy. Fulfilling Canada’s commitments to the progressive realization of economic rights requires new and innovative approaches to employment standards and social protection. Read the Submission.
JUST RELEASED: In response to The City of Calgary’s request for input for the development of its Environment Strategy, the Canadian Poverty Institute prepared a brief submission. This brief provides background and recommendations to The City of Calgary as it develops its Environment Strategy. As poverty and the environment intersect in important ways, it is critical that Calgary’s Environment Strategy embody principles of Environmental Justice where all people, regardless of gender, age, race or socioeconomic status, are entitled to equal protection under environmental laws and to participate in environmental decision making in their community. Read the Submission.
To better understand the preferred role of faith‐based organizations in secular society, the Canadian Council of Churches partnered with researchers from the Canadian Poverty Institute to explore current systems of poverty reduction. Read the latest publication from this research published in the March edition of the Journal of Community Psychology.
Cresswell, J., H. Tamlin and A. Hoppe, (2021). “Experiencing visions of Canadian church workers: Exploring the mentality fueling systems involved in poverty reduction.” Journal of Community Psychology. March, 2021.
This publication is part of the ongoing project The Role of the Church in Poverty Reduction led by Dr. J. Cresswell.
The Canadian Poverty Institute is renewing its strategic plan to chart a path for the next five years. In order to plan where we need to go, we are also looking back at where we have been and what we have accomplished. To help us steer in the right direction, we’re seeking your input on the work of the Institute and your ideas for our goals and priorities for the coming years. Help shape the future direction of the Poverty Institute by completing our short survey. Thanks for joining our shared mission to heal poverty in Canada.
Using 2016 custom Census data, this new report provides a profile of households in Calgary with incomes just above the poverty line, as compared with those just below and those far below the poverty line. The report highlights that in addition to the 133,000 people living in poverty, a further 77,000 (6%) had incomes only marginally above the poverty line and thus at risk of falling into poverty. Similar to those in poverty, those with incomes marginally above the poverty line included seniors, persons living alone, immigrants, visible minority and indigenous persons. This group of people was also strongly attached to the labour force, predominantly employed in low-wage industries and occupations. This report was produced in collaboration with Vibrant Communities Calgary. Download the Full Report.
Learn about the latest projects and happenings at the CPI in the Fall edition of our newsletter, Spero. Read our reflections on poverty and the pandemic, our response to The City of Calgary’s hearings on systemic racism, strategies to increase educational savings, and new research on food security in Calgary. Download a copy here.
I have worked in the homeless serving sector for over 20 years and in that time, I have been privileged to meet some incredible, resilient, and interesting people. My experience has taught me that no two people are exactly alike. I have learned that each person’s journey to homelessness is unique and using a “one size fits all” approach is ineffective. Whether I am providing front line services, directing programs, or working as a CEO, I have tried to stay grounded in the life of people who are suffering from the effects of poverty and homelessness. I love the phrase people use, “Nothing about us without us” and I have tried to build lived experience into program strategies. It has been a privilege to work in this field. I know I am a visionary, and I have worked with some incredible teams with common purpose: to see vulnerable citizens succeed in their life journey. If I was asked for a personal Mission Statement, it would be this: “Our product is hope, and our business is relationships.” Being a small part of someone’s life journey to well-being is a high calling. And in this work, knowing that someone is on the path of success is reward enough.
New report by CPI Researcher Katherine Bell provides a review of the literature on the psycho-social impacts of disasters and epidemics in order to anticipate the potential impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic on the population. Read the Executive Summary or the Full Report.
This new report examines the impact of Covid-19 on workers in Calgary’s informal economy, including binners, panhandlers, sex workers and casual labour.
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