BILL NO. 169

(as introduced)

1st Session, 64th General Assembly
Nova Scotia
71 Elizabeth II, 2022

 

Private Member's Bill

 

Poverty Elimination Act

 

Kendra Coombes
Cape Breton Centre–Whitney Pier

First Reading: April 14, 2022

Second Reading:

Third Reading:

 

An Act Respecting the Elimination of Poverty

WHEREAS the House of Commons of Canada, by a resolution adopted unanimously on November 14, 1989, pledged to end child poverty in Canada by the year 2020;

AND WHEREAS that pledge has not been met;

AND WHEREAS Nova Scotia has performed the worst of any province in reducing child poverty from 1989 levels;

AND WHEREAS Nova Scotia income assistance rates are set at a level that keeps families in deep poverty;

AND WHEREAS poverty is a primary social determinant of health;

AND WHEREAS eliminating poverty is an achievable goal;

THEREFORE be it enacted by the Governor and Assembly as follows:

1 This Act may be cited as the Poverty Elimination Act.

2 The purpose of this Act is to establish the elimination of poverty as part of the public policy of the Province.

3 In this Act,

(a) "children" means persons under the age of majority;

(b) "chronic homelessness" means

(i) staying in unsheltered locations not intended for permanent human habitation,

(ii) staying in emergency shelters, or

(iii) staying temporarily with others without guarantee of continued residency or prospects for accessing permanent housing;

(c) "food insecurity" means food insecurity as measured using the Canadian Community Health Survey published by Statistics Canada;

(d) "Minister" means the Minister of Community Services;

(e) "poverty" means the condition of a human being who is deprived of the resources, means, choices and power necessary to acquire and maintain economic self-sufficiency or to facilitate integration and participation in society;

(f) "poverty rate" means the poverty rate as computed using the market basket measure published by Statistics Canada.

4 (1) The Government shall work to eliminate poverty and that work must address systemic inequality flowing from race, gender, disability and other grounds, the impacts of colonization and the rights of Indigenous communities, including those in urban centres.

(2) Work undertaken under subsection (1) must give priority to the needs of disadvantaged and marginalized individuals and groups including

(a) children;

(b) young adults;

(c) women and gender-diverse individuals;

(d) Mi'kmaq, First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples;

(e) persons living with disabilities;

(f) persons living in rural communities;

(g) immigrants and refugees;

(h) 2SLGBTQ+ persons;

(i) seniors;

(j) persons living with mental illness or addiction;

(k) African Nova Scotians; and

(l) persons of colour.

5 (1) The following targets are established for the purpose of reducing and eliminating poverty in the Province:

(a) by September 30, 2022, the Minimum Wage Review Committee established under the Labour Standards Code shall bring forward recommendations for implementing a living wage;

(b) by March 31, 2023, subject to Section 7,

(i) assistance amounts under the Employment Support and Income Assistance Act are increased to at least the average of the provinces of Canada, as reported by the Maytree Foundation, and

(ii) assistance amounts under the Employment Support and Income Assistance Act are indexed to the Consumer Price Index, as determined by Statistics Canada;

(c) by March 31, 2024,

(i) the poverty rate in the Province is reduced to at least 50% below the poverty rate in 2019,

(ii) the food insecurity rate among all persons in the Province is reduced to at least 50% below the food insecurity rate in 2019,

(iii) the food insecurity rate among children in the Province is zero per cent, and

(iv) no person in the Province experiences chronic homelessness; and

(d) by March 31, 2030,

(i) the poverty rate in the Province is zero per cent, and
(ii) the food insecurity rate in the Province is zero per cent.

(2) The Minister may establish additional poverty elimination targets for other years or periods, but those targets may not be less stringent than those listed in subsection (1).

6 (1) The Minister shall establish a Council on Poverty Elimination.

(2) The purpose of the Council on Poverty Elimination is to provide advice to the Minister on

(a) proposed programs, policies or initiatives; and

(b) implementation, performance measurement and reporting.

(3) The Council shall meet at least four times in each year.

(4) At least half the members of the Council must be women or gender-diverse individuals.

(5) The Council must include at least one representative from each of

(a) African Nova Scotian organizations;

(b) the Féderation acadienne de la Nouvelle-Écosse;

(c) Mi'kmaq organizations;

(d) persons living in poverty;

(e) persons living with disabilities;

(f) the Nova Scotia Federation of Municipalities;

(g) unions;

(h) seniors;

(i) persons living in rural communities; and

(j) academics.

(6) By March 31st in each year, the Minister shall make public an annual report respecting the progress on meeting the goal of eliminating poverty.

(7) The Minister shall table the annual report referred to in subsection (6) in the Assembly if the Assembly is then sitting or, where the Assembly is not then sitting, within 15 days of its next sitting.

(8) Within two months of the tabling of the reporting in the Assembly, the Assembly's Standing Committee on Community Services shall meet with representatives for the Department of Community Services to examine and review the report.

(9) The report must be posted on a publicly available website and be made broadly available in accessible formats.

7 The money required for the purpose of this Act must be paid out of money appropriated for that purpose by the Legislature.

 

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