As children and youth prepare for back to school, families with low income face the anxiety of affording new school supplies and clothing on top of ongoing struggles to put food on the table and provide other necessities.

Ontario Campaign 2000’s 2015 Report Card update, “Let’s Do This: Let’s End Child Poverty For Good - finds that one in five children under 18 and 15.4% of families with children live in poverty in Ontario. Despite recent policy changes and benefits many families with children are still struggling.

The report urges the Ontario government to implement concrete policy changes to assist families out of poverty. Eradicating child and family poverty is possible and the government must act to assist families in securing safe and affordable housing, obtaining good jobs access affordable high quality child care.

Canada’s low-income families will keep the full Canada Child Benefit (CCB). All provinces and territories responded to our collective call for no clawbacks! They will support full CCB for families receiving income assistance.

As a result of our hard work by all the Campaign 2000 partners and coalition members, we’re happy to announce that low-income families across the country will be able to keep the full CCB.

Download the newly updated Campaign 2000 Infographic

Read the recent CBC coverage on this issue:
Canada child benefit seen as fighting poverty – as long as provinces co-operate
New Canada Child Benefit program payments start today

Background:

Most families with children across Canada will receive their newly-redesigned and enhanced Canada Child Benefit (CCB) cheques in July.

The new CCB took effect July 1, 2016 and has been described as a “once-in-a-generation” social policy to reduce child poverty by Campaign 2000, a non-partisan coalition of 120 groups and individuals co-ordinated by Family Service Toronto. The bolstered, tax-free and progressively-delivered income transfer is projected to significantly reduce child and family poverty. The benefit’s design is very similar to proposals Campaign 2000 has put forward since 2012 and our network recognizes it as a historic step forward in the battle against child and family poverty in Canada.

It is with profound sadness that we announce the tragic news that Marvyn Novick passed away suddenly on Tuesday, June 21, 2016. Marvyn was our dear friend, co-founder of Campaign 2000 and a great, forward-thinking policy thinker/social activist who spent decades working to end child poverty. Marvyn was a true visionary and pioneer. His sudden passing is a great loss to all of us, especially to those of us who knew him well and worked with him closely over the years. His sudden passing is a big loss to our movement.

Marvyn dedicated his knowledge, his thinking and his efforts to develop the Campaign 2000 network and to work with Campaign 2000 partners across Canada. As the lead author of several Campaign 2000 policy discussion papers, he put forward many sound and truly remarkable policy proposals for Canada’s children and families, including the child benefit system that is one of the key pillars of social policy in Canada’s fight against child poverty. His endless work alongside Campaign 2000 and many other partners has influenced and shaped the newly integrated and redesigned national child benefit that is to be unveiled by the federal government in the coming days – July 1, 2016.

We send our heart-felt condolences to Marvyns family. We’re thinking of you, Marvyn. May you rest in peace with the knowledge that you made life better for millions of children and their families. Your commitment to social justice remains an inspiration to all of us.