On Monday, February 7^th Campaign 2000 National Director, Leila Sarangi, appeared at the finance committee to highlight several recommendations that we’ve made in our 2022 Budget Submission and child poverty report card, as well as to highlight the recent crisis of low-income seniors who have had their GIS clawed back and are suffering – unable to pay for rent, food, or medications. Click here to watch the FINA presentation or read below for a full transcript.

FINA presentation – February 7, 2022

Leila Sarangi, National Director, Campaign 2000: End Child and Family Poverty

Hello and thank you for inviting me to appear today.  My name is Leila Sarangi and I am the National Director of Campaign 2000, a coalition of over 120 organizations working to end child and family poverty.

Today, I’ll be highlighting several recommendations we’ve made in our Budget 2022 submission and our latest child poverty report card, which found that more than 1.3 million children continue live in poverty.  That’s nearly one in five kids but the rates are much higher for indigenous children, racialized, immigrant, children with disabilities and children in lone-mother led families, among others marginalized by systemic barriers. These families are living in deeper poverty and inequalities are growing.  And while the national rate of child poverty reduced slightly in the last year, when we looked by province and territory, we found it actually increased in several of those sub-jurisdictions.  

I’m going to focus in on two areas – income benefits and childcare – although we address many other essential areas in those documents.

The first is the need to budget for a full CERB Amnesty.  Funds that have been earmarked in the fiscal update to repay seniors who lost GIS, must be released now.  We’ve been hearing from seniors who have lost their housing, who are living in their cars, who can’t afford their medication and food.  Many have contemplated suicide because of this hardship, and too many have lost their lives already. We implore you on their behalf to pay an emergency $2500 to these seniors now and create a new $100 million housing fund to help keep all clawback victims housed.

The CERB has interacted with other federal and provincial benefits.  So, in addition to losing GIS, people with low and moderate incomes have lost child benefits, workers benefits, GST credits, social and disability assistance, housing supplements and other provincial benefits such as those for energy and childcare costs, which they depended on to get through these extraordinarily difficult times.

A full CERB Amnesty would mean that all clawed back benefits would be returned, and it would mean to stop pursuing low- and moderate-income individuals for repayments of pandemic benefits. 

It would ensure that pandemic benefits would not negatively interact with income benefits in this or future tax years.

And it would immediately increase the current lockdown benefit to $500 and maintain that amount until EI is reformed.

We also recommend using the Canada Social Transfer to ensure adequacy of income programs by increasing investment by $4 billion and tying funds to adequacy standards, making sure that provincial and territorial programs are meeting human rights obligations.

Our last two annual report cards have found that the Canada Child Benefit is losing its power.  It needs significantly more investment into the base amount so that it can reach children who are left in deep poverty. Repealing the section of the income tax act that ties eligibility to immigration status would enable access to people with precarious immigration status but who are considered residents under the Income tax Act.

And we support the recommendation of disability communities to speed up the design and implementation of the new federal disability benefit, and we recommend the creation of a new federal disability benefit for children.

While the tax system is broad and ongoing activities to bring more people into it are important poverty reduction initiatives, it will never be universal.  We need a parallel benefit distribution system that is federally funded and works with local charities to get benefits to people who are outside of the tax system.  This kind of work is happening informally in communities across the country, and programs are formalized in jurisdictions around the world that we can learn from.

And lastly, on childcare, a national system has the power to be transformational if designed with low-income families in mind.  Our recommendation is a sliding scale $0-$10/day model that reduces fees through funding of operational costs, not through an individual parental fee subsidy model, which we know from experience hasn’t worked for families and doesn’t actually reduce fees.  Operational funding must also factor in decent wages for staff.  Provincial and territorial wage grids will be an essential piece of this funding policy.

Thank you for your time, I look forward to answering any questions.

The CERB Amnesty working group has been asking the federal government to stop pursuing people living on low incomes to repay that emergency benefit, and to repay anyone who had other income supports clawed back because they received CERB.  In December, the federal government promised to repay low-income seniors who had their GIS payments reduced or stopped.  But buried in their announcement was that the payment would not come until May 2022

Join us this Monday, February 7, 2022, as we spread awareness of CERB Amnesty and the struggle many seniors are facing right now. On Monday, reach out to Ministers Khera and Freeland to let them know that May 2022 is too late to reimburse low-income seniors.

Click here for more advocacy resources.

What is a CERB Amnesty? 

The Canadian Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) was the first pandemic income support program that was delivered to individuals who lost work when the economy shut down as a result of COVID-19. In the fall of 2021, the CERB ended and was replaced with the Canada Recovery Benefit (CRB) 

Confusion around eligibility resulted in recipients being deemed ineligible months after receiving the benefit. The failure to make policy adjustments resulted in other benefits being reduced, including social and disability assistance, rent supplements, Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS), child benefits, worker benefits and Goods and Services Tax (GST) credits. 

CERB Amnesty refers to all clawed back funds being returned to recipients whose incomes are below or near the low-income measure, immediate cessation of all current and future clawbacks and halting the pursuit of low-income tax filers found ineligible for pandemic benefits.

CERB Amnesty & GIS 

Sufficient funds have been set aside to reimburse GIS recipients in May 2022 for the income they lost as a result of the earlier policy to clawback pandemic benefits. The parliamentary Budget Office (PBO) reported that typical losses to the 88,000+ recipients affected would be in the $5,000 range for each recipient. 

However, many low-income seniors CANNOT wait until May 2022. 

CERB Amnesty & GIS: The Consequences

Many low-income seniors cannot wait until May 2022 for reimbursement. Some have: 

• Have already been evicted from their housing.
• Are on the verge of eviction.
• Their landlords cannot and will not wait until May. 
• Those who live in rent geared to income housing had rental charges increase by 30% of the pandemic benefits received in addition to the GIS clawback. 
• Are faced with borrowing against the future payment through payday loan outlets that can charge exorbitant interest rates and perpetuate the cycle of poverty. 

This winter, while shelters are overrun because of the Omicron variant, seniors have and will continue to face eviction and have absolutely no place to go. Seniors are continuing to be evicted from their homes and we know of many seniors from across Canada who are suffering right now. 

Measures to Take Immediately 

1. Immediately provide an interim down payment of $2,500 to all GIS clawback victims with losses of at least this amount. 
2. Immediately implement a $100 million housing fund for pandemic clawback victims using a very low barrier distribution method to help keep seniors housed and mitigate evictions; and 
3. Ensure that pandemic benefits (CERB, CRB and Lockdown) do not result in clawbacks from any other income benefits targeted for people with low and moderate incomes. 
4. Refund all lost benefit amounts related to CERB/CRB payments 
5. Stop pursuing people living on low incomes for repayments of the CERB and ensure that no payments are sought for the CRB. 
6. Legislate the reinstatement of the CRB at the full $500 amount weekly into Bill C-2 until Employment Insurance is reformed; and 
7. Drastically improve social and disability assistance programs by increasing federal investments into the Canada Social Transfer and tie funding to adequacy standards. 

How To Take Action

Tweet: Minister Khera (@KamalKheraLib) & Minister Freeland (@cafreeland) about GIS clawbacks

Use the hashtags: #CERBAmnesty #Cdnpoli #MayIsTooLate

Let them know that it is unacceptable to make low-income seniors wait until May 2022 to be reimbursed.

Write to Minister Khera & Minister Freeland 

[email protected];

[email protected]

cc: [email protected] 

Re: Emergency payment needed to support seniors who lost GIS due to CERB

Hello, 

My name is [Name] and I am concerned about the timeline for reimbursement for low-income seniors who had their GIS payments reduced or eliminated because they received pandemic benefits. Many are hungry, struggling to pay for medications and rent. Many have become homeless as a result. These seniors are experiencing increased stress and mental health challenges as a result of the hardship this has caused. It is unacceptable to make them wait until May 2022. Please act now. 

Sincerely, 

[Name]

On August 6, 2021, Campaign 2000 submitted investment priorities and recommendations for the 2022 federal budget, with a focus on a supportive recovery plan. This was submitted nine days before the election was called. These recommendations remain as key policy priorities during the election and as budget priorities for the government. The budget submission states that during this period of uneven economic recovery, marginalized groups and families are the ones experiencing systemic discrimination and have been disproportionately impacted by the economic fallout of the pandemic. Budget 2022 must aim to support these families and individuals and in doing so, ensure that no one is left behind in recovery efforts. To achieve this, we must remove barriers to increase eligibilities for families to get access to the efforts they need, such as recovery benefits. You can read the 2022 Pre-Budget Submission here.

Today campaign partners in Saskatchewan and Yukon release new reports on child and family poverty. This is the first ever Campaign 2000-affiliated child poverty report released in the Yukon – thank you and congratulations to the Yukon Anti-Poverty Coalition. 

The Yukon report found that in 2018, 10.9% of Yukoners were considered low income, but Yukoners most likely to be considered low income based on the Low Income Measure included Lone-parent families (22.1%) and Households living outside of the Whitehorse (14.5%). Read the full report, which includes 10 recommendations and several policy proposals to improve the health and wellness of children, youth, and families in the Yukon.

The Saskatchewan report reveals a provincial child poverty rate of 26.1%, well above the child poverty rate of 18.2% for Canada as a whole, and greater than all other provinces and territories with the exception of Manitoba and Nunavut. Children in lone parent families had a poverty rate of 59.9%.

Read the Saskatchewan 2020 Child and Family Report Card and Poverty Report Brief.

Read the Yukon 2020 Child and Family Report Card and the media release.

Also out today is the French 2020 National Report card. 

Campaign 2000 calls on all federal leaders to take a stand in support of all low income people in Canada who have faced economic hardship before and during the pandemic by supporting a broad repayment amnesty for those who received the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) but were later deemed ineligible.

“The federal government’s roll out of individual emergency income supports in March must be applauded,” says Leila Sarangi, National Coordinator for Campaign 2000. “This move no doubt was a lifeline for thousands of people living on low income. Now it’s time for the Prime Minister and all federal party leaders to decisively support a CERB repayment amnesty for anyone living in low income who received the benefit but who were found to be ineligible after the fact.”

Read the full press release.

The concept of Basic Income is front and centre once again in policy and advocacy circles, and interest in BI is gaining across the country. While critics and proponents of Basic Income alike discuss program design and financing options, few have spoken about principles that should guide the design of a Basic Income. If anti-poverty advocates aren’t clear on these principles, we are unlikely to get the basic income we want.

Basic Income must move and keep families out of poverty, and it must be supported by a web of accompanying policies to end discrimination and income inequity. In 2016, when Ontario’s Basic Income Pilot was being designed, Campaign 2000 developed 6 guiding principles which provide an anti-poverty framework through which to assess any BI program. These foundational principles are:

• Poverty Eradication
• Inclusive Access
• Ongoing Targeted Supports
• Strong Public Services
• Ending Structural Inequities
• Better Wages for Workers  

In order for BI to successfully accelerate the reduction in poverty, and ensure dignity for all who are living in low income, these principles must be considered foundational architecture in the design of any BI program.

Read C2000’s 6 Principles to Guide Basic Income Design

Note: These principles were originally published in a chapter which was part of a compendium released in October 2016 by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives Ontario Office entitled, “Basic Income: Rethinking Social Policy.”, edited by Alex Himelfarb and Trish Hennessy. The full compendium can be found at: https://www.policyalternatives.ca/publications/reports/basic-income.

On August 7, Campaign 2000 submitted its priorities for the 2021 federal budget, with a focus on a COVID recovery plan.  The submission states that experiences of the COVID-19 pandemic have laid bare inequities, are amplifying inequality and bringing to light the inadequacies of our social and economic infrastructure to support families in crisis. The road to recovery must not lead us back to what we knew as ‘normal’. That status quo left far too many behind. We must use this opportunity to reimagine a just, equitable, inclusive society, which is both good for the economy and is the right thing to do. Eradicating poverty is undoubtedly essential to promoting Canada’s economic growth (Conference Board of Canada) while promoting population health, enhancing social cohesion and enabling fuller social and economic participation of all. To achieve this, we must invest in policies that equalize outcomes for families and children, including income benefits, Reconciliation, ELCC and housing for all.

Read the recommendations and full submission.

Family Service Toronto and Campaign 2000 nation-wide release a joint statement denouncing all forms of anti-Black racism, colonialism and white supremacy.   As organizations working directly in the areas of mental health and poverty eradication, we know that Black and Indigenous communities have much worse health outcomes and exponentially higher rates of poverty than white Canadians and that this is a both a result of and a strategy to maintain systemic oppression.  We have a responsibility to ensure that our work in these areas contributes to ending anti-Black and anti-Indigenous racism, which cannot be done without critical self-reflection, education and dialogue.

Read the full statement and recommendations.

Read the media release.

British Columbia – First Call: Child And Youth Advocacy Coalition

Alberta – Edmonton Social Planning Council

Saskatchewan – University of Regina

Manitoba – Social Planning Council of Winnipeg

Ontario – Ontario Campaign 2000

New Brunswick – Human Development Council

Nova Scotia – CCPA office in Nova Scotia

Prince Edward Island – MacKillop Centre for Social Justice and the PEI Coalition for a Poverty Eradication Strategy

Today Campaign 2000 partners in Manitoba release their annual report card on the state of child and family poverty, Broken Promise Stolen Futures: Child and Family Poverty in Manitoba, where 1 out of every 6 children living in a two-parent family live in poverty, and 1 out of every 1.6 children living in a single parent family lives in poverty. This report finds that even with the federal Canada Child Benefit and using both the federal and provincial governments’ preferred and more forgiving poverty measure, the Market Basket Measure, Manitoba ranks 4th in both overall as well as child poverty in 2016. In 2018, there was an increase of 7% in overall poverty and 19% increase in child poverty. The report demonstrates that at this rate it will take 697.5 years to end child poverty in Manitoba.

Click here to download the media release and full report.

Campaign 2000 and the Child Welfare League of Canada have released a joint response to the federal government’s emergency aid package announced March 18.

The release details their call for more robust investments into income security measures and additional strategies to ensure vulnerable and marginalized children and caregivers have immediate access to benefits.

Follow @campaign2000 and @CWLC_LBEC for updates.