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1. COMMUNITY POVERTY REDUCTION STRATEGY STRATÉGIE
COMMUNAUTAIRE DE RÉDUCTION DE LA PAUVRETÉ |
Committee RecommendationS AS AMENDED
That Council:
1. Develop a Poverty Reduction
Strategy, in consultation with both the community and community partners, in
concert with the provincial poverty reduction strategy;
2. Direct that staff report to the appropriate Standing
Committee on the framework to develop a Poverty Reduction Strategy by February
2009;
3. Approve that the Poverty Reduction Strategy be developed
in time to influence the 2010 budget.
RecommandationS modifiÉeS du Comité
Que le Conseil :
1. élabore une
stratégie de réduction de la pauvreté en consultation avec la communauté et les
partenaires communautaires et en accord avec la stratégie de réduction de la
pauvreté provinciale;
2. enjoigne
le personnel de faire rapport au comité permanent pertinent sur le cadre
nécessaire à l’élaboration d’une stratégie de réduction de la pauvreté d’ici
février 2009;
3. approuve
l’élaboration de la stratégie de réduction de la pauvreté à temps pour
influencer le budget de 2010.
Documentation
1. Committee
Coordinator's report, dated 4 December 2008 (ACS2008-CCS-CPS-0039).
2. Extract
of Draft Minutes, 20 November 2008.
Report to / Rapport au:
Comité des services communautaires et de
protection
and Council/et au Conseil
4 December 2008 / le 4 décembre 2008
Coordonnateur de comité
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City-wide/ à l'échelle de la Ville |
Ref N°: ACS2008-CCS-CPS-0039 |
SUBJECT: COMMUNITY POVERTY REDUCTION STRATEGY
OBJET: STRATÉGIE
COMMUNAUTAIRE DE RÉDUCTION DE LA PAUVRETÉ
That
Council:
1.
Develop a Poverty Reduction Strategy, in
consultation with both the community and community partners, in concert with
the provincial poverty reduction strategy;
2. Direct that staff report to the appropriate Standing Committee on the framework to develop a Poverty Reduction Strategy by February 2009;
3. Approve that the Poverty Reduction Strategy be developed in time to influence the 2010 budget.
Que le Conseil :
1. élabore
une stratégie de réduction de la pauvreté en consultation avec la communauté et
les partenaires communautaires et en accord avec la stratégie de réduction de
la pauvreté provinciale;
2. enjoigne
le personnel de faire rapport au comité permanent pertinent sur le cadre
nécessaire à l’élaboration d’une stratégie de réduction de la pauvreté d’ici
février 2009;
3. approuve
l’élaboration de la stratégie de réduction de la pauvreté à temps pour
influencer le budget de 2010.
That the City of Ottawa develop a
Poverty Reduction Strategy, in consultation with both the community and
community partners, in concert with the provincial poverty reduction strategy;
And that staff report to Community and
Protective Services Committee on the framework to develop a Poverty Reduction
Strategy by February 2009;
And that the Poverty Reduction Strategy
be developed in time to influence the 2010 budget.
CONSULTATION
City Operations is
supportive of the motion to develop a Poverty Reduction Strategy. Given the corporate reorganization
presently unfolding, the Department would propose that the framework be
targeted for April 2009 instead of February 2009. The Department is confident that the resulting Poverty Reduction
Strategy can still be developed in time to influence the 2010 budget.
FINANCIAL
IMPLICATIONS
N/A
SUPPORTING
DOCUMENTATION
Document
1 - Something Left Over at the End
of the Month – Report from the Community Poverty Reduction Strategy Forum
That staff in City Operations prepare a report to be presented to the appropriate Standing Committee in February 2009.
COMMUNITY
POVERTY REDUCTION STRATEGY
STRATÉGIE COMMUNAUTAIRE DE RÉDUCTION DE LA PAUVRETÉ
ACS2008-CCS-CPS-0039 CITY WIDE / À L'ÉCHELLE DE LA VILLE
Ms. Linda
Lalonde of the Ottawa Poverty Reduction Network gave a verbal
presentation and spoke to the Report from the Community Poverty Reduction
Strategy Forum held on June 25, 2008 in Ottawa. The report was circulated to the Committee members for their
information.
She stated
that they are part of an organization that formed after the Provincial
government had made a commitment in 2007 in the election campaign to prepare
and deliver a poverty reduction strategy for the Province. To her knowledge, the strategy will be
released on December 5, 2008.
The
organization is looking at ways to bring low-income people into the process of
developing the strategy. They strongly
feel that poverty is not a low-income issue but a community issue. The forum held in June had a wide variety of
people and agencies with the result being the report before the
Councillors. They hope that at budget
time in a couple of weeks they will take into consideration some of the
recommendations made in the report. In
2009 they will return to the Committee with a more detailed list of long-term and
short-term goals.
Councillor
Cullen thanked Ms. Lalonde for the recommendations. He noted that some of the points involve the City as well as the
Provincial and Federal governments. He
will bring forth a motion later to reflect the action to be taken by the City.
Councillor
Feltmate asked if staff have a response coming forward based on the report
before them.
Mr. Steve Kanellakos, Deputy City
Manager, City Operations stated that they did not and they have asked Ms.
Lalonde to go back to the Poverty Issues Advisory Committee as part of the
process before returning to CPSC. He
stated that with the realignment of City Departments the Social Services group
would deal with those sections of the report for which the City is
responsible. He also noted that the 4
communities selected in the following item on the agenda have approximately 30%
of the poverty rate and will be engaging people in those neighbourhoods. He believes the best way of dealing with
this issue is targeting neighbourhoods and this should have an impact on the
services being delivered.
Councillor Feltmate stated that this
was targeting approximately 40,000 people out of 900,000 and there is poverty
across the City not just the 4 neighbourhoods so when does the City look at the
broader perspective and not just those 4 neighbourhoods.
Mr. Kanellakos said that the City
still has a broad range of programming and initiatives in all the areas;
housing, transit, recreation and social services and Danielle Massé, General
Manager of Social Services has started looking at what policies work for the
broader population being served and where the gaps are. He states that his preference is to target
where a difference can be made and not try to “boil the ocean”. There are challenges in many areas brought
forth in the report and they are being examined.
Helen Lenthall, concerned citizen, and joint vice-chair of the
Accessibility Advisory Committee stated that she has worked with the City for a
number of years on various issues and committees. She is declared disabled and chaired a forum in 2007 on
Disability and Accessibility. She
wanted to point out that as a disabled person, low-income and poverty strikes
closer to home. As an example she said
that she found herself with .12 cents in the bank close to Christmas time and
no money for groceries or medication.
The issue of low-income and poverty causes stress and depression and
further increases problems with poverty. It is a vicious cycle. She feels that poverty is dealt with in a
top down manner, which causes distrust.
Councillor
Cullen asks what does Ms. Lenthall suggest be done with regards to the
recommendations made at the forum.
Ms.
Lenthall stated that there is a fragmentation with regards to the advisory
committees and they are not heard effectively by the management of the City or
by Councillors.
Councillor
Cullen stated that his take on Ms. Lenthall’s comments was that City Hall has
to change its culture with regards to the victims of poverty whether by income
or illness and link in those groups dealing with these issues and how the City
responds to their needs. The Community
Development Framework is important but the City needs to develop a poverty
reduction strategy.
Councillor
Holmes asked staff if the strategy would take into account the 2010
budget. Policy discussions must take
into consideration the budget since it seems that the City is cutting many
items that relate to people in poverty.
Mr.
Kanellakos stated that many of the recommendations of the June forum are not municipally
owned and the few things that are, the City cannot afford or has not been able
to deal with. It must remembered that
anything influencing a 2010 budget will be scrutinized according to the
financial priorities of Council.
Moved by
Councillor Cullen
That the City of Ottawa develop a Poverty
Reduction Strategy, in consultation with both the community and community
partners, in concert with the provincial poverty reduction strategy;
And that staff report to Community and
Protective Services Committee on the framework to develop a Poverty Reduction
Strategy by February 2009;
And that the Poverty Reduction Strategy be
developed in time to influence the 2010 budget.
CARRIED
That the Community and Protective Services
Committee:
1.
Receive a verbal presentation
on the above-noted subject.
2. Direct
staff to develop a Poverty Reduction Strategy, in consultation with both the
community and community partners, in concert with the provincial poverty
reduction strategy;
3. That staff report to the appropriate Standing Committee
on the framework to develop a Poverty Reduction Strategy by February 2009;
4. That the Poverty Reduction Strategy be developed in time
to influence the 2010 budget.
CARRIED
as amended