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OTTAWA’S POVERTY REDUCTION STRATEGY - POVERTY
AFFECTS US ALL: A COMMUNITY APPROACH TO POVERTY REDUCTION LA STRATÉGIE POUR RÉDUIRE LA PAUVRETÉ DE LA VILLE D'OTTAWA – LA PAUVRETÉ, C’EST L’AFFAIRE DE TOUS: UNE APPROCHE COMMUNAUTAIRE POUR RÉDUIRE LA PAUVRETÉ |
Committee RecommendationS as amended
That Council:
1. Approve the Poverty
Reduction Strategy (Phase I) outlined in this report;
2.
Direct staff
to report back to Committee and Council with respect to any Poverty Reduction
Strategy recommendations by December 2010 that have budget impacts in
2011;
3.
Direct staff
to report back to Committee and Council on the progress of the Strategy annually.
4. Direct staff to refer Recommendation
11 to the Community Development Framework Round Table for its evaluation and
consideration.
5. Direct staff to have the Ottawa
Police Services police records check policy and practices reviewed and amended
to reduce the potential for discrimination by employers towards people
apprehended under Mental Health Act.
6. Request that the Association of
Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) and the Ontario Municipal Social Services
Association (OMSSA) establish a Task Force on Poverty Reduction that would
share experiences, best practices and enable a joint approach and advocacy to work
with the Province to achieve the goal of poverty reduction.
7. Direct staff to prepare a report
within 6 months with targets goals and timelines for the implementation of the
recommendations of Poverty Reduction Strategy.
8. Have staff establish a policy
regarding the philosophy of a triple bottom line for the implementation of the
2011 budget.
9. Promote quality child care options
that are affordable, accessible, and flexible so as to accommodate different
hours for Phase II in 2010.
RecommandationS MODIFIÉES DU
Comité
Que le Conseil :
1.
D’approuver la phase I de la
Stratégie de réduction de la pauvreté traitée dans le présent rapport;
2.
D’inviter le personnel de la Ville à
présenter d’ici à décembre 2010 les rapports nécessaires au Comité et au
Conseil concernant les recommandations relatives à la Stratégie qui auront une
incidence sur le budget de 2011;
3.
D’inviter le personnel de la Ville à
présenter chaque année un rapport au Comité et au Conseil sur
l’application de la Stratégie.
4. D’inviter
le personnel à soumettre la recommandation à la Table ronde du développement
communautaire pour étude et évaluation.
5. D’inviter
le personnel à faire examiner et modifier la politique et les procédures du
Service de police d’Ottawa concernant la vérification du dossier de police, de
façon à réduire les risques de discrimination de la part des employeurs contre
les personnes appréhendées aux termes de la Loi
sur la santé mentale.
6. De
demander à l’Association des municipalités de l’Ontario et à l’Association des
services sociaux des municipalités de l’Ontario de former un groupe de travail
sur la réduction de la pauvreté qui permette un échange d’expériences et de
pratiques exemplaires ainsi qu’une démarche et une intervention communes auprès
du gouvernement provincial dans le but de réduire la pauvreté.
7. D’inviter
le personnel à rédiger, d’ici six mois, un rapport énonçant des cibles, des
objectifs et un échéancier concernant la mise en œuvre de la Stratégie de
réduction de la pauvreté.
8. De
demander au personnel d’établir une politique concernant le principe d’un
triple résultat, à mettre en œuvre dans le cadre du budget de 2011.
9. De
promouvoir, afin d’assurer des services de garde d’enfants de qualité, des
choix abordables, accessibles et souples qui permettent différents horaires, en
vue de la phase II devant être réalisée en 2010.
Documentation
1.
Deputy
City Manager's report, City Operations dated 21 January 2010
(ACS2010-COS-CSS-0001).
2. Extract of Draft Minutes, 21 January
2010.
Community and Protective Services Committee
Comité des services communautaires
et de protection
and Council / et au Conseil
21 January 2010/ le 21 janvier 2010
Steve
Kanellakos, Deputy City Manager/Directeur municipal adjoint,
City
Operations/Opérations municipales
Contact Person/Personne ressource:
Colleen Hendrick, Manager, Policy, Evaluation
and Community Partnerships Branch, Community and Social Services/ Gestionnaire,
Division des politiquest sociales, des partenariats communautaires et de
l’évaluation, Département des services sociaux et communautaires
(613) 580-2424 x24366,
colleen.hendrick@ottawa.ca
That the Community
and Protective Services Committee recommend Council:
1.
Approve the
Poverty Reduction Strategy (Phase I) outlined in this report;
2.
Direct staff
to report back to Committee and Council with respect to any Poverty Reduction
Strategy recommendations that have budget impacts in 2011;
3.
Direct staff
to report back to Committee and Council on the progress of the Strategy by
January 2012.
Que le Comité des services communautaires et de
protection recommande au Conseil :
1.
D’approuver la phase I de la
Stratégie de réduction de la pauvreté traitée dans le présent rapport;
2.
D’inviter le personnel de la Ville à
présenter les rapports nécessaires au Comité et au Conseil concernant les
recommandations relatives à la Stratégie qui ont une incidence sur le budget de
2011;
3.
D’inviter le personnel de la Ville à
présenter un rapport au Comité et au Conseil sur l’application de la Stratégie
d’ici janvier 2012.
In November, 2008 the Province released the Ontario Poverty Reduction Strategy with a goal of reducing child poverty by 25% in five years. To reach this goal the Province uses senior government policy levers such as increasing the minimum wage and accelerating increases to the Ontario Child Benefit program, as well as flowing funding to communities for community use of schools, affordable housing and housing with supports. The Provincial strategy calls on municipalities and communities to build on the Provincial strategy through community/municipal projects at the local level.
The Ottawa Poverty Reduction Network brought their report …something left at the end of the month to the Community and Protective Services Committee in November 2008 and to City Council in December 2008. On December 10, 2008, City Council approved the development of a Poverty Reduction Strategy, in consultation with the community and community partners to be developed in time to influence the 2010 budget.
In April 2009, Community and Protective Services Committee approved the Poverty Reduction Framework staff report, including the creation of a joint City-Community Steering Committee to identify priority actions which could be implemented beginning in 2010.
The Poverty Reduction Strategy Steering Committee is co-chaired by City staff and the Executive Director of the Community Foundation of Ottawa. The Committee includes low income leaders, representatives from community organizations, including representatives from the Inuit community, the immigrant community, the Coalition of Community Health and Resource Centres, the Social Planning Council, the education sector, funders and the private sector.
The Ottawa Poverty Reduction Strategy builds on a decade of strengthening capacity by increasing participation of people on low income in initiatives to make their voices heard. Ottawa's initiative builds on the Ontario Poverty Reduction Strategy and expands the target group to include individuals, families and children living on low income.
The focus of Ottawa's Strategy is to implement local initiatives that reduce poverty, promote awareness and complement existing activities in the community.
The report presents 3 Strategic Priorities and 16 Recommendations, including concrete, local actions that can be achieved and measured within a two-year timeframe. Beginning in 2010, Phase II of the Strategy will implement the recommendations and monitor progress by developing measures and tracking outcomes.
Recommendations that have budget implications in 2011 and beyond, such as the framework to reinvest savings from the upload of social assistance benefits, will be reviewed within the context of the City’s Fiscal Framework and the Corporate Strategic Plan, with reports back to Committee and Council to ensure that they reflect the policy objectives and fiscal priorities of Council.
Link to
Corporate Strategic Plan
The Poverty Reduction Strategy (PRS) is well situated within the Corporate Strategic Plan Update and the PRS is included as one of the new activities to be included within the refreshed strategic plan that is presently being vetted through Council as part of the 2010 budget process.
There are a number of other Council approved initiatives, which also have a strong focus on promoting access, inclusion and community capacity, that are to be included within the refreshed Strategic Plan including:
§ Completion
and implementation of the Recreation Master Plan
§ Implementation of the City Housing Strategy,
§ Development of a new Seniors Strategy and implementation plan.
§ Expansion and implementation of the Community Development Framework
§ Integration of Community and Social Services Delivery
There a number of synergies and interdependencies between the Poverty Reduction Strategy and the other activities cited above. Those interdependencies are reflected in the recommendations of the PRS and will result a number of the recommendations being referred to the appropriate initiative for development and implementation.
The Ottawa Poverty Reduction Strategy represents a collaborative effort to bring attention to poverty reduction in the city and to take concrete actions at the municipal and community level.
The Strategy builds on a decade of strengthening community capacity by increasing participation of people on low income in initiatives to make their voices heard. The Poverty Reduction Steering Committee includes community representatives living on low income and representatives from community organizations including: funders, the Inuit community, the immigrant community, the Coalition of Community Health and Resource Centres, the Social Planning Council, the education sector, and the private sector. Please see Annex 1 for a list of the Committee members.
The plan builds on the recommendations from previous consultations and initiatives, including:
§ The People’s Hearings (1997)
§ The Task Force on Poverty (1998 – 2000)
§ The work of the Poverty Issues Advisory Committee (PIAC)
§ The report by PIAC called Basic Needs (2004)
§ People’s Hearings II (2005)
§ Re-thinking Poverty 1 (2007)
§ Creation of the Ottawa Poverty Reduction Network (2008) and June 25, 2008 report called….something left over at the end of the month
§ Re-thinking Poverty II (2009)
In November, 2008 the Province released the Ontario Poverty Reduction Strategy with a goal of reducing child poverty by 25% in five years. The Province uses senior government policy levers such as increasing the minimum wage and accelerating increases to the Ontario Child Benefit program, as well as flowing funding to communities for community use of schools, affordable housing and housing with supports. The Provincial strategy calls on municipalities and communities to build on the Provincial strategy through community/municipal projects at the local level.
The Ottawa Poverty Reduction Network brought their report to the Community and Protective Services Committee in November 2008 and to City Council in December 2008. On December 10, 2008, City Council approved the development of a Poverty Reduction Strategy, in consultation with the community and community partners to be developed in time to influence the 2010 budget.
On December 10, 2008, Council approved as amended the following recommendations in the Community Poverty Reduction Strategy ACS2008-CCS-CPS-0039:
Municipal Role in Poverty Reduction
The City of Ottawa has a responsibility for and a leadership role in poverty reduction. As the nation’s capital, the City of Ottawa is in a unique position to be a role model in breaking down the myths about poverty and taking action to reduce it. The Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AM0) and the Ontario Municipal Social Services Association (OMSSA), have released a joint discussion paper Government Makes a Difference: Working Toward Poverty Reduction, 2009. The discussion paper states that poverty has become the daily reality of the most vulnerable citizens in our communities and municipalities have a key role to play in poverty reduction:
"Municipalities see this poverty first hand because we are on the front line of addressing poverty through the cost-shared and municipally funded programs we provide. Municipalities have many levers to achieve social and economic goals. We have [the capacity, experience and expertise] to integrate and coordinate service delivery build local capacity and cooperation as well as leading strategic economic and social development planning. We are the lever to mobilize and engage for change."
Poverty reduction activities across Ontario include the Hamilton Roundtable on Poverty Reduction, the Provincial Consultation Working Group of Nipissing District, collaborative tables where municipalities play a pivotal role in Kitchener-Waterloo (Opportunities Waterloo Region), the Mayor’s Task force on Poverty Reduction in the City of Peterborough and a community round table in the City of Kingston. As well, similar structures are emerging in Windsor, London, Peel Region, Brantford and Brant County, and York Region as well as Ottawa. The AMO/OMSSA discussion paper states:
"Such activities have brought municipal representatives together with local stakeholders to develop comprehensive responses to poverty. They have stimulated innovative thinking about the collective responsibility for poverty reduction that has resulted in tangible differences in their communities. What is clear, then, is that communities each address the issue of poverty in ways that leverage their particular local resources, capacities, and advantages."
While the entire community has a responsibility to reduce poverty, the Poverty Reduction Strategy Phase I focuses on the role of the City together with community partners. It calls for the reinvestment of future savings in social infrastructure and poverty reduction in order to sustain a healthy, inclusive and safe city where all people can reach their full potential. As well, it calls for a multi-phase, multi-year approach to poverty reduction. For the longer term, the Steering Committee envisions the responsibility for poverty reduction expanding more broadly to the community at large.
Ottawa's Poverty Reduction Strategy
In April 2009, Community and Protective Services Committee approved the Poverty Reduction Framework staff report, including the creation of a joint City-Community Steering Committee to identify priority actions which could be implemented beginning in 2010.
The Ottawa Poverty Reduction Strategy Phase I builds on the Ontario Poverty Reduction Strategy and expands the target group to include individuals, families and children living on low income. It is intended to focus on local initiatives that reduce poverty, promote awareness and complement existing activities in the community. The Strategy proposes several concrete, local actions that can be achieved and measured within a two-year timeframe.
The Ottawa Poverty Reduction Strategy proposes a shared vision of poverty reduction, linking current, emerging and new initiatives to this vision. There are no new costs anticipated for 2010 as a result of this Strategy, however, there may be future budget implications in 2011. The proposed ODSP Community Application Project will be funded ($200,000) with one-time provincial funding as a pilot project in 2010. There may be budget implications in 2011 for this project. The proposed changes to the Essential Health and Social Supports and Home Support needs assessment are expected to be implemented within the 2010 program budget and will be closely monitored. If policy changes to this program result in additional financial pressures, options would have to be considered such as introducing a cap, changing items available under the program, creating a waiting list for some items, and/or requesting Council to increase the program budget in 2011. There may also be additional costs related to a broad communications strategy project, though there is no budget request in 2010.
The investment required to implement the 16 recommendations is $3.5M ($3.3M to increase employment supports and opportunities and $200K to develop an expanded community Ontario Disability Support Program application process). For 2010 the funding will come from new or existing one time provincial funding within the Community and Social Services Department. Each recommendation summarizes the financial impact in 2010, as well as potential impact in future years based on outcomes, recommendations stemming from the initiatives and direction from Council.
The Poverty Reduction Strategy Vision and Principles
All residents of Ottawa living in dignity and health, in a community that fosters participation and inclusion for all.
Principles:
1. All residents of Ottawa must be able to meet their basic needs, including living in dignity, safety and health, feeling included and having access to a range of opportunities to participate in community life;
2. The City has a leadership role to play in poverty reduction and social infrastructure investment;
3. The voices of people on low income need to be included in community initiatives;
4. The community coming together to find local solutions based on collaboration, cooperation and opportunities for partnerships is the most effective way to create change at the local level;
5. Local solutions must be responsive to the full diversity of the community, including gender, age, ability, urban/rural, Aboriginal peoples, newcomer and racialized status; and
6. Efforts to raise public awareness as well as concrete actions contribute to poverty reduction.
Strategic Priorities and Recommendations
Strategy One: A service system working to the benefit of
the people in need
1. Develop an expanded community Ontario Disability Support Program application project, based on the model described in this report.
2. Streamline the needs assessment to Essential Health and Social Supports and Home Support Services for people in need.
3. Improve access to City services by establishing a single point of application for multiple City services of importance to people on low income, and by ensuring 311 (for City services) and 211(for City and community services) have the capacity to provide information on a full range of services from the perspective of people on low income.
Strategy Two: Building a community of inclusion and
belonging
4. Increase access to recreation for people on low-income.
5. Develop a community planning table to bring together school boards, the Parks, Recreation and Culture Department, Children’s Services, Crime Prevention Ottawa and community agencies to develop solutions to jointly create, program and coordinate increased community use of schools.
6. Advocate that the Province increase social assistance rates utilizing a standardized market basket measure approach that reflects current living standards and annual cost of living adjustments, and remove systemic barriers across Ministries that have unintended effects of keeping people in poverty.
7. Increase employment supports and opportunities for vulnerable persons in Ottawa.
8. Integrate immigrants and newcomers into the City of Ottawa’s workforce to become a model of employment, increase diversity in the City’s workforce; and implement an equality framework and an equity lens across City departments.
9. Advocate for increased investments in homelessness prevention initiatives, social and affordable housing and housing with supports.
10. Increase awareness of the availability of the Retrofit program, to help people in rural areas reduce energy costs.
11. Identify a rural community as a priority neighbourhood in the next phase of the Community Development Framework.
Strategy Three: Breaking down the myths about poverty and
promoting poverty reduction.
12. Develop a community strategy to increase public awareness of poverty issues and promote local actions to reduce poverty.
13. Collaborate with community funders to identify opportunities to focus on poverty reduction within funding priorities.
14. Develop options for a living wage policy at the City and a consultation plan and report to Community and Protective Services Committee in the spring of 2010.
15. Develop a policy framework to reinvest savings from the upload of social assistance benefits into social infrastructure and poverty reduction to ensure a balance of investment in the Triple Bottom Line.
16. Extend the Poverty Reduction Strategy to future phases to address other poverty issues.
RURAL IMPLICATIONS
The Poverty Reduction Strategy proposes two local projects to help develop best practices for addressing rural poverty.
The City partnered with the Social Planning Council of Ottawa to plan and deliver two targeted Poverty Reduction Strategy community consultation sessions held on September 18th and September 21st. A total of 118 people participated in the targeted sessions. Approximately 50% of participants were people on low income, and approximately 20% were Francophone. In addition, written submissions were provided by Poverty Elimination Mental Health Advocates (PEMHA), Safe People Project, Local Agencies Serving Immigrants Coaliton (LASI), and the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA).
The following Advisory Committees were consulted: Poverty Issues Advisory Committee, Health and Social Services Committee, Rural Issues Advisory Committee, Business Advisory Committee, Seniors Advisory Committee and Accessibility Advisory Committee.
Two
Advisory Committees have submitted statements of support for the Poverty
Reduction Strategy as set out below.
Poverty
Issues Advisory Committee
PIAC
Supports The Proposed Municipal Framework For Poverty Reduction:
PIAC
applauds the City for taking the lead on this very important issue. We would
like to recognize the excellent work of city staff and the Poverty Reduction
Steering Committee in presenting an integrated approach to poverty reduction.
The plan looks beyond the provincial focus on child and family poverty to
include the broad community of citizens who suffer from the devastating effects
of poverty. We welcome the collaborative approach used to date and we fully
support the lobbying efforts by Council to both the Provincial and Federal
Governments to obtain proper funding for critically needed social services.
Councillors have shown time and time again their dedication to poverty reduction by their response to urgent needs in the community. For this initiative to be successful, we know that the city needs to dedicate a substantial amount of its limited financial resources to the problem. To achieve this, we would like to see the savings from the ODSP up-load to be reinvested in poverty alleviation initiatives, instead of going to other un-related services. We hope that the city will see this document for what it is: a first step in the right direction, on the road to a more compassionate and fair city. We urge City Council to take immediate concrete steps to reduce poverty levels in Ottawa. Finally, PIAC would like to see a long-term plan with targeted strategies to reach the most marginalized communities such as aboriginal, newcomers, single parents etc. along with targets and measurable outcomes. PIAC strongly encourages Council to adopt the first Ottawa Poverty Reduction Framework
Health and Social
Services Advisory Committee
The Health and Social Services Advisory Committee recommend that the Community and Protective Services Committee recommend that Council approve and implement the Poverty Reduction Strategy as developed by the Policy, Evaluation and Community Partnerships Branch of the City of Ottawa.
There are no legal risk management impediments to implementing any of the recommendations in this report.
There are no 2010 financial implications with the approval of the recommendations in this report. Recommendations having budget impacts in 2011 will be reviewed within the context of the City’s Fiscal Framework with budget impacts identified in the Draft 2011 Operating Budget for Committee & Council consideration.
Annex 1: Poverty Reduction
Strategy Steering Committee Members (Immediately
follows the report)
Annex 2:
Ottawa’s Poverty Reduction Strategy Poverty Affects Us All: A Community
Approach to Poverty Reduction (Previously distributed and held on file with
the City Clerk)
City Operations staff will implement any direction received as part of consideration of this report.
Annex
1
Poverty
Reduction Strategy Steering Committee Members
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Barb McInnes (Co-chair) Colleen Hendrick, (Co-chair) Luc Ouellette Walter Piovesan Dianne Urquhart Jane McIssac and Marcel St-Jean Bob Mather Hélène Ménard Councillor Georges Bédard Michael Maidment Hope Suggett Dick Stewart Eileen Dooley and Peggy Austen Karen Baker-Anderson Hamdi Mohamed Jeffrey Dale Francine Riopelle Micheline McTiernan Colleen Pellatt (Project Lead) Jennifer Charles |
Community Foundation of Ottawa City of Ottawa Cumberland-Orleans Community Resource Centre Ottawa-Carleton District School Board Social Planning Council of Ottawa Ministry of Community and Social Services Poverty Reduction Network Poverty Reduction Network City of Ottawa Poverty Issues Advisory Committee Poverty Issues Advisory Committee Community Member United Way/Centraide Ottawa The Ottawa Inuit Children’s Centre Ottawa Community Immigrant Services Organization Business Sector City of Ottawa City of Ottawa City of Ottawa City of Ottawa |