From Poverty To

Prosperity
ACORN’s Federal People’s
Platform

September 2008

ACORN Canada
The Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, Canada

www.acorncanada.org
 From Poverty to Prosperity:
ACORN’s Federal People’s Platform

Executive Summary

ACORN Canada has been building community organizations and developing leadership among low and
moderate income residents in communities across Canada for over 4 years. During this time ACORN’s
chapters have worked independently and collectively on a number of innovative campaigns on a number of
critical issues.

In the pages below ACORN has laid out a platform that has been developed through 4 years of grassroots
community organizing. The issues identified we’re set as priorities by ACORN’s low and moderate income
membership, and represent what they believe it will take to move From Poverty to Prosperity.

Table of Contents

1. Improving Housing Security in Canada

a. Remove Restrictions on the Affordable Housing Framework Agreement
b. Develop a National Housing Strategy
c. Renew and Extend Existing Housing Programs Due to Expire
d. Create a Federal Housing Minister

2. Work and Wages – Transforming Bad Jobs to Good Jobs

a. Bring Back the Federal Minimum Wage
b. Create a Federal Living Wage

3. National Childcare Program

4. Make Banking Work for Working Families

a. Crack Down on Unfair Bank Fee’s
b. Work with the Sector to Create Low Cost Payday Loan Alternative’s
c. Community Re-Investment and Responsibility

5. Respecting New Canadians

a. Begin the Process of Naturalizing all ‘Illegal’ immigrants
b. Reverse the Recent Punitive Changes to the Immigration Act

6. Building Safe and Strong Neighbourhoods

 From Poverty to Prosperity:
ACORN’s Federal People’s Platform

Improving Housing Security In Canada

The CMHC estimates that as many as 1.5 million Canadians are currently experiencing core housing need,
meaning that they are under-housed or face an unsustainable financial burden to maintain their current
housing situation. This national housing crisis is exacerbated by 2 factors; the fact Canada remains the only
industrialized nation without a national housing strategy (Shapcott, 2008) and that only 5%of Canada’s
housing stock is dedicated to social housing, as compared to a European average of 13%1.

The federal government signed an Affordable Housing Framework Agreement with the provinces and
territories in 2001, in which it committed to spend $1 billion on housing and match any additional provincial
and territorial allocations, only 23% of these funds have been delivered to date2.

ACORN is calling for a government that will:

• Allow the provinces to spend money allocated under the Affordable Housing Framework Agreement
without having to allocate matching funds.
• Meet Canada's international housing obligations by adopting a comprehensive and fully-funded
national housing program.
• Renew and extend the three federal housing and homelessness programs that are due to expire this
year (federal homelessness strategy, federal housing repair program, federal affordable housing
initiative).
• Maintain the current investment in affordable housing (reverse the policy decision of 1996 that locks in
a rapidly decreasing annual housing funding cut).
• Establish a minister responsible for housing, with wide-ranging mandates and responsibilities.

Work and Wages – Transforming Bad Jobs to Good Jobs

In 1996 the Federal Liberal Government got rid of the federal minimum wage. Canadians should have a
national minimum wage that guarantees they don’t have to live in poverty. Canadian economists say “There is
a common, but incorrect, assumption that higher minimum wages destroy low-wage jobs and increase
unemployment among those they are most intended to help.”3

Further, firms that contract with the Federal Government or receive federal assistance (be it economic
development grants, venture capital financing, or any other type federal government assistance) should be
required to pay a living wage.

1
Czischke, Darinka. (2006). “Social Housing in the European Union: Overview of Key Approaches, Trends and Issues.” In Darinka
Czischke (Ed.), Current Developments in Housing Policies and Housing Markets in Europe: Implications for the Social Housing
Sector. Brussels: CECODHAS European Social Housing Observatory. 7-16.
2
Shapcott, Michael. (February 2008). Wellesley Institute National Housing Report Card. Toronto:
Wellesley Institute.
3
http://www.makeworkpay.ca/index.php?section_id=8
 From Poverty to Prosperity:
ACORN’s Federal People’s Platform

ACORN is calling for a government that will:

• Bring back the federal minimum wage at $11 and hour and peg it to inflation
• Enact a Federal Living Wage law at $15 - $18 an hours that would cover employees of Federal Service
Contractors and Employees of firms receiving assistance from the Federal Government

National Child Care Program

Canada's patchwork of public programs is currently unable to accommodate four out of five children seeking
childcare, that’s a shortage of 1.4-million spaces. This shortage drives many families to options that may short-
change their kids, or that put profit before childhood development. The federal government needs to restore
the federal-provincial child care funding agreement and work with the provincial governments to create the
desperately needed affordable, accessible, publicly funded, quality nonprofit child care.

ACORN is calling for a government that will:

• Every child in Canada should have access to child care - no matter their family’s economic, cultural or
linguistic circumstances, their developmental needs or whether their parents stay at home or work.
• Parent fees should be capped, reduced, or even eliminated so that cost is not a barrier to child care.
• Child care workers need adequate compensation
• Public funding is the only way to build a system that is stable, accountable and where decisions are
based on the needs of children, families and communities – not the needs of shareholders.
• Any system must provide for a range of child care quality options including full and part time care in
centre and family child care programs.
• Oppose big-box Child Care

Make Banks Work for Working Families

Four years ago ACORN blew the whistle on Predatory Payday Loan outlets charging illegal interest rates to
people who needed short-term loans. Since then governments in Ottawa, BC, Manitoba, Nova Scotia and
Ontario have passed laws to crack down on payday lenders. But chasing out the bad apples won’t work unless
people have financial institutions in their communities where they can borrow and deposit money without
getting gouged. Canadian banks operate under legal charter from the government. They must be accountable
to the people of Canada. In the US banks are required by law to devote a portion of their profit to community
investments, and disclose information about their practices. Canadians are tired of seeing banks close
branches, abandon their communities and make record-breaking profit while charging more and more fees.

ACORN is calling for a government that will:

Crack down on exorbitant and unfair bank fees – starting with a ban on ATM fees and limits on credit
card fees to bring them in line with other interest charges.

Establish citizen oversight committees to monitor bank fees and rates and require banks to distribute
information on how to participate.
 From Poverty to Prosperity:
ACORN’s Federal People’s Platform

Compel banks to fund the return of financial services to communities they have abandoned – either by
re-opening facilities or creating a fund to encourage alternative financial providers such as credit
unions.

Improve transparency by requiring banks to provide statistics and report on the number and nature of
loans (including mortgages), rates of loan approvals, default rates, borrowers’ income levels, and other
information about their lending practices.

Legislate Community Reinvestment targets to ensure Canada’s banking sector invests in the Canadian
communities where they’ve made their money.

Work with Canada’s credit unions to develop a “small loan” program that provides an alternative to
payday loans.

Respecting New Canadians

Up to 500 000 people live and work in Canada without legal status, access to education, health care, or the
ability to vote4. ACORN is calling for a government that will:

ACORN is calling for a government that will:

• Begin a process to naturalize illegal immigrants living in Canada, so they are ensured legal protection
and education opportunities.
• Reverse the recent punitive changes to Canada’s immigration act.
• Ensure participants in Canada’s guest workers are on a track to be granted Canadian citizenship if they
choose.

Building Safe and Strong Neighbourhoods

Strong neighbourhoods require strong foundations. Drugs like crack cocaine are a serious social and economic
problem that undermine our neighbourhoods foundations. The Canadian Centre for Substance Abuse
estimates the total cost of substance abuse in Canada to be $39.8 billion, which represents a cost of $1,267 to
each individual Canadian.5 While social issues like drug addiction are undermining the social fabric of our
communities, a failure to invest in basic infrastructure leaves our neighborhoods with broken streetlights,
dangerous parks and unsafe streets. The Federation of Canadian Municipalities that shows Canada’s municipal
infrastructure deficit is now $123 billion.6 The social and infrastructure deficit left be years of Federal
underfunding are straining our communities’ resilience, and are challenges that must be met by the next
government

4
“Rallies protest deportation of illegal workers” CTV News, May 27, 2006
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20060527/immigration_rallies_060527/20060527?hub=CTVNewsAt11
5
“The Costs of Substance Abuse in Canada 2002: Highlights”, Canadian Centre on Subatance Abuse
http://www.ccsa.ca/CCSA/EN/Research/Costs_of_Substance_Abuse_in_Canada/TheCostsofSubstanceAbuseinCanada.htm
6
‘FCM report says infrastructure "near collapse"’ Press Release, November 20, 2007
http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/November2007/20/c2278.html
ACORN is calling for a government that will:

Expand the Canada Health Act to ensure that rehabilitation and detox centres are open and bed spaces
are available for people who need them.

Eliminate the municipal infrastructure deficit in the next decade.