RECOMMENDATION 1

That Employment and Social Development Canada work with Finance Canada and the Canadian Revenue Agency to strengthen existing federal income support programs with a view to establishing a system that prevents people from falling into poverty. In strengthening existing programs, the Committee recommends that the federal government make the following changes:

Review coverage, eligibility and duration of Employment Insurance benefits to address the reality of Canadians who are in precarious, part-time, and temporary work situations. Further, that the federal government allow for greater flexibility for recipients of parental and maternity benefits and for beneficiaries who want to attend education and work program while on claim, so that they remain attached to  the workforce.

Amend the Working Income Tax Benefit to expand eligibility, increase the level of benefits and reduce claw backs so that low-wage, low-income workers are lifted out of poverty.

Increase the amount of Canada Pension Plan – Disability benefits so that it provides adequate income for those clients with little or no other means of income support.

Index the Canada Child Benefit to inflation. Further, that the federal government work with the provinces and territories to ensure it is not effectively clawed back by reduced provincial social assistance supports. The relevant departments must also work with Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada to ensure that the Canada Child Benefit reaches Indigenous families.

Increase the Guaranteed Income Supplement and ensure that it reaches all low-income seniors. Further, that the federal government implement a seniors’ price index that will inform future increases in the Guaranteed Income Supplement.

RECOMMENDATION 2

That Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada review social assistance rates for First Nations peoples on reserve in light of higher costs of living and limited employment opportunities so that recipients are ensured an adequate income.

RECOMMENDATION 3

That Finance Canada and the Canada Revenue Agency review taxes for low-income workers to ensure that no families are forced into poverty as a result of taxes.

RECOMMENDATION 4

That Employment and Social Development Canada, Finance Canada and the Canada Revenue Agency work with provinces and territories to strengthen and coordinate income support program policies so that participants do not face marginal effective tax rates that discourage labour force participation.

RECOMMENDATION 5

That Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada, in collaboration with Indigenous and northern communities, develop and implement a system of food security programs to complement or enhance Nutrition North. These programs must address, comprehensively, the extremely high cost of nutritious foods in remote, northern and Indigenous communities. They must also recognize the importance of traditional ‘’country foods’’ and encourage community initiatives that support local harvesting and production.

RECOMMENDATION 6

That Employment and Social Development Canada, in collaboration with other federal departments as well as provincial and territorial stakeholders, ensure that the national framework on early learning and child care provide short- and long-term solutions to improving the well-being of children in Canada by, for example, increasing the quality and accessibility of early learning and child care spaces, as well as promoting research into continued improvements in early learning and child care.

RECOMMENDATION 7

That Employment and Social Development Canada, Health Canada, and the Public Health Agency of Canada explore avenues to provide greater supports towards early learning and child care in Indigenous communities, either within the context of the federal Aboriginal Head Start programs or the Indigenous framework on early learning and care.

RECOMMENDATION 8

That Employment and Social Development Canada, in collaboration with the provinces and territories, invest in and promote programs that support children and youth along their pathway towards higher levels of educational attainment, such as after-school programs in impoverished communities, being mindful that children and youth who live in poverty face unique challenges and require additional resources in order to succeed in the educational system.

RECOMMENDATION 9

That, in implementing measures announced in Budget 2017, Employment and Social Development Canada explore ways to develop not only skills of the future, but also instill a strong sense of inquisitiveness and a life-long approach to learning. In addition to promoting the importance of reaching higher levels of proficiency in basic skills, such as literacy and numeracy skills, the Committee recommends promoting the development and adoption of coding and other digital skills that will support the application of knowledge and ideas and foster problem-solving techniques.

RECOMMENDATION 10

That Employment and Social Development Canada, in collaboration with stakeholders, review the policy and funding mechanisms associated with the Registered Education Savings Plan and savings incentives such as the Canada Learning Bond, to ensure increased accessibility to these programs by low-income families. Further, that the Department explore avenues to better promote the Registered Education Savings Plan and savings incentives linked to it, especially to vulnerable groups.

RECOMMENDATION 11

That Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada explore options to increase access to the Post-Secondary Student Support Program and other federal initiatives aimed at fostering the education of First Nations and Inuit students.

RECOMMENDATION 12

That the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada, in collaboration with other federal and provincial stakeholders, explore the option of providing funding towards strengthening the financial literacy and well-being of Canadians who are most in need.

RECOMMENDATION 13

That Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada and Employment and Social Development Canada work with regulatory agencies and other provincial and territorial stakeholders to establish a harmonized system for the assessment and recognition of international qualifications.

RECOMMENDATION 14

That Employment and Social Development Canada explore ways to enable skilled immigrants to continue to access income support programs at the same time as grants and lending programs for training to acquire Canadian credentials.

RECOMMENDATION 15

That Employment and Social Development Canada, in collaboration with the provinces and territories, develop a “national school-to-work transition strategy,” modeled after successful initiatives in place in Canada as well as the European Youth Guarantee program, with the objective of ensuring youth have access to continuing education, apprenticeships and/or employment after leaving formal education, thereby bridging their transition into the workforce.

RECOMMENDATION 16

That Employment and Social Development Canada explore ways to create work experience opportunities for students and recent graduates in in-demand sectors of the economy.

RECOMMENDATION 17

That Employment and Social Development Canada work with the provinces and territories to review the policies regarding the Canada Job Fund Agreements and the Canada Job Grant such that resources are specifically allocated towards the training of individuals facing multiple challenges to skills training and employment as well as towards the upskilling of those who are already employed.

RECOMMENDATION 18

That Employment and Social Development Canada develop greater financial incentives for employers, with the objective of creating more employment opportunities for youth.

RECOMMENDATION 19

That Employment and Social Development Canada review the changing nature of work, including the “gig economy,” precarious employment, and new forms of working conditions brought on by technology, and take action to ensure employment standards, and in particular employment insurance and related benefits, are modernized.

RECOMMENDATION 20

That Employment and Social Development Canada review and revise the policy associated with the Opportunities Fund for Persons with Disabilities in order to explore the feasibility of allocating funds towards employer awareness programs without decreasing the funding available to Canadians with disabilities.

RECOMMENDATION 21

That Employment and Social Development Canada, with a whole-of-government approach and in collaboration with provinces and territories, review and revise income support programs for Canadians with disabilities, with the objective of harmonizing programs and eliminating claw backs and other financial barriers that prevent this talent pool from fully participating in the workforce, while ensuring that programs are meeting their intended objectives.

RECOMMENDATION 22

That Employment and Social Development Canada work with Public Services and Procurement Canada, as well as with other federal departments, to require that “community benefit/social benefit clauses” be included within federal public tender agreements, where possible, with the objective of encouraging the engagement of social enterprises, thereby increasing the training and employment opportunities of individuals from vulnerable groups.

RECOMMENDATION 23

That Employment and Social Development Canada work with the provinces and territories to ensure that, in reviewing and revising the policy with regards to the Canada Job Fund Agreements and the Canada Job Grant, greater resources be allocated towards social enterprise initiatives.

RECOMMENDATION 24

That Employment and Social Development Canada explore avenues  to establish a “social innovation fund” to encourage innovative approaches emerging in the social enterprise realm, while supporting locally based implementation.

RECOMMENDATION 25

That the Government of Canada show leadership to other employers by supporting initiatives to assist people with mental illness to find and keep employment in federal workplaces and encourage other employers to increase workplace accommodations for those with mental illness.

RECOMMENDATION 26

That Health Canada and the Public Health Agency of Canada, with Employment and Social Development Canada, fund research and  pilot projects to understand best practices regarding mental illness in the workplace and what workplaces should be doing to better accommodate those with mental illness.

RECOMMENDATION 27

That the federal government commit to a long-term (10-year) housing construction and repair program, with a focus on social housing.

RECOMMENDATION 28

That Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation ensure that planning of social and affordable housing construction and repairs include those living in poverty in order to best address the needs of the residents and that Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, when making decisions related to affordable housing investments, consider housing solutions for: seniors; Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Queer individuals; veterans; previously incarcerated individuals; and individuals with developmental disabilities.

RECOMMENDATION 29

That the federal government consult with provinces and territories to ensure that social enterprises be permitted to stack monies received from the federal government with allowances provided through provincial or territorial government programs.

RECOMMENDATION 30

That the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation explore additional funding mechanisms to partner with communities and the private sector to invest in development of affordable housing.

RECOMMENDATION 31

That the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation create a separate long-term housing financing authority that is scalable so that smaller providers are eligible for funding, with loans guaranteed by the federal government.

RECOMMENDATION 32

That Employment and Social Development Canada and the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation create a portable housing benefit, in consultation and collaboration with provinces and territories to ensure there are no overlaps or duplications with provincial or territorial portable housing benefits or other rent supplement benefits.

RECOMMENDATION 33

That the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, as part of its investments in affordable housing, renew existing operating agreements and invest in new co-op housing agreements and programs, particularly in areas with extreme affordability crises.

RECOMMENDATION 34

That the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation take a more active role by providing expertise in building housing, including helping community-based organizations in rural areas.

RECOMMENDATION 35

That Employment and Social Development Canada, within the Homelessness Partnering Strategy, redefine the definition of “shelter” to allow funding for shelters that serve as longer-term residences for those who cannot successfully move into transitional housing or where transitional housing is not available in the community.

RECOMMENDATION 36

That Employment and Social Development Canada make Housing First more flexible in order to address gaps in the areas of youth homelessness, and the needs of seniors and women, and the inability to roll over unused funding from year to year.

RECOMMENDATION 37

That Employment and Social Development Canada and the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation work with provincial and territorial strategies to address youth homelessness and cooperatively fund long-term youth shelters and housing for youth.

RECOMMENDATION 38

That Employment and Social Development Canada amend the policy and/or increase funding for the Homelessness Partnering Strategy to allow funding for shelters, with support systems, targeted to youth, women and seniors.

RECOMMENDATION 39

That Employment and Social Development Canada make the Homelessness Partnering Strategy a regular, on-going program.

RECOMMENDATION 40

That Employment and Social Development Canada expand the Surplus Federal Real Property for Homelessness Initiative.

RECOMMENDATION 41

That the federal government make federal lands available where suitable for community land trusts to develop new housing.

RECOMMENDATION 42

That the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation create a national housing research hub to develop indicators, conduct research, define gaps, and innovate and report on housing and homelessness indicators on a national level in collaboration with Statistics Canada.

RECOMMENDATION 43

That Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada and the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation fund significant investments in on-reserve housing in partnership with First Nations, and engage in consultations with Indigenous peoples as they plan housing infrastructure to ensure the cultural and lifestyle needs of community members are addressed.

RECOMMENDATION 44

That Employment and Social Development Canada consider implementing portions of the community-led model of the Homelessness Partnering Strategy when supporting communities with funding, working to reduce the paper reporting burden and provide for additional local autonomy around local decisions.

RECOMMENDATION 45

That Employment and Social Development Canada work in collaboration with Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada to provide support to community-based services that can support Indigenous peoples who transition between reserves and rural communities and urban centres but lack the resources and skills to navigate access to housing, training and income supports.

RECOMMENDATION 46

That Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada and Health Canada, in collaboration with First Nations communities, ensure that the physical and social infrastructure deficit on reserves is addressed by funding housing, schools, health care facilities and community centres.

RECOMMENDATION 47

That Employment and Social Development Canada develop and implement a national poverty reduction strategy with a focus on alleviating suffering and ensuring that funding is directed towards the programs that have the greatest benefit for the greatest number of people, examining all vulnerable populations over-represented among those living in poverty, without a specific focus on only one single group, and that the strategy establish poverty reduction targets and measure progress based on a national definition of poverty and metrics.

RECOMMENDATION 48

That Statistics Canada, in consultation with provinces and territories, develop an official measure of poverty that includes elements of the low income cut-off, the low income measure, and the market basket measure, as well as indicators of the homeless population in Canada, and that Employment and Social Development Canada develop a national definition of poverty based on the official measure.

RECOMMENDATION 49

That Employment and Social Development Canada develop a business case that can be used to mobilize stakeholders, including provinces and territories, communities, the private sector, research organizations, non-government organizations and citizens that shows the cost of poverty to Canadian governments and businesses, and explains the need for further research, the need to renew efforts to address poverty, and the need to explore new innovative ways to achieve better results.

RECOMMENDATION 50

That Employment and Social Development Canada, in collaboration with employers with proactive hiring policies for persons with disabilities, initiate a communications strategy for employers to encourage the employment of persons with disabilities, including those with mental illness.

RECOMMENDATION 51

That Statistics Canada, following consultations with stakeholders, develop more studies on poverty-related issues including homelessness and provide information related to poverty and homelessness with greater frequency and deeper analysis.

RECOMMENDATION 52

That Employment and Social Development Canada create a learning hub, which will collect data and gather pertinent information from the provinces and territories, as well as internationally. The learning hub should identify what is working, support rigorous evaluation and research, and create a connected community of Canadians committed to poverty reduction.

RECOMMENDATION 53

That Employment and Social Development Canada explore the possibility of developing a federal innovation fund to support poverty reduction projects that develop new approaches, test new concepts and face a higher risk of failure.