[R-G] Dignity for All: The Campaign for a Poverty-free Canada

[Sid Shniad]

Dignity for All: The Campaign for a Poverty-free Canada 




On Friday May 22 nd at the Canadian Social Forum in Calgary, Canada Without Poverty and Citizens for Public Justice , on behalf of a number of organizations and coalitions, were pleased to announce Dignity for All: The Campaign for a Poverty-free Canada . We were joined in this regard by four individuals who with their voices for dignity for all helped to represent the linguistic and cultural diversity of Canada – Marvin Fox (Blackfoot); Debbie Frost (English), Claude Champagne (French) and Nicky Liao (Mandarin Chinese). 

Dignity for All is being waged with strong reference to the idea of poverty as a human rights violation, poverty elimination as a human rights obligation. In this regard the campaign is inspired by Louise Arbour, former Supreme Court of Canada justice and former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. On the occasion of International Human Rights Day 2006, Ms. Arbour said that: 



“Today, poverty prevails as the gravest human rights challenge in the world. Combating poverty, deprivation and exclusion is not a matter of charity, and it does not depend on how rich a country is. By tackling poverty as a matter of human rights obligation, the world will have a better chance of abolishing this scourge in our lifetime. Poverty eradication is an achievable goal.” 




Please visit www.dignityforall.ca to add your personal and/or your group’s endorsement of this new pan-Canadian campaign, and to receive or enquire about further information. Please also forward this message to your contacts. 



Lastly, we thank the Canadian Union of Postal Workers and Public Service Alliance of Canada for providing the initial financial support for Dignity for All ! 

For a poverty-free Canada, 

Rob Rainer 
Executive Director / Directeur executif 
CANADA WITHOUT POVERTY / CANADA SANS PAUVRETÉ 
1210 - 1 rue Nicholas Street 
Ottawa, ON K1N 7B7 
(613) 789-0096 (1-800-810-1076) 
rob at cwp-csp.ca 
www.cwp-csp.ca