Manitoba Family Services and Labour

8 Great Ways You Can Help Your Community! [PDF (353 KB)]

Introduction

On May 21, 2009, Manitoba announced its poverty reduction and social inclusion strategy, ALL Aboard, which formalizes and builds upon poverty reduction efforts underway in the province.  The strategy provides a framework and vision to move forward, coordinating and strengthening poverty reduction and social inclusion work across the provincial government.  In addition, ALL Aboard is a vehicle to build partnerships with federal and municipal governments, community organizations, businesses, and citizens.  Poverty costs us all, and we all need to work together to beat it.  

ALL Aboard: Manitoba’s Poverty Reduction and Social Inclusion Strategy

In Manitoba, we believe that all people deserve a high quality of life and the opportunity to realize their potential. Taking action to reduce poverty is the right thing to do. In this time of economic uncertainty, we have an opportunity to merge our goals of stimulating the economy, supporting the workforce and tackling poverty. Now, more than ever, we need to ensure that people are supported to succeed in life.

Over the past twelve years Manitoba has achieved significant success in reducing poverty. Given the current global economic challenges, it makes sense to review this work and reconfirm our commitment to poverty reduction. With ALL Aboard: Manitoba’s Poverty Reduction and Social Inclusion Strategy, the province can more effectively build on this success and strengthen the programs and initiatives currently in place.

Reducing Poverty Helps All Manitobans Prosper

A 2008 study found that 40 per cent of Manitobans felt they were always one or two paycheques away from being poor. Because poverty prevents people from reaching their full potential, we must collectively work towards reducing the effects and eliminating the causes of poverty. By creating economic conditions for all people to flourish, we ensure a strong future for our province that includes a strong labour market, less crime and better health. To be effective, our poverty reduction and social inclusion strategy must focus on education and training, early childhood development, healthy families and communities, and the labour market. We must ensure our plan supports individuals and Manitoba as a whole, including individuals in urban centres, rural areas, and northern Manitoba.
ALL Aboard: Manitoba’s Poverty Reduction and Social Inclusion Strategy is both a strong poverty reduction plan and a strong economic plan. We must work together to accomplish our goal of continuously reducing poverty and increasing social inclusion.

Framework and Vision

ALL Aboard: Manitoba’s Poverty Reduction and Social Inclusion Strategy envisions a future where people are socially included, connected to their communities, participating in the economy and contributing to our province. Poverty is complex and goes beyond having enough money to live each day. A poverty reduction strategy should create the conditions that allow people to participate fully in society as valued, respected and contributing members. Everyone benefits from a society that helps all individuals prosper. We believe that there are four pillars to reduce poverty and promote prosperity:

• safe, affordable housing in supportive communities
• education, jobs and income support
• strong, healthy families
• accessible, co-ordinated services

The ALL Aboard strategy includes the following strategic elements that will assist in moving forward on poverty reduction:

• A vision and framework to promote social inclusion
• Values and principles to guide action
• The Poverty Reduction Strategy Act, which became law in June 2011 and will:
  • include the poverty reduction strategy in the Province's annual budget
  • measure the strategy's progress
  • establish a Committee that includes three community members
• A cross-departmental working group to coordinate the strategy
• Meaningful measures to monitor progress
• Annual reporting to the public
• Partnerships to ensure coordination and success
• Consultations to incorporate feedback