In May 2009, the Government of Manitoba became the sixth province in Canada to launch a poverty reduction strategy. The four pillars of ALL Aboard: Manitoba’s Poverty Reduction and Social Inclusion Strategy are: safe, affordable housing in supportive communities; education, jobs and income support; strong, healthy families; and accessible, coordinated services. In this seminar, Jan Forster, Executive Director of the Policy and Planning Branch of Manitoba Family Services and Consumer Affairs, discusses the Manitoba approach to poverty reduction and the progress that has been made to date.
Learning Objectives:
To profile the provincial poverty reduction strategies and progress made
To understand the role and relevance of place in each of the strategies
To determine the key elements of the strategy and progress that is being made as a result of the focus on poverty reduction
To determine the relevance and importance of community engagement in the development and delivery of the strategy
To understand the impact on provincial governments as a result of undertaking this approach
Jan Forster - Jan is the Executive Director of the Policy and Planning Branch of Manitoba Family Services and Consumer Affairs. Among other things, the Branch is responsible for strategic planning, social policy research and analysis, policy development and coordination, and program review and analysis. The branch is responsible for the Department’s inter-governmental work, and Jan coordinates Manitoba’s participation as Provincial-Territorial Co-Chair of the Federal-Provincial-Territorial Social Services Forum.
With respect to Manitoba’s poverty reduction strategy, Jan is co-chair of the province’s inter-departmental working group which brings together staff from numerous ministries involved in the poverty reduction effort.
Eric Leviten-Reid
- Eric Leviten-Reid is the Learning and Evaluation Coordinator for the national Vibrant Communities initiative. He works for the Tamarack Institute and is a part-time community development researcher and consultant. Eric has nearly 25 years experience as a researcher and practitioner in the field of community development with a special focus on comprehensive, collaborative approaches to complex issues.
Poverty reduction had been a high priority for the Manitoba government since 1999. There was already cross-government collaboration and progress; for example, child poverty in Manitoba decreased by 44% since 2000, the highest rate of reduction in Canada. Jan explained that in 2009, as the world was entering a time of economic uncertainty, pursuing a formal poverty reduction strategy was a way to ensure that progress continued, and to demonstrate to Manitobans the government’s support for poverty reduction and social inclusion through tough times.
Here, Jan describes the elements and opportunities that led to the decision to pursue a formal poverty reduction strategy.
The four pillars of the strategy reflect areas that help prevent people from falling into poverty, help people move out of poverty, and help to reduce the impacts of poverty:
Safe, Affordable Housing in Supportive Communities
Education, Jobs and Income Support
Strong, Healthy Families
Accessible, Co-ordinated Services
In this clip, Jan explains that the first three pillars are program focused but the fourth focuses on how services are provided - making services easier to navigate or ensuring they reach the most marginalized, for example.
While some provinces set specific targets, like Ontario’s pledge to reduce child poverty by 25% in five years, Manitoba did not. They don’t believe that overall goals have been effective in driving action in other jurisdictions, plus the main income-based measures to track income targets are not available for First Nations reserves, which is a significant part of the population in Manitoba. As their vision of social inclusion is broader than income poverty, indicators also need to reflect things like participation in society and quality of life.
In this clip, Jan talks about the targets that are embedded in specific indicators, and how regular reports will ‘light a fire’ under government and ensure momentum.
In June 2010, the province produced its first report, a newsletter that tried to build awareness of the strategy and highlight some success stories. The province also published a poster, titled 8 Great Ways You Can Help your Community, highlighting ways people could get personally involved.
The most creative and successful initiatives worked across several issues to meet multiple needs at the same time. For example, a Brandon program paired environmental stewardship with employment training and reducing energy costs for low income household. Another program combined children’s recreation with employment supports for low income parents, built on research that showed that children in low-income families that were participating in recreation had parents that were more likely to find lasting employment.
In this clip, Jan describes some of the success stories that were in the first progress report.
Jan explained that Manitoba has had cross-departmental structures for some time, but there has been an increasing recognition that all departments of government have a role to play in reducing poverty. The ALL Aboard strategy includes new structures like an interdepartmental working group that reports to a new Ministers’ Poverty Reduction Committee. Another new development is a Premier’s Advisory Council on Education, Poverty and Citizenship which co-ordinates the efforts of all sectors in the community and brings forward new ideas and approaches.
Here, Jan talks about the new way departments are working together and making connections.
Of course there are challenges and resistance to change within government. For example, as departments are looking for budgets for their own items during the budgeting process, finding money for broad, whole of government initiatives is challenging.
In coming years the poverty reduction strategy will include a focus on housing security, food security, programming that helps people on social assistance to move from welfare to work, and an increase in the minimum wage in the fall of 2010.
One of Jan’s concerns is that many of those who are most marginalized are not accessing the benefits and services for which they are eligible. Governments need to look at creative options for reaching them. A related challenge is building social inclusion in remote and isolated communities.
Jan sums up what’s ahead for the Manitoba poverty reduction strategy in this clip.
Manitoba’s poverty reduction strategy does not set an overall goal or target. Do you agree with this choice? Why or why not?
Manitoba’s vision is broader than changing income poverty and includes indicators related to quality of life and social inclusion. What indicators would you have chosen?
If you live outside Manitoba, what differences do you observe between this poverty reduction strategy compared to governmental poverty reduction strategies in the area where you live?
Find additional information to help guide your continued reflection on these and other important questions, in the Resources and Links below.
ALL Aboard website - This is the home page for Manitoba’s poverty reduction initiative. It provides background and links to the strategy and to the progress reports, poster and newsletter. Access the page here.
ALL Aboard Manitoba’s Poverty Train – This September 2009 story by the Caledon Institute of Social Policy ‘s Sherri Torjman, Ken Battle and Michael Mendelson describes and analyses the Manitoba poverty reduction strategy. Access the story here.
Framing Poverty as a Complex and Why That Matters - This audio seminar makes the case for framing poverty as a complex issue, describes key features of complex issues, and explores the implications for leading and managing efforts to reduce poverty. Access the seminar here.
Comprehensive Strategies for Deep Outcomes- This audio seminar explains how complex issues, like poverty, where factors are dynamic and inter-related, require comprehensive or ‘joined-up’ solutions. Access the seminar here.
In May 2009, the Government of Manitoba became the sixth province in Canada to launch a poverty reduction strategy. The four pillars of ALL Aboard: Manitoba’s Poverty Reduction and Social Inclusion Strategy are: safe, affordable housing in supportive communities; education, jobs and income support; strong, healthy families; and accessible, coordinated services. In this seminar, Jan Forster, Executive Director of the Policy and Planning Branch of Manitoba Family Services and Consumer Affairs, discusses the Manitoba approach to poverty reduction and the progress that has been made to date. 
Jan Forster - Jan is the Executive Director of the Policy and Planning Branch of Manitoba Family Services and Consumer Affairs. Among other things, the Branch is responsible for strategic planning, social policy research and analysis, policy development and coordination, and program review and analysis. The branch is responsible for the Department’s inter-governmental work, and Jan coordinates Manitoba’s participation as Provincial-Territorial Co-Chair of the Federal-Provincial-Territorial Social Services Forum. 
