Poverty is on the radar of the federal government but they may be missing the specific conditions of poverty in the North, according to a national anti-poverty organization coming to Yellowknife this weekend.
Wanting to hear from people with lived experience of poverty and those who work with people in poverty in Yellowknife, Michèle Biss of Canada Without Poverty is hosting a workshop on Saturday. Biss said the information coming out of the workshop will be used to advocate for inclusion of Northern issues in federal policy making on poverty.
While she remains optimistic about the coming Canadian poverty reduction strategy, Biss, a human rights lawyer, said her organization needs to learn more to be prepared to advocate for the North in the case that the issues concerning the NWT get missed. “We need to better reflect what's happening in the territories because far too often in policy making as well as in the advocacy world we sometimes lose track of what's happening up North,” she said.
The workshop is focused on the upcoming federal strategy, how poverty and human rights intersect and a chance for people to share their experiences of poverty in a listening circle.
Canada Without Poverty will hear from Behchokǫ̀ residents early next week.
The federal government is also touring the country ahead of the drafting of the poverty strategy to conduct case studies. The final visit for the government's project will be in Yellowknife from May 23 to 26.
The workshop this Saturday is open to the public, it runs from 10:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at Northern United Place. Childcare is available.