School meals, basic income for retirees and jobs for the unemployed - what is promised to Canadians?

Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador Andrew Furey has unveiled a plan to reduce poverty in his region.

The strategy is a three-year plan. It is an important step towards the main goal of becoming one of the healthiest provinces in Canada by 2031. Financially, the strategy will be supported by the budget of Newfoundland and Labrador: CA$ 900 million has been allocated for social needs in 2023. In addition, the authorities are going to allocate up to CA$ 85 million per year specifically for the implementation of the plan.

What's the plan, exactly?

New Poverty Reduction Plan was developed by representatives of various communities, indigenous peoples, municipal authorities and subject matter experts. It includes four key areas:

1. Reducing Childhood Poverty;
2. Creating Meaningful and Sustainable Employment;
3. Improving Income;
4. Supporting Seniors.

Reducing child poverty

1. The program, which gives low-income families with children a CA$ 150 monthly supplement during the child's first year of life, will be expanded — it will now be paid until the child reaches the age of five.
2. The child benefit for low-income families will be increased by 300%.
3. Starting in September, the government will expand the breakfast and lunch program to provide meals to all kindergartens in the province and schools — for students up to Grade 9.

Creating meaningful and sustainable employment

1. The Employment Stability Pilot Program will continue to operate across the province: it helps to keep a portion of benefits for the formerly unemployed.
2. An apprenticeship program is being launched for people who want to leave low-paying jobs — so they can get qualified for higher-paying ones.

Increasing the income of citizens

1. The financial aid system will be fine-tuned: starting with an immediate increase in the allowance for people living in homeless shelters — from CA$ 125 to CA$ 175 per month.
2. For the first time, a Basic Income Program is being implemented for people aged 60 to 64 who currently receive unemployment benefits and payments from the Department of Health. Thus, 30 existing programs will be reorganized into 6, which will make the support system more transparent and accessible.

Support for the elderly

1. In addition to the basic income for seniors, the amount of benefits they will receive by age 65 will be increased — to match the federal benefit. This will allow pensioners to receive more adequate and stable financial support.
2. A separate poverty reduction plan for the elderly will be presented by the authorities in the near future.
3. The ongoing work of the formed Cabinet Committee on Seniors will continue.

Priorities and reasons

The Minister of Children, Seniors and Social Development, Paul Pike, spoke about the development of the strategy:

"Our new poverty reduction plan focuses on addressing important social determinants of health, income and food security. Our focus was developed through listening to people with lived experience of poverty, community stakeholders and front-line staff."

According to the University of Toronto 2022 report, Newfoundland and Labrador currently has the lowest child food insecurity rate in the country. The Furey government also noted that the province has the highest child poverty rate in Canada. This was one of the reasons for starting a systemic solution to the problem.