MP Irene MathyssenMP Irene Mathyssen
London

Mathyssen Asks City To Share Poverty Findings With Feds

A London MP is encouraging city politicians to bring the poverty panel's findings to federal officials.

Irene Mathyssen is asking the city to make an official submission to a House of Commons Standing committee tasked with studying national poverty reduction strategies.

The London Fanshawe New Democrat MP makes the request in a letter going to the Community and Protective Services committee on Tuesday.

"It's really important that London come and present what they have found, talk to the committee, and hopefully the report from the House of Commons Standing committee will help London to learn what the city needs to do to end poverty," says Mathyssen.

The study, which began this fall, focuses on improving delivery of federal resources and services for the Canadian Poverty Reduction Strategy. It will focus on four areas including housing, education and training, and government administered savings programs like the tax-free savings accounts.

The letter from Mathyssen reads, "in my view, the committee would benefit greatly from a presentation of the report London has produced through the work of the Poverty Panel."

Mayor Matt Brown's Advisory Panel on Poverty delivered a 50-page report to city hall at the end of March that outlined plans to end poverty within a generation. The report included 112 recommendations broken down into eight categories, including income and employment, health, housing, transportation, and food security.

"One in ten Canadians lives in poverty in this country and that is a burden on our communities, on our social services, and our health care system. It creates a whole group of people who feel marginalized," says Mathyssen. "The federal government has to hear these stories because after all this time we still haven't reduced or ended poverty and we can."

Read More Local Stories