Anti-poverty strategy will aim for 50 per cent cut in low-income rates: reports

OTTAWA – The federal government’s long-awaited plan to help low-income Canadians is about to be unveiled.

A source familiar with the federal government’s plan says it will set a lofty goal of lifting more than two million people past the poverty line over the next 12 years.

Jean-Yves Duclos, the minister in charge of the plan, will lay out details Tuesday at an event in Vancouver — including establishing the threshold that defines poverty in Canada.

The government wants to reduce the rate of poverty in Canada by 20 per cent from 2015 levels by the end of the current decade.

The source, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss details not yet public, says the target increases to 50 per cent by 2030 — a decline of 2.1 million people, including just over 534,000 children under age 18.

Legislation to be introduced later this year would require future governments to meet the goal, but likely won’t carry any consequences if targets aren’t met.

Work on the strategy has been two years in the making, but anti-poverty groups who have taken part in consultations don’t expect to hear any new spending commitments.

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