Anti-poverty handbook rejects grand strategies, urges practical steps

<p>OTTAWA – Forget grandiose talk about a national poverty strategy.</p> <p>Some of the country’s foremost thinkers on social policy have put together a handbook of ready-to-use options for decision-makers seeking to help the most vulnerable.</p> <p>The 50 suggestions are designed to be practical and are far from revolutionary, aimed at tweaking existing policies or adding to existing frameworks.</p> <p>Recommendations include making tax credits refundable so that poor people can benefit, better protections for seasonal workers and temporary workers, improvements to employment insurance and income support for caregivers.</p> <p>The report also urges electoral reform so that rural areas no longer have a disproportionately strong voice in Parliament.</p> <p>The report was compiled by the Toronto-based Maytree Foundation, a privately funded group that supports research at several social-policy think tanks.</p>