MCCO sends letter to Premier McGuinty

MCC Ontario's poverty advocate, Greg deGroot-Maggetti, recently wrote to Premier Dalton McGuinty commending him on his commitment to create a poverty reduction strategy for Ontario. He also signaled to the Premier MCCO's interest in being part of the consultation process to develop the provincial poverty reduction strategy.

Through many of its programs, MCC Ontario volunteers and staff walk alongside people experiencing poverty. In the process, MCC see ways that public policies have a powerful influence on shaping conditions facing people in need.

MCCO's "on the ground" work with people who have no home, with women leaving shelters, with refugees and with aboriginal neighours stems from the biblical call to do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with our God. Their advocacy works comes from that same biblical call.

People may dismiss the notion of a provincial poverty reduction strategy. "Doesn't the Bible say there will always be poor people in the land?"

The Bible also instructs that "there should be no poor among you"(Deut. 15: 4) if we follow God's commands to do justice. It instructs us to be openhanded and generous to our neighbours in need. The Bible also laid out laws for the people of Israel to help ensure everyone had the means of livelihood, processes to lift people out of poverty and to prevent people from falling into poverty.

The Sabbath and Jubilee laws from ancient Israel cannot be applied literally in our own society. But they do offer a vision of laws and norms of public life to create a society free of poverty.

The task for us is to put that vision into practice in our own society. In a democratic society, it is up to us as citizens to help shape policies that will prevent poverty, lift people out of poverty and generously help our neighbours when they fall on hard times.

Just as the Bible says the Lord hears the cry of the poor, we too must be attentive to the voices of those who have lived with poverty. Their lived experience is critical to understanding how public policies can be changed to reduce poverty.

Read the letter here