It is Income Tax Time so Time for a CERB Amnesty!Dear Social Justice Supporter! The CERB was essential when the pandemic first hit. We would argue that it should have continued longer if not until this day. Too many are still facing too many challenges! Manitoba is the province with the highest rates of child poverty in Canada. More than 88,000 kids and their families live in poverty. Please join us in calling on the federal government to implement an income tested CERB Amnesty: Sign the petition! PETITION CLOSES April 23rd, 2021 To learn more, please check out this article. Campaign 2000’s position brief can be seen here. You may be someone who received CERB during the worst of the panic caused by the pandemic. If you would like to share your story, please do so here. If you are able to work though, we did want to share a number of opportunities from some of our community partners. Please check out the links on our Employment Opportunities page. Public Interest Law CentreSupport the call to keep the Public Interest Law Centre (PILC) publically funded and better protected by legislation so we can keep the momentum moving forward rather than revisiting which approach we should take. On this page we have provided … Continue reading → Police Accountability CoalitionIn order to contact PAC directly, please email pac@spcw.mb.ca SPCW is a member of the Police Accountability Coalition This brief outlines the concerns and recommendations to the Winnipeg police Service, the Winnipeg Police Board, City of Winnipeg, Province of Manitoba … Continue reading → We Must Keep Public Interest Law Public!SPCW is part of the People 4 PILC coalition. We have been PILC’s client on Stadler v. Director, St. Boniface, St. Vital 2020 MBCA 46 and are currently part of another coalition that PILC will represent when the Madut Inquiry begins. Mr. Madut, a newcomer to Canada, was killed by police while reportedly in a mental health crisis. The current government has signaled, through a commissioned report and a mandate letter to the previous Minister of Justice, a desire to change how PILC is funded and governed. People 4 PILC is concerned that the proposed changes will make PILC less effective in holding governments to account on a variety of issues affecting Manitobans from human rights to the environment. Why is it important right now? The government is proposing 19 pieces of legislation on March 3rd but they have not released the texts, just the titles. Some of the proposed Bills could include changes that could destabilize PILC. Please check out our media release here and stay tuned for any calls to action. For now, please share these in your social media. If you would like to join the growing coalition, now at 74 community organizations and people, please contact Oke at info@spcw.mb.ca BACKGROUNDER:The Public Interest Law Centre has played a critically important role within Legal Aid Manitoba for almost 40 years as an apolitical, independent, evidence-based team acting in the best interests of Manitobans. It:
Our goal is to keep PILC’s independence and its ability to serve all Manitobans for decades to come. There is no other service like it in the province. For more information on PILC’s most recent successes please see their Impact Report. The two most encompassing arguments against destabilizing PILC are:
Our democracy’s robustness can only be maintained if it is routinely exercised through challenge. For that to happen, our justice system, too often the last defense for members of marginalized communities, must be accessible. True access to justice must include quality public interest services that are affordable and free of charge when possible. This can only be achieved through a service that:
Without such a service, justice is denied to too many, too often. PRESENT DAY RACISM IN CANADA:Be Informed! What is happening today and why? Below you can find out what the current issues are about. Police brutality continually treated like a ‘one-off’ in Canada Thousands rally in Toronto against anti-black racism after woman falls from balcony … Continue reading → Racism in the PAST:Reflect! Learn about the history and get background information on racism in Canada What is Anti-Racism? Canada’s slavery secret: The whitewashing of 200 years of enslavement The tragic story of Africville: a part of a much larger story of Black … Continue reading → Anti-Racism ResourcesFor anyone who still believes we do not have systemic racism in Canada, please look at these statistics. If your takeaway is that the people of colour are somehow inferior and that is why they are not succeeding, then you are a racist. If you understand the reasons why so many are left behind is because the barriers they face are simply too insurmountable for far too many, then please have a look at the resources we have gathered so you can take some actions.
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One last note on numbers, when we released the Broken Promise, Stolen Futures: Child and Family Poverty in Manitoba report card, we highlighted that child poverty in Manitoba and all across Canada is both gendered and racialized. Please have a look at this graph for the evidence:
Kate Kehler, Executive Director COMMUNITY ADVOCATES REACT TO PREMIER PALLISTER’S STATEMENT ON MANITOBA’S 150TH ANNIVERSARYMay 13th, 2020 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Reality Check: Marginalized Manitobans face far more serious obstacles than the size of their dreams To mark the 150th anniversary of Manitoba joining Confederation, Premier Brian Pallister chose to make a statement that while … Continue reading → Winnipeg Needs More for Four More Years(Updated budget presentation to EPC in light of COVID-19, an update on Winnipeg: More than pipes, parks and pavement) I am here to disagree that this budget has balanced essentials and shared the pain of long overdue and needed austerity. … Continue reading → Mayor’s pledge to cap property taxes unsustainable: criticsWinnipeg Free Press. Nov 28, 2019. |