Group protests poverty rates
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Updated: October 22, 2009 9:58 AM
About 40 people from Nelson added their voices to a global call to end poverty.
Gathering out front of city hall on Oct. 16, the group read a pledge asking world leaders to honour their commitments to the United Nation’s Millennium Development Goals.
“We are asking not for charity but for justice. We are millions of voices standing in solidarity to say, No more excuses – make poverty history now,” the pledge readers said together, following their script.
Around the world, more than 43 million people read these same words in different languages, according to the Stand Up Against Poverty website.
Besides reading the pledge, participants at the Nelson event heard a number of speeches from the event’s local organizers and supporters. Nelson’s MP Alex Atamanenko was among the speakers. He used the opportunity to berate the federal government’s inaction on poverty issues in Canada.
“In 1989, Parliament promised to eradicate poverty by the year 2000, and nothing really has happened,” Atamanenko told the crowd. “We’re one of the only so-called developed countries that has no national housing policy, and that’s certainly a disgrace for our prosperous nation.”
However, another speaker, Julia Roberts of St. Saviours Church, noted the City of Nelson has made some recent positive steps to increase affordable housing, including making it easier for people to put secondary suites in their homes.
A group from her church does monthly demonstrations on Baker Street to raise awareness about local poverty.
“It’s easy for people to be so busy that we forget about people on the margins that are struggling to survive,” said Roberts.
“We need to keep this issue in the forefront and let our politicians know it’s important to us.”
After the rally there were a number of petitions circulated and people were encouraged to write to provincial and federal leaders asking for action on poverty issues.
To hear more of what people had to say about poverty, visit nelsonstar.com and watch a video of the rally. Click on “Rally to end poverty” in the right column.
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