President's Message

The NAPO annual general meeting and conference was held in Ottawa in July of this year. The results of the spring election were announced and members ratified the new board. There were both new and familiar faces around the table during our meetings.

Our conference focused on the changes to government funding formula that make it necessary for NAPO to go through a restructuring process. This restructuring will take place over the course of the next few months. The board and the new executive are working closely with the consulting firm we have hired to help us in this process.

We began the process by envisioning the world as it would be if poverty were eradicated. Working from that vision, we created a strategic plan. The board will set the focus for the next year's work for NAPO from this plan and use it as a tool for evaluating our progress.

We have chosen to concentrate on two areas in the immediate future. The first is a long-term goal. A Guaranteed Adequate Income Plan is, we feel, a necessity if we are to eradicate poverty in this country. Currently, we are looking into a feasibility study while conducting research on previous work done around guaranteed adequate income. In addition, we will be working on a vision of society after the implementation of a guaranteed adequate income. Using this vision, we will formulate a plan to create the political will needed to put in place a GAI.

The second immediate task we have set ourselves is to create a kit to assist groups around the country in using the Federal government's new Market Basket Measure of poverty in their advocacy on behalf of poor people. We will focus specifically on how to lobby federal, territorial and provincial governments to get them to raise the income assistance rates to the Market Basket Measure level. We will also be discussing with other groups actions that NAPO can undertake to support these efforts.

We will be holding a membership drive and working hard to build coalitions with other groups with similar interests. This work will be ongoing over the next year and beyond.

The expected changes in the funding methods used by governments mean NAPO must rethink and reformulate its approach to funding. We are currently considering how we will operate under a results-based funding system. This will take some rethinking and retooling. Furthermore, we are looking at broadening our funding base to include many other sources.

It is a busy year and an exciting time for this organization: a time of renewal and growth. I look forward to the challenges we face with optimism and confidence. And I am grateful to the board for having given me the opportunity to do this important work.

W. Robert Arnold, President