If ever there was a case for reform of the international financial system, this example of greed running rampant over the lives of Liberians says it all.

We all know who Robin Hood is: the legendary folk hero gallivanting around medieval England stealing from the rich to give to the poor. He wriggles out of impossible situations, ambushes unsuspecting rich men with Little John and charms his way into Maid Miriam’s heart. 

Now, a new Robin Hood has the potential to make a lasting difference in the world. Today’s incarnation of Robin Hood could help global leaders achieve the millennium development goals, fight extreme poverty around the world and find solutions to climate change adaptation. This same tax also has the potential to deter some of the risky market transactions that have devastating effects on the global economy. 

You wouldn't renovate someone's house without first asking the owner which walls need to come down. You wouldn't paint your living room without asking your spouse if they liked the colour. And you wouldn't buy a car for your family without making sure it was safe. So why should the G20 summit be able to decide on international development programs without the presence of the African Union?

Last weekend the African Union held their 14^th annual summit meeting in Addis Ababa, where they decided to formally petition the G20 for their own seat at the negotiating table during the G20 summit meeting this coming June. The move has been fully supported by the Global Call to Action Against Poverty and its member groups, including Make Poverty History.  

CBC Radio’s “THE SUNDAY EDITION” is one of those institutions in life you can rely on to be entertaining, provocative and always informative.

This year, it’s especially true for anti-poverty activists and for listeners we hope can be brought into the fold of changing the world to a fairer, gentler place.

Over the course of this season, Michael Enright, the show’s savvy and inquisitive host, is exploring the dilemma of poverty…why it still exists and what can be done about it.

"IT'S TIME FOR CANADA TO LEAD!"

As our country assumes leadership of the G8 2010 Summit, our colleagues at ONE International are urging supporters of poverty alleviation everywhere to petition our political leaders to to keep their global promises and meet the challenge of global poverty and preventable disease.

At MAKE POVERTY HISTORY, we encourage you to add your voice to the thousands who have already spoken out in just the past few days.  You can sign ONE'S petition here.  Please encourage others to send the message too.

In solidarity

Dennis, Bryan, Carina, George, Laura May, Jennifer and Kelly

As I child, I loved TV’s “The Lone Ranger”, that great champion of justice whose Hi-yo silver bullets rescued the good guys every week.  I was immune to the inherent racism embodied in Tonto, “his faithful Indian companion” because Tonto was played by Jay Silverheels (aka Harold K. Smith) from Six Nations Reserve near my mother’s hometown in Brantford Ontario. My Uncle Hughie had played professional lacrosse with him and that gave me great playground creds.

Now, a new Silver Bullet’s arrived on the scene that could slay global poverty.  It’s actually been in the wings for a while, but thanks to the greed of the international financial community, it’s an idea whose time has come.

What to wish for in 2010? 

That’s easy.

Real progress on the UN Millennium Development Goals. 

As the second decade of this still young millennium gets underway, I keep imagining what it was like to be one of the 189 world leaders at the UN ten years ago, voting to cut extreme poverty in half by 2015.  What a surge of hope and pride you’d feel knowing your collective power is going to “spare no effort to free our fellow men, women and children from the abject and dehumanizing conditions of extreme poverty.”

While everybody expected scuffles in Copenhagen's climate talks this week, a proposal leaked to the Guardian, apparently formulated by Denmark, the U.S. and the U.K., suggests a battle between rich and poor.

Ok, so I admit to momentary heart failure when the stories first started coming in… ….climate change scientists exposed as frauds…secret emails…doctored stats…. and suppressed evidence ….the world not warming after all.

We had just pressed “send” on our e-action alert asking Canadians to urge our reluctant Prime Minister to make a Real Deal in Copenhagen.  Dennis Howlett, our co-ordinator had just sent in a heart-wrenching blog from Kenya where he was learning first-hand about the devastating effects of climate change on poor farmers in that country.

Could we all have been wrong?  Were the naysayers right?

(On November 13 New Brunswick announced major changes to its social assistance program as part of a new poverty reduction plan.  Fern Bennett is the Media Coordinator for Make Poverty History in Saint John and a hard-working activist for people living in poverty.)

New Brunswick’s poverty reduction plan addresses some barriers to economic inclusion. There has been a lot of talk around the issue of poverty in New Brunswick and Saint John in particular. Saint John boasts the highest rates of poverty excluding the Aboriginal community. (Lest anyone assume poverty may be a cultural choice, I always like to add that First Nations people near resources or urban centers are economically as successful as their non-Aboriginal counterparts).