From Task Force to a Council Initiative
In 2014, City Council approved the creation of the Task Force to Eliminate Poverty. Co-chaired by Mayor Don Iveson and Bishop Jane Alexander, 22 members with diverse backgrounds, expertise and experiences worked on a bold vision to end poverty in Edmonton within a generation.
With extensive inputs from Edmontonians, the task force produced a City Council-approved visionary plan: the EPE Strategy and a community implementation plan called the EPE Road Map. The 5-year Road Map lays out the path toward moving people out of poverty and building a poverty-free future.
As a cornerstone action of the Road Map, EPE was formed in 2017 to steward the implementation of the 35 EPE Road Map actions from 2011-2021. It is a vibrant and robust community collective, co-chaired by Michael Phair and Cheryl Whiskeyjack, with diverse community membership and members from all levels of government.
The City of Edmonton Poverty Elimination Initiative, 2017-2021, provides oversight, coordination and communication to the City's efforts to end poverty. Councillors Ben Henderson and Aaron Paquette are sponsors of this Council Initiative.