CMU Staffer Appointed to National Council of Welfare

David Pankratz of Institute for Community Peacebuilding to Provide Advice on Poverty Alleviation to Canadian Government

WINNIPEG, Man. — David Pankratz, who directs the Canadian Mennonite University (CMU) Institute for Community Peacebuilding, has been appointed to the Canadian government’s National Council of Welfare.

The appointment was announced February 20 by the Honourable Monte Solberg, Minister of Human Resources and Social Development.

Pankratz's appointment is the result of recent research he conducted for the Frontier Centre for Public Policy. In the research, Pankratz showed that eliminating taxes on the incomes of people earning minimum wage in Manitoba would result in an effective raise of $1.50 an hour.

As a member of the Council, Pankratz will join others from across the country in providing the Minister with feedback and advice on policy regarding poverty alleviation in Canada. The Council meets three times a year in Ottawa.

For Pankratz, involvement on the Council means that he will be able to “share the values and perspectives on poverty alleviation coming out of the Mennonite church community” and also to be a “conduit for faculty at CMU, providing them with an opportunity to provide input into public policy aimed at helping poor people in Canada.”

The goal of the Institute for Community Peacebuilding is to actively build relationships and address economic and political issues in order to foster holistic peace. It is located at Menno Simons College, CMU’s campus at the University of Winnipeg.

The National Council of Welfare was created in 1969 to advise the Minister on the needs and problems of low-income Canadians, and on social and related programs and policies that affect their welfare.

Posted February 22, 2008.

For more information contact CMU Communications Director, 500 Shaftesbury Blvd., Winnipeg, Manitoba R3P 2N2, telephone: 204-487-3300 ext. 630, fax: 204-889-1694, (www.cmu.ca)