Martin Hosts “Poor No More” Movie Launch with Mary Walsh

OTTAWA – Comedian Mary Walsh left her plastic “Marg, Xena Princess Warrior” sword at home Monday for the Parliament Hill launch of Poor No More, a serious documentary offering solutions to Canada’s working poor.

Left: Tony with Mary Walsh

Walsh, famous for her public “This Hour Has 22 Minutes” goring of politicians, acts as host in the new film featured in a launch here co-hosted by Sault MP Tony Martin and his colleagues from other parties currently engaged in a federal poverty plan study.

“We were always told, ‘If you work hard, things will get better,’ but many hard-working Canadians have only seen things get worse. More people are poor and insecure,” Walsh told about 100 MPs, staff, labour union and non-government organization representatives who attended the premiere. She said rather than nostalgic traditional values from the past, Canadians needed to work now for progressive government policies.

Martin said that the film, along with campaigns such as Dignity for All building momentum and poverty studies undertaken by standing committees of the federal government, give him hope for broad-based public support for real solutions to poverty in Canada.

The film tells the story of three Canadian workers, who are faced with poor wages, little job security and no benefits, despite their efforts to secure gainful fulltime employment. The film then takes these workers abroad to compare their experiences to the people of Ireland and Sweden.

Right: Tony and colleagues from federal poverty plan study

“What they find is a world where people do not have to beg, where housing is affordable and university education is free,” executive producer David Langille notes. “They ask themselves. If other countries can do this, why don’t we? This is really the first film that helps explain the root causes of the economic crisis, its impact on Canadians and what can be done about it.”

The film’s promotion says Poor No More “offers an engaging look at Canadians stuck in low paying jobs with no security and no future. Mary then takes us on a journey to Ireland and Sweden so we can see how these countries have tackled poverty while strengthening their economies. The film offers hope to those who have to work two jobs a day and to those who cannot even find work.”