CMU staffer appointed to National Council of Welfare

David Pankratz, director of the Canadian Mennonite University (CMU) Institute for Community Peace-building and member of River East MB Church, Winnipeg, has been appointed to the Canadian government’s National Council of Welfare.

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

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 per 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. Started in 1969, 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.”

Pankratz joins finance minister Vic Toews and Saskatchewan premier Brad Wall as prominent MBs in public service.

“20 years ago there were some Mennonites appointed to the immigration board, maybe four or five,” says Bill Janzen, MCC Ottawa director, “But this is certainly the mark of a trend.”

The Institute for Community Peacebuilding, part of Menno Simons college at the University of Winnipeg, seeks to foster holistic peace through building relationships and addressing economic and political issues.

—CMU release, with files from AS