Barriers to citizen participation: the missing voices of people living with low income

This article reflects the involvement of people living with low income in the discourse and decision-making on issues related to poverty. It reports on the process and outcomes of a 1-year project, developed by KAIROS(1) aimed at identifying tools, strategies, and policies to increase the participation and engagement of people living in poverty in order to help reduce and eliminate poverty in Canada. It presents the reflections, analysis, and recommendations of 55 project participants from Charlottetown, Montreal, and Victoria - a large, a medium-sized, and a small city, respectively, in Canada. It highlights the use of learning circles as one approach to enhance citizen participation in policy development albeit with limitations of time, funding, and broad impact. It concludes by calling for: (i) an increase in local learning and action opportunities for people living in poverty; (ii) more supportive front-line interactions between governmental and non-governmental agencies and people living on low incomes; (iii) government policy initiatives to reduce poverty; and (iv) action to increase public understanding of poverty to reduce the stigmatization of, and discrimination against, people living in poverty.