Canadian Facts On Poverty

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Poverty – Because We Don't Care Enough

“…while all children are born equal, they don't all have the same opportunities to flourish. This is as true for children here as it is for children in the third world… Nothing in today's society is more disgraceful than the marginalization of some young people who are driven to isolation and despair. We must not tolerate such disparities.”
      Her Excellency the Right Honourable
      Michaëlle Jean, Governor General, September 27, 2005

2005 Report Card on Child Poverty in Canada

**Decision Time for Canada: Let's Make Poverty History

Sixteen years ago the House of Commons unanimously resolved to “seek to achieve the goal of eliminating poverty among Canadian children by the year 2000.” Yet, more than 1.2 million children – one child out of every six in Canada – still lives in poverty.

Child poverty is a special concern for governments and communities. No one can ignore the evidence from the multitude of studies that have documented the dreadful effects of poverty on children… Canada's high rate of child poverty is shocking for a country ranked among the wealthiest in the world. Canada ranks bronze on childhood poverty, with a rate almost six times that of Denmark!

• Low income couples with children still $9,900 (on average) below poverty line
• Low income lone mother families fallen deeper into poverty – would need $9,600 (on average) to reach poverty line
• Deep inequality entrenched despite economic growth. Canada's top 10% richest families with children had average incomes that were more than 13 times higher than the bottom 10%
• 41% of food bank users in 2004 were children
• Child poverty rates for Aboriginal, immigrant and children in visible minority groups are more than double the average for all children; child poverty rates among children with disabilities are 27.7%

Recommendations

• Create an effective child benefit system that provides enough income support to keep working parents, including single parents, out of poverty and that is not clawed back from social assistance recipients
• Increase availability of good jobs at living wages, raise minimum wages, facilitate inclusion of immigrants and provide better protection through Employment Insurance
• Establish long term commitment to consolidate child benefits into a single program and raise the child benefit to a maximum of $4,900
• Build a universally accessible system of quality early childhood education and care to support optimal early development of children and to enable parents to work or receive training
• Expand affordable housing significantly to end adult and family homelessness and enable parents to raise their children in healthy community environments
• Renew the national social safety net through the new Canada Social Transfer, with increased federal funding and improved accountability for provincially delivered social services, including social assistance

From: **Campaign 2000; Alberta (pdf)

“On the 15th anniversary of the national pledge to end child poverty, 1,065,000 children in Canada, 98,000 children in Alberta, still remain in poverty. 13.3% or 98,000 children in Alberta live in poverty”

“A popular misconception is that poor children live mostly in families dependent on social assistance. The reality is that 57.9% of poor children in Alberta live in families where the parent(s) worked all year. That means there are 56,700 children who, despite living in working families, are still living in poverty. The majority (68%) of children living in poverty in Alberta live in two-parent families”

“While the overall child poverty rate in Alberta is 13.3%, some social groups are disproportionately affected by poverty. Aboriginal children, as well as children in visible minority and immigrant families are two to three times as likely as the general population to be living in poverty.”

Solutions to address child poverty in Alberta and Canada: Campaign 2000 recommends that governments in Canada commit to a Social Investment Plan. Recognizing that child poverty is a multi-faceted problem that requires multi-faceted solutions, Campaign 2000 recommends five major initiatives:

• More good jobs at living wages including raising the minimum wage to $10 an hour.
• An effective child benefit system that includes raising the current child benefit to $4,900 per child.
• A universally accessible system of quality early learning and child care.
• Significant expansion of affordable housing.
• A renewed national social safety net.

Edmonton Social Planning Council 9624–108 Avenue Edmonton, AB T5H 1A4 Tel: (780) 423–2031 Fax (780) 425–6244 **www.edmspc.com

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