One in five Canadian children lives in poverty
Posted November 24, 2015 9:02 am.
Last Updated November 24, 2015 9:48 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – It has been more than 25 years since our federal politicians unanimously vowed to end child poverty in Canada. But today, 1.3 million kids across the country are still living on very little.
The National Report Card on Child and Family Poverty points out one in five children lives below the line.
“We found poverty rates are even worse among children who are indigenous, from racialized communities, are in immigrant families, or in families affected by disability,” says national coordinator Anita Khanna.
But the advocacy groups behind the report card see a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to change that as the Trudeau Liberals take over in Ottawa.
“With the new federal government committed to a national poverty strategy, we can change the legacy from one of failing to eradicate child poverty to one of enabling success for all future Canadians,” Khanna tells NEWS 1130.
The 2015 report card, entitled Let’s Do This: Let’s End Child Poverty for Good, offers policy recommendations for the new Liberal government, including boosting the new Canada Child benefit.
“That would reduce the child poverty rate by 50 per cent, lifting over 650,000 children out of poverty,” says Khanna.
“We also make recommendations around the need for a national child care policy which will enable parents to work or study and lift their families out of poverty. We also call for social housing and affordable housing to address the largest single expense any family has to pay for.”
Khanna says there has been some progress made with poverty at the regional level.
“Every province and territory — except for British Columbia — has a poverty reduction strategy and the evidence shows that when they stay on track in meeting commitments and invest the necessary dollars to enable the success of low income people, they can achieve results.”
She believes a national strategy, in collaboration with all levels of government, would have an even greater impact on child poverty, which takes more than just a human toll. Khanna says poverty drains billions of dollars from the Canadian economy in lost productivity and costs associated with expanded health care, criminal justice and social services.
“Canada is lagging internationally on child and family poverty, but we don’t have to. We have the solutions. We have the tools to address this issue. Poverty is not inevitable.”
