No progress on child poverty in Canada

Our yearly budget for military spending is 16.9 billion. If we just lopped off 2 billion of that each year in 5 years we would eliminate child poverty in Canada. But on the bright side there will be plenty of jobs for these poor children in the military if Harper stays on course.


Sep 11, 2007 01:20 PM
Les Whittington
Ottawa Bureau

OTTAWA — Despite nearly two decades of promises by political leaders, little progress has been made in reducing the scourge of child poverty in Canada, says a new report from Campaign 2000, a national, non-partisan network commited to tackling the problem.

"The past 10 years of economic growth and prosperity have not made a dent in basic child poverty rates" in this country, the group says in an analysis released this morning.

In 1989, all parties in the House of Commons promised to eliminate child poverty by the year 2000, but the politicial will and commitment have not been found to achieve that goal.

Close to 1.2 million children — almost one out of every six children in Canada — are still among the poor, Campaign 2000 said.

The group called on federal and provincial governments to work together on a concrete plan with specific targets for improving the welfare of children living in low-income families.

"The goals are achievable, as we have seen from international examples such as the United Kingdom. Here at home, Quebec and Newfoundland and Labrador have implemented poverty reduction strategies and are making good progress as a result," said Ryerson University professor Marvyn Novick, the report's author.

The group said that between 2000 and 2005, there has been little improvement in child poverty rates in Ontario.

The group advocates higher minimum wages, increased government "child benefits" for low-income earners and other assistance as part of a federal-provincial strategy to reduce child poverty by at least 25 per cent by 2012 and at least 50 per cent by 2017, the 150th anniversary of Canada's nationhood.

It would cost a total of about $10 billion in added federal-provincial spending over the next five years, Novick estimates.