Poverty Trends 2017, our annual report on poverty in Canada, reports that 4.8 million people in Canada (or 13.9%) live in poverty. The report uses the Low-Income Measure (LIM), which defines the poverty rate as a 50 per cent of the median Canadian household income.
It’s sad that Christians quoting “the poor you will always have with you” rarely follow it with the intended injunction, “therefore, you shall open wide your hand to the needy and to the poor.” By separating these phrases, we may prevent ourselves from hearing and acting on the best sense of the intended teaching of…
Now that Canadians have had nine months to tell Ottawa what they want to see in a national poverty reduction strategy, people like Mary Boyd are hoping to increase pressure on the Liberal government to fulfill its 2015 campaign promise to set targets and measure progress on poverty nationwide.
By Leah Watkiss on July 24th, 2017
On May 12, 60 Sisters of St. Joseph of Toronto, along with their associates and partners, gathered to illustrate the faces of poverty and offer solutions. At the Sisters’ residence, they hosted Meeting the Needs of the Dear Neighbour, a story-telling event in response to the federal government’s poverty reduction strategy consultation process.
Energy poverty in Canada is not new. I can recall stories from my relatives about winters in their childhood, waking up to thick frost on the inside of their windows and heating bricks in wood stoves to keep their beds warm. That was a while ago, though not that long.
While sufficient and reliable energy use is more common in Canada now, not everyone can access or afford the energy that many of us take for granted.
From the Catalyst, Summer 2017
Better Now: Six Big Ideas to Improve Health Care for All Canadians
By Dr. Danielle Martin
Allen Lane, 2017
Reviewed by Sally Guy
Better Now will likely find itself preaching to the choir. That is not to say that Martin is ever preachy—in fact, her style is conversational and unpretentious. But those that really need to read this book, sadly, won’t. Many of the ‘big ideas’ would hinge on the participation of all levels of government, and would require a fundamental shift in the way many Canadians understand the rights of citizenship.
“I think there’s been a thin gruel of achievements in 2017 so far,” said Joe Gunn, executive director of Citizens for Public Justice (CPJ), a Christian social justice think tank. “On the issues that we are concerned with, we would have hoped for a little more movement forward.” Gunn pointed out much of the infrastructure spending is…
Ending poverty in Canada – just thinking of it can be overwhelming. Where do you start to find solutions to the range of problems that need to be addressed? It’s not easy. There are economic, social, and, of course, policy considerations. But when you think about the people living each day weighed down by the…
Have you ever planned a party, but worried that nobody would come? In February, the Liberal government launched consultations with Canadians on what should be included in the country’s first-ever poverty reduction strategy. Similarly, the Minister launched a “national conversation” at the end of June 2016 — but on the specific and more limited topic…
Poverty is more than a matter of low income, but it always includes low income. It is important that appropriate measures are available to provide accurate and current data about the broad reality of poverty.