Campaign 2000’s annual report card shows 38 per cent of Indigenous children on reserves live in poverty, as do 42 per cent of female lone-parent families. One in three children of recent immigrants lives in poverty and income inequality is growing, the report says.
“This is a crisis for the 4.8 million Canadians who live below the poverty line, as well as for our entire society,” said Joe Gunn, executive director of Citizens for Public Justice, a member group of Campaign 2000 and a faith-based social justice think tank. “Poverty, beyond the statistics, represents the lives and unique experiences of our neighbours — but with a common point: the loss of access to chances of realizing not only economic potential, but human potential.