In 1970, a special Senate Committee, chaired by Senator David Croll, examined poverty in Canada.  The Croll Report, as it came to be known, brought poverty out of the shadows and focused public attention on a problem many would prefer to have ignored.  However, as that Report made clear, “the poor do not choose poverty.  It is at once their affliction and our national shame. The children of the poor (and there are many) are the most helpless victims of all, and find even less hope in a society where welfare systems from the very beginning destroy their chances of a better life.” 

Today, 38 years later, the challenge of poverty still echoes and the “ugly subculture of poverty” that Croll described is still a way of life for far too many of our fellow citizens.

Last year, the Standing Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology, launched a comprehensive study of the major social issues facing Canadian cities with an initial focus on poverty, housing and homelessness.  The Committee held seven meetings and heard from 32 witnesses representing 20 organizations.  What we heard was truly appalling.

Despite nearly two decades of unprecedented economic growth, a staggering one in 10 Canadians, over 3.4 million people, continue to live in poverty.  Nearly a third of Canada’s low-wage workers do not make enough money to simply cover the cost of living.  For these people, insufficient income, unaffordable housing, inadequate clothing and unsatisfactory nutrition are the grinding realities of their lives.

More than 800,000 of those living in poverty are children - a statistic that is all the more damning given this country’s 1989 commitment to eliminate child poverty by 2000.   Instead, we have hardly made a dent and another generation has been lost to despair and diminished expectations.

While these deprivations fall across all parts of the country, poverty is creating particular challenges in our cities.  That’s because we are an increasingly urbanized country, with four out of five Canadians living in centres of more than 10,000 people.  In a majority of these urban centres, the percentage of people living in poverty exceeds the national average. 

Urban poverty is much more than just an urban problem - it is a growing threat to our progress and prospects as a country.  As the United Way of Greater Toronto told our Committee, “...chronic levels of poverty, polarized job opportunities, low wages and unaffordable and inadequate housing in large cities create a fundamental challenge to the future of Canada and the quality of life of Canadians.”

At a time when competition for talent is no longer simply between nations, but among cities, urban centres have become both the focus of local economic activity and, in a very real sense, the drivers of national prosperity.  Addressing the challenges of poverty, housing and homelessness, therefore, is both a moral issue and an economic imperative.

After our initial round of hearings, it was clear that we were facing far different social and economic realities from those Senator Croll confronted in the 1970's.  As a result, we expanded our schedule and have now heard from more than 90 witnesses.   

While it is still too early to draw definitive conclusions or present final recommendations, seven   stark realities have emerged: first, Canada’s income support systems are broken and simply not achieving their goals, second, a job is no longer enough to lift Canadians out of poverty; third, too many Canadians don’t have access to adequate and affordable housing; fourth, the federal government is too segmented to comprehensively address poverty, housing and homelessness; fifth, provincial and territorial governments are similarly compartmentalized and can’t deliver a coordinated response; sixth, cities must be partners in reducing poverty; and seventh, programs and activities need to be better designed so that they actually do what they’re intended to do.

One of the most frequent messages received by our Committee was the importance of housing - the single largest expense most Canadians face.  As the foundation of family life, a home provides the basis for such key benefits as better health, higher educational achievement, better integration into a community and greater stability in the work place. 

And yet, nearly 30 per cent of households in Canada struggle to find affordable housing.  The challenge is even greater for unattached women, with 42 per cent of single mothers facing affordability problems.  Adults living alone, single parents, people with disabilities, recent immigrants, visible minorities and Aboriginals often spend more than half of what they earn just to keep a roof over their heads.

To address the challenge of affordable housing, the Committee has heard a number of creative ideas, including providing rental subsidies or vouchers to individuals in need, dedicating a portion of federal  funding for housing to affordable home ownership and creating tax incentives to develop more  affordable housing.  These and other options can be found in our interim report, available at http://senate-senat.ca/cities-villes.asp.

The next phase of the Committee’s work will involve hearings across the country, including meeting with those living in poverty.  We want to know whether they are being helped by current programs and services, or simply sustained in low-income ghettos; what lessons can be learned from their experience and how we can make a real difference in their lives and the life of the nation.   The Committee expects to issue a final report, with recommendations, within six months.