Statement made on 17 October 2007 by Senator Rose-Marie Losier-Cool
Hon. Rose-Marie Losier Cool:
Honourable senators, today, October 17, is the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty. I would like to speak briefly about poverty in Canada, and particularly about children living in poverty and also parents, since poor children do not come from rich parents.
This past September 11, a comprehensive policy report on child poverty in Canada was released by Campaign 2000, a non-partisan network dedicated to ending child poverty. The author of the 48-page report, Professor Marvyn Novick, reminds us that we, as federal parliamentarians, have not lived up to our 1989 all-party promise to eliminate child poverty in Canada by the year 2000.
Honourable senators, still today, in 2007, 800,000 of our children, more than one out of every ten children, live in poverty. This proportion has not changed since we made the promise in 1989, almost 20 years ago. Statistics Canada sets the poverty line at an annual income of less than $27,000 for a family of four. I think we can agree that that is not much to feed, clothe, house, educate and transport four people — sometimes difficult choices must be made.
The report examines the prevalence of poverty among our children, especially considering the unprecedented years of economic prosperity our country is experiencing.
Honourable senators, why must our children be hungry, cold and left aside when our country's Human Development Index is sixth in the world? Why does Canada still have poor kids when our gross domestic product is ranked eighth in the world and when our wealth per capita exceeds $28, 000?
The report proposes clear and integrated ways to deal with the problem of child poverty once and for all. Specifically, Campaign 2000 recommends that child poverty in Canada be reduced by at least 25 per cent by 2012 and by at least 50 per cent by 2017.
To reach this realistic goal, the federal government should up its Child Tax Benefit to $5 100 per year. This increase alone would reduce the rate of child poverty in Canada by 37 per cent. The federal government should also increase its work tax credits.
Federal and provincial governments should guarantee a $10 per hour minimum wage, make substantial investments in early childhood education and childcare, and put more money into social housing.
Furthermore, the provinces should expand their coverage for prescription drugs and dental care and enable families to take full advantage of the federal government's annual child benefit by not clawing it back from social assistance benefits paid to society's poorest families.