SSW106: Child Poverty

Income Inequality and Child Poverty in Canada: from Poor No More

BC Has the Highest Rate of Child Poverty in Canada

Child Poverty is a Serious Problem

Dr. Clyde Hertzman's key messages 

Clips were taken from various videos projects originally produced by the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, the Dalai Lama Center and the Human Early Learning Partnership.

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UNICEF report: Canada ranks 17th of 29 for well-being of children

The latest report on the well-being of children in rich countries ranks Canada 17th out of 29, a score that hasn’t budged in almost a decade, according to United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

Monsebraaten, L. (2013). The Star. 

If you think Canada is one of the best places to raise a child, think again.

The latest report on the well-being of children in rich countries ranks Canada 17th out of 29, a score that hasn’t budged in almost a decade, according to United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

The country scored “below average” grades for child poverty and obesity and children’s life satisfaction, says the report to be released Wednesday.

“The fact that our children rank in the bottom half when compared to other industrialized nations simply isn’t good enough,” said UNICEF CanadaPresident David Morley.

“It is clear Canada can do better. Protecting and promoting the well-being of our children must become a national priority.”

UNICEF Canada is calling for a National Children’s Commissioner to report annually on the state of the country’s kids and for every level of government to provide more information on the amount of money they spend on children.

“Considering the size and general health of our economy when compared to the difficult recessions other countries in this report have experienced, it is clear Canada is not doing enough and needs to invest more in our children,” Morley said.

The latest report focuses on five areas including health and safety; behaviour and risk; material well-being; education; housing and environment.

Canada’s relatively high rates of infant mortality for a developed country and relatively low immunization rates are to blame for Canada’s low score for health and safety, the report says.

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BC Ties Manitoba for highest child poverty

Hyslop, K. (2013). The Tyee. 

British Columbia has once again taken the title of province with the highest number of poor families with children. The latest numbers released today by First Call: BC Child and Youth Advocacy Coalition show poverty for families with children rose from 10.5 per cent in 2010 to 11.3 per cent -- or 93,000 children -- in 2011.

Numbers from Statistics Canada show B.C. has tied with Manitoba for the child poverty highest rate in the country. This is the ninth year in the last decade that B.C. has achieved first place in poorest families.

The worst hit families were female-led single parent families, where poverty rates jumped from 16.4 per cent in 2010 to 24.6 per cent -- or 27,000 kids -- in 2011. Poverty in two parent families also increased from 7.7 per cent to 9.2 per cent -- or 61,000 children -- in 2011.

First Call places the blame for the rising poverty levels on a perfect storm of a high cost of living combined with inadequate wages in the province. Regardless of B.C.'s economic performance over the years, the advocacy organization says government has failed to adequately address the government's child poverty problem.

But the ministry of children and family development says child poverty is at one of its lowest rates in more than three decades.

"The child poverty rate has declined by 41 per cent since 2003," Minister Stephanie Cadieux told The Tyee, adding she was "not entirely clear" why the province's numbers remain the highest in the country.

"But the best way to get children out of poverty is to make sure their parents have good jobs. That's why we’re focused on our Jobs Plan and building opportunities for adults to have jobs in the province, and at the same time we've got a number of targeted investments that we're making to try and help put money back in the pockets of families who need it most."

Some of these investments include the BC Early Childhood Tax Benefit, scheduled to come into effect in 2015. But First Call's release says the Benefit, which will provide families up to $660 per year for each child under the age of six, "won't come close to lifting most poor children out of poverty, when depth of poverty figures for lone-parent and two-parent families have shown them to be $10,000 or more below the poverty line."

Last year's Child Poverty Report Card found 43 per cent of children living in poverty had at least one parent with a full-time job. Stats released today also found that the median income for female-led single parent families also dropped from $32,000 in 2010 to $21,500 in 2011 -- almost $2,000 below the poverty line for a single parent family with one child.