SWACP 2010 Poverty Report Card

8/8/2019 SWACP 2010 Poverty Report Card

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A Basis for Action for Socially Inclusive Communities

Southwest Alberta Coalition on Poverty2010 Poverty Report Card

March 2010


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A Basis for Action for Socially Inclusive CommunitiesSWACP 2010 Report Card

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Acknowledgements

South West Alberta Coalition on Poverty Report Card Project Team:

Steve PedersenRonda ReachStasha Donahue

Contact Information:Steve PedersenInterim President, South West Alberta Coalition on PovertyEmail: [email protected]

Web: http://www.apha.ab.ca/swacp


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About the SWACP

The South West Alberta Coalition on Poverty (http://www.apha.ab.ca/swacp/) is aregional group of individuals, groups, agencies, and businesses working togetherto reduce poverty and its effects on children, families and communities in

southwest Alberta by: Advocating for healthy public policy Increasing awareness Strengthening community capacities Mobilizing community resources Facilitating community action Supporting creative solutions

To date, the Coalition has: Built and strengthened a coalition of diverse community groups and

individuals

Sponsored the first regional forum on poverty in October 2000 Produced a regional report card on poverty in southern Alberta (1999) Produced Action for Our Future A Community Action Kit for Champions

of the Fight Against Child Poverty in our Communities Produced a video entitled What Can Be Done a look at community

strategies and actions to address child poverty and effects in southwestAlberta

Produced a second video entitled Sustaining the Journey: EffectivePoverty Reduction Strategies in Southwestern Alberta

Sponsored the 2nd Regional Forum on Poverty (2004) Sponsored three post-forum community pilot projects Inclusive Communities Exploration Project (Lead Barb Cavers) Co-sponsored the Reality Check 2005 Provincial Conference Partnered with KAIROS to host a People's Forum for the International

Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (2006 UN review ofCanada)

Sponsored the Regional Social Inclusion Forum (Lethbridge - May 2006) Sponsored "Bridges Out of Poverty" workshop (Oct. 2006) Sponsored the People's Event in conjunction with the Photovoice project

(March 2007) Sponsored the Rural Affordable Housing 2008 Conference

Coordinated the Building Socially Inclusive Communities in SouthernAlberta project (Cardston & Fort Macleod, 2009)

As part of our work in the region, we are committed to providing currentinformation on child poverty and related impacts in southwest Alberta.


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TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................5

WHAT IS POVERTY? ..........................................................................................6

THE NUMBERS.....................................................................................................6

MORE THAN NUMBERS CAN SAY ..........................................................................7

RECENT DATA AND TRENDS..........................................................................10

SECTION 1DISTRIBUTION OF POVERTY.............................................................10

SECTION 2PREDICTORS OF POVERTY ..............................................................16

DISCUSSION......................................................................................................21

APPENDIX A - DONT BLAME ME, A POEM BY GEOFFREY CANADA ........23

APPENDIX B SUMMARY OF 2009 REPORT CARD ON CHILD AND FAMILY

POVERTY IN CANADA: 1989 2009 FROM CAMPAIGN 2000: .....................24

APPENDIX C HUNGERCOUNT2009..............................................................25


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Introduction

End cycle of poverty, Senate committee demands reads the December 8,2009 National Post headline1, announcing the release of a new Canadian

Senate report on poverty.

How many reports on poverty have been published and to what effect? Someargue that words are useless a phantom exercise lacking any real meaningdesigned more to soothe an occasional pang of consciousness about theneed to do something - yes, we are working on the issue - than to reallymake an impact. For those experiencing poverty in its various forms, wordsare small comfort and even smaller help.

However, words both reflect and influence a cultures values, priorities, andactivities. This Coalition believes in the need to turn up the volume on thepoverty discourse in our communities, in an effort to both raise awareness ofpoverty and support a groundswell of strategies and actions to alleviate povertyand its effects.

For too many, poverty remains an abstract concept, thought of perhaps onlywhen it comes knocking at ones door around Christmastime asking for ahandout or when a headline catches ones attention. Borrowing from the wordsof Elie Wiesel:

It is so much easier to look away...It is so much easier to avoid such rude

interruptions to our work, our dreams, our hopes. It is, after all, awkward,troublesome, to be involved in another person's pain and despairfor theperson who is indifferent, his or her neighbor are of no consequence. And,therefore, their lives are meaningless. (Perils of Indifference)

This meaninglessness is experienced by many living in poverty, and is perhapsa more harmful experience of poverty than the limited financial means typicallyassociated with being in poverty.

The purpose of this report is to add meaning to our public and private discoursethrough the sharing of current data, perspectives, and trends in an effort to help

tip our society towards a more inclusive and meaningful shared existencecharacterized by less poverty in its various forms.

1http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=2317326


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What is Poverty?

Poverty has long been associated with numbers. When checking ones wallet orbank balance and seeing a 0 reflected back the lack of numbers speaks

loudly. Yet, a focus exclusively on numbers can rob of us further understanding.This report incorporates both a numerical and a non-numerical perspective onpoverty and its effects.

The Numbers

In Canada, poverty is frequently reported using the Low Income Cut Off (LICO)2.This is an indicator Statistics Canada uses which defines

income thresholds, determined by analysing family expenditure data,below which families will devote a larger share of income to the

necessities of food, shelter and clothing than the average family would.

3

LICOs are defined for five categories of community size and seven categories offamily size, in an effort to create an accurate reference point.

The LICO is thus used to compare the situation of a family or household to anaverage experience for a family or household of that size in that area todetermine if one is below average defined as being of low income. Overall,the low income rate for persons can then be calculated as the number of personsin low income divided by the total population.

One of the reasons a focus on numbers is incomplete is that poverty defined thisway has only mastered the ability to count to two; it counts a dichotomousexistence you either have it or you dont4.

2Statistics Canada does recognize that defining poverty is far from straightforward. The underlying

difficulty is that poverty is a question of social consensus, defined for a given point in time and in the contextof a given country. Decisions on what defines poverty are subjective and ultimately arbitrary. Given this,Statistics Canada has always referred to the low income cut-offs and low income measures as indicators ofthe extent to which some Canadians are less well-off than others based solely on income and as such, arelow income and not poverty measures. As with most disclaimers, few take the time to read the small print and this important point is lost. We have therefore thought it fitting to include their disclaimer in our ownversion of fine print.3 http://www.statcan.gc.ca/bsolc/olc-cel/olc-cel?catno=75F0002MIE2006004&lang=eng

4Dr. Geoffrey Rose brought to our attention an analogous situation from the world of medicine which

offers insights into how we think about poverty. Paraphrasing from his writings

Concern for sick individuals has led to an attractively simple approachwe wish to reduce thenumber of sick individuals, who form aclearly definable minoritythis approach rests on thetraditional principle of diagnosis which assumes that the world falls into two classes, namely thosewho have it and those who do notThis simple modelwent virtually unquestioned until 1954 when George Pickering advanced the revolutionary proposal that the idea of a sharp distinctionbetween health and disease is a medical artifact for which nature, if consulted, provides nosupport.

Dr. Pickering argued that health and disease are experienced in degrees, never as absolutes.


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A common mistake is to forget that the use of dichotomous definitions (you haveit or you dont) represent an operational convenience necessary for determiningwhen to act, and not a reflection of the actual reality of things.

The question should not be do you have it? but how much of it do you have?

Rather than rely on an arbitrarily defined line, poverty can be thought of in termsof how much one is affected by it, rather than whether one is affected by it inits various forms.

The shape of poverty is therefore not a line of demarcation dividing persons intoone of two groups (see Figure A) but an inclusive curve (see Figure B) whereinall can place themselves5.

Figure A: Poverty The Dichotomous View Figure B: Poverty The Continuum View

One of the consequences of adopting the continuum as our understanding of

poverty is that then the artificial fences and divisions we erect in our lives andsocieties (i.e., not in mybackyard) are in essence built of material from the samefactory which produced the emperor's clothes - they exist only in our imaginations(and prejudices) (Pedersen, 2008).

More Than Numbers Can Say

One idea that has grown from this understanding is the idea of relative income(i.e. beyond a threshold of deprivation, it is not what one earns that is mostimportant, it is how those earnings compare to others in ones society).

The idea of relative income is not new. Adam Smith, in his 18th century classicWealth of Nations, commented

By necessaries I understand not only the commodities which areindispensably necessary for the support of life, but whatever the custom of

5This raises the question of when poverty is diminished, what is found in its place? What is the

opposite of poverty? In pure financial terms, it may be riches. But many with riches are poor in other areasof their life.


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the country renders it indecent for creditable people, even of the lowestorder, to be without. A linen shirt, for example, is, strictly speaking, not anecessary of life. The Greeks and Romans lived, I suppose, verycomfortably though they had no linen. But in the present times, throughthe greater part of Europe, a creditable day-labourer would be ashamed to

appear in public without a linen shirt, the want of which would besupposed to denote that disgraceful degree of poverty which, it ispresumed, nobody can well fall into without extreme bad conduct. Custom,in the same manner, has rendered leather shoes a necessary of life inEngland. The poorest creditable person of either sex would be ashamedto appear in public without them. (Smith, 1776)

Custom exerts a powerful influence on what is acceptable and therefore alsowhat deprivation looks like.

Another idea related to relative income and relative deprivation is the health or

social gradient. The gradient simply put exists when an outcome (i.e. healthstatus) changes uniformly by income across categories (i.e. quintiles) of apopulation. The gradients message is that how much income one has relates toones health in a more profound way than just through the presence or absenceof poverty. For example, if a population is divided into five income groupings, thedifference in health experienced by the fourth and fifth highest income groupingsis related to the difference in income between the two groups, even though bothgroups have an income far above any statistical definition of poverty or lowincome. Again, it is not a question of yes/no but how much in terms ofincomes effect.

Research into the causes of the gradient has identified them as autonomy - howmuch control you have over your life and the opportunities you have for fullsocial engagement and participation. This leads us to the realization thatincome is important not because of what it is, but because of what it represents.

Building on this idea is the representation of poverty as a lack of opportunity orfreedom, and efforts to address poverty as a form of development. In the wordsof Nobel Prize winner Amartya Sen

Development can be seenas a process of expanding the real freedomsthat people enjoy of the removal of various types of unfreedoms thatleave people with little choice and little opportunity of exercising theirreasoned agency. Development requires the removal of major sources ofunfreedom: poverty as well as tyranny, poor economic opportunities aswell as systematic social deprivation, neglect of public facilities as well asintoleranceGreater freedom enhances the ability of people to helpthemselves and also to influence the world, and these matters are centralto the process of development.


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Building on these understandings, the ultimate objective of efforts to addresspoverty therefore is not to end poverty by increasing incomes or wages. Thesesteps are necessary but not sufficient, as poverty is so much more than just anincome level. The vision for efforts to address poverty is captured nicely in theobjective for people to have the freedom to live lives they have reason to value,

of which an adequate income is an important component.

Additional components, which have been added to our vocabulary andconversations about poverty and its influence, include:

Social exclusion Social inclusion Control of destiny Social participation

As our collective and individual conversations about poverty increasingly reflect a

broader understanding, our actions eventually must follow6

. This would result ina more inclusive society where the many forms and influences of poverty are lessharshly experienced as society more readily shares the burdens, responsibilities,and opportunities associated with life's experiences (see Appendix A).

6This understanding is reflected in the recently published NewBrunswick Economic and Social

Inclusion Plan: OVERCOMING POVERTY TOGETHER. This plan grouped its recommended actions intothe categories:

Opportunities for Being (meeting basic need) Opportunities for Becoming (life-long learning and skills acquisition) Opportunities for Belonging (community participation)


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Recent Data and Trends

Statistics Canadas most recent data is from the 2006 Census. Using this data,this section presents updated numerical figures about the lived experience of

poverty, and where possible compare these figures to the 2001 Census toidentify trends over time.

Section 1 Distribution of Poverty

The Canadian Census collects data for a number of indicators of poverty,including:

Incidence of low income (households)7

Incidence of low income (economic families)8 Government transfer payments as % of income

Unemployment rate

Aboriginal population Movers in previous year % of children < 6 years of age % of lone parent families Adults with no high school certificate

Figure 1 shows how these indicators have changed in Southwest Albertabetween the 2001 and 2006 Census.

7Refers to a person or a group of persons (other than foreign residents) who occupy the same

dwelling and do not have a usual place of residence elsewhere in Canada. It may consist of a

family group (census family) with or without other persons, of two or more families sharing adwelling, of a group of unrelated persons, or of one person living alone. Household members whoare temporarily absent on Census Day (e.g., temporary residents elsewhere) are considered aspart of their usual household. For census purposes, every person is a member of one and onlyone household. Unless otherwise specified, all data in household reports are for privatehouseholds only. Household is inclusive of Economic Families.

8Refers to a group of two or more persons who live in the same dwelling and are related to each

other by blood, marriage, common-law or adoption. A couple may be of opposite or same sex.For 2006, foster children are included.


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Figure 1: Indicators of Poverty in Southwest Alberta 2001 in Comparison toSouthwest Alberta 2006

Indicators of Poverty

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

% of Lone-parent Families

% of children* < 6 years

Movers in previous year

Aboriginal population

Unemployment rate

Government transfer payments %

Incidence of low income (Economic Families)

Incidence of low income (Households)

Adults* with no High School Cert.

% of Rented Homes

Chinook 2001 Chinook 2006

While many indicators appear relatively stable, there appears to have beensignificant change for the indicators government transfer payments as a % ofincome (a decrease since 2001 Census), adults with no high school certificate(a decrease since the 2001 Census), and percentage of rented homes (adecrease since the 2001 Census). Or in other words, fewer people are receivinggovernment assistance, fewer people are not completing high school, and fewerpeople are renting their home.

It appears that the economic boom in Albertas 2005-2006 period had some

impact on indicators of poverty.

With an understanding of how southwest Alberta compares to itself five yearsearlier, how does the region compare to the province as a whole? Figure 2compares the same indicators region vs. province.


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Figure 2: Indicators of Poverty in Southwest Alberta in Comparison to Alberta

Indicators of Poverty (2006)

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

% of Lone Parent Families

% of children < 6 years

Movers in previous year

Aboriginal population

Unemployment rate

Receiving Government transfer payments

Persons in low income after tax (All)

Persons


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Figure 3 shows take-home income by family type. Lone-parent families,particularly female lone-parent families, experience a significantly lower annualtake-home income than married or common-law couples.

Figure 3: Alberta Families' 'Take-Home' Income By Family Type

Median Family 'Take-Home' Income by Family Type

0 10000 20000 30000 40000 50000 60000 70000 80000

Warner County

Coutts

Milk River

Warner

Raymond

Stirling

Lethbridge

Leth.County

Coalhurst

Nobleford

Barons

Picture Butte

Coaldale

MD of Taber

Taber

Barnwell

Vauxhall

Cardston County

Magrath

Cardston

Glenwood

MD of Pincher Creek

Pincher Creek

Willow Creek MD

Fort Macleod

Granum

Piikani Nation

Blood Nation

Crowsnest Pass

Chinook

Alberta

Female lone-parent families

Lone-parent families

Common-law-couple families

Married-couple families


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Figure 4: Proportion of Persons in Low Income (After-Tax)

Figure 4 reinforces the importance of engaging youth in society. The povertycoalition has been working on this strategic direction for the past number of yearswith our arts-based projects and more recently, the social inclusion projects.

Incidence of Persons in Low Income (after tax - 2005)

0 5 10 15 20 25 30

Warner County

Coutts

Milk River

Raymond

Stirling

Lethbridge

Leth.County

Coalhurst

Nobleford

Picture Butte

Coaldale

MD of Taber

Taber

Barnwell

Vauxhall

Cardston County

Magrath

Cardston

MD of Pincher Creek

Pincher Creek

Willow Creek MD

Fort Macleod

Granum

Crowsnest Pass

Chinook

Alberta

%

Children (< 18 yrs. of age)

Females

Males

All Persons


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Figure 5: Median Family Income by Community

Figure 5 demonstrates the economic disparities between First Nation and non-First Nations communities.

Median Income (after-tax) for All Census Families

0

10000

20000

30000

40000

50000

60000

70000

War

nerC

ount

y

Coutts

Milk

Riv

er

War

ner

Ray

mond

Stirlin

g

Lethbr

idge

Leth

.Cou

nty

Coalh

urst

Noble

ford

Bar

ons

Pic

ture

Butte

Coald

ale

MD

ofT

aber

Tab

er

Bar

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Vau

xhall

Cards

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ount

y

Mag

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Cards

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MDofP

inch

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reek

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Cre

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W

illow

Cre

ekM

D

FortM

acle

od

Gra

num

Piik

aniN

atio

n

Blo

odN

atio

n

Cro

wsn

estP

ass

Chi

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Alb

erta

$d

ollars

As summarized in the Canadian Senates 2007 Standing Committee onAboriginal Peoples Report Sharing Canadas Prosperity A Hand Up, Not AHandout9

past and current approaches to improving the economic and social well-being of Aboriginal people have not met with great success. The almostexclusive emphasis on social programs and spending by the federalgovernment is, for many, misguided. Increasingly, Aboriginal people view

economic development as fundamental to reshaping their social outcomesand are asking that this area be afforded much greater priority

9http://www.parl.gc.ca/39/1/parlbus/commbus/senate/com-e/abor-e/rep-e/repmar06pdf-e.htm


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Section 2 Predictors of Poverty

Figure 6: Proportion of Lone-Parent Families

As someone once said, single parents are required to do twice the work with half

the resources. Single parenthood is a demanding state of life, characterized byexperiences of stress, low-income, and social exclusion. We can see that incomparison to the 2001 census, the proportion of lone-parent families withsome exceptions is increasing.

Proportion of Lone-parent Families (2001, 2006)

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

Warn

erCo

unty

Coutts

MilkRi

ver

Warn

er

Raym

ond

Stirli

ng

Lethb

ridge

Lethb

ridge

County

Coalh

urst

Noble

ford

Baron

s

Pictur

eButt

e

Coald

ale

Tabe

rMD

Tabe

r

Barnw

ell

Vauxhall

Cards

tonCounty

Magra

th

Cardston

Glen

wood

Hills

pring

Pincher

CreekM

D

Pincher

Creek

Cowley

Willo

wCreekM

D

FortM

acleo

d

Gran

um

Piika

ni147

Blood1

48

CrowsnestP

ass

CHIN

OOKTO

TAL

percent

2001 2006


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Figure 7: Unemployment by Community

Employment is key to individual and community well-being and viability. Thereare wide variations in unemployment in southwest Alberta, with a number ofcommunities with higher unemployment than the provincial average.

Unemployment Rate - May 2006

0.0

5.0

10.0

15.0

20.0

25.0

30.0

W

arne

rCou

nty

Coutts

Milk

Riv

er

Warner

Raymond

Stirlin

g

Lethbr

idge

Leth

brid

geCounty

Coalh

urst

Noblefo

rd

Barons

Pictu

reB

utte

Coald

ale

Taber

MD

Taber

Barnw

ell

Vauxh

all

Ca

rdstonCounty

Mag

rath

Cardsto

n

Gle

nwood

Hill

spring

Waterto

nP

ark

Pinc

herCreekMD

Pin

cher

Creek

Cowle

y

Willo

wCreekMD

FortM

acle

od

Granu

m

Piik

ani1

47

Blo

od148

CrowsnestP

ass

Ranchla

ndN

o.6

6MD

CHR

TOTAL

Alb

erta

rateofun

employment


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Figure 8: Government Transfer Payments by Community

The percentage of government transfer payments related to total income isrelated to employment and household earnings. Figure 1 and Figure 2demonstrated a reduction in government transfer payments in the region and the

province. Despite this reduction, there are still a number of communities insouthwest Alberta with high levels of transfer payments.

Government Transfer Payments - % of total income, 2005

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

WarnerC

ounty

Coutts

MilkRi

ver

Warn

er

Raym

ond

Stirli

ng

Lethb

ridge

Leth.

County

Coalh

urst

Noble

ford

Baron

s

Pictur

eButte

Coald

ale

MDofTabe

rTa

ber

Barnw

ell

Vauxhall

Cards

tonCounty

Magra

th

Cards

ton

Glen

wood

MDofPinc

herC

reek

Pincher

Creek

Willo

wCreekM

D

FortM

acleo

d

Gran

um

Peiga

nReserv

e

Blood

Reserve

CrowsnestP

ass

Chino

ok

Albert

a

percent


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Figure 9: Percentage of Population with no High School Certificate

Education is a key contributor to health and prosperity by equipping people withknowledge and skills for problem solving, providing a sense of control andmastery over life circumstances, and increasing opportunities for job and income

security. A high percentage of persons with no high school certificate is analarming portend for the future.

Adults (25 - 34 yrs.) with No High School Certificate

0.0

10.0

20.0

30.0

40.0

50.0

60.0

70.0

80.0

WarnerCo

unty

Raym

ond

Stirli

ng

Lethbridge

Lethb

ridgeCo

unty

Coalhu

rst

Noble

ford

Baron

s

PictureB

utte

Coalda

le

TaberM

D

Tab

er

Barn

well

Vauxhall

CardstonCo

unty

Mag

rath

Cardsto

n

Glenw

ood

Pincher

CreekMD

PincherC

reek

Willo

wCreek

MD

FortMac

leod

Granu

m

Piikani1

47

Blood148

Crowsnest

Pass

CHIN

OOKtotal

Alb

erta

percent


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Figure 10: Proportion of the Population Having Moved in the Previous Year

Frequent relocations can be caused by or contribute to poverty. This can be anindicator of challenges in finding affordable housing or socially inclusiveneighborhoods. Children in families who move often are often at-risk for a lack of

success in school and healthy development.

Movers in Previous Year

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

Warne

rCounty

Coutts

M

ilkR

iver

Warne

r

R

aymond

Stirlin

g

Lethb

ridge

Lethbr

idgeCounty

C

oalh

urst

N

oblefo

rd

Barons

PictureB

utte

Coald

ale

T

aber

MD

Tabe

r

Barnw

ell

Vauxh

all

Cardsto

nCounty

Magrath

Cardsto

n

G

lenw

ood

Hill

spring

Wate

rtonP

ark

Pin

cherC

reek

MD

Pinch

erCreek

Cowley

Will

owC

reekMD

FortMacle

od

Granum

Piik

ani1

47

B

lood

148

Crowsn

estP

ass

Ranchla

ndN

o.66

MD

CHR

TOTAL

Alb

erta

perce

nt


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Discussion

Poverty is persistent and has a powerful influence on the lives of those ittouches. The message of this report is that the common understanding of

poverty as a dollar figure needs to be replaced with an understanding of povertyas a lack of freedom, a diminished capacity to be and to do.

The past few years, the poverty coalition has been working on the issue of socialinclusion in an effort to build more supportive, inclusive communities. Thecoalition is also (as of the time of this writing) investigating the feasibility of amicrocredit program as a means of offering financial and other supports to thosein need in the community.

An illustrative example of the potential benefits from focusing on these conceptsis found in the story of the community of Roseto, Pennsylvania. Roseto was an

Italian community which gained notoriety in the 1960s for its extremely low rate ofheart attacks despite the presence of all of the conventional risk factors for heartdisease. Epidemiological research identified the culture of the community,specifically close and mutually supportive relationships among family andextending to neighbors and to the community as a whole, as significantlycontributing to the healthy state of the community. This healthy community alsounderstood financial challenges. As observed by the researchers

When financial problems arose, relatives and friends rallied to the aid ofthe family, and in instances of abrupt, extreme financial loss, thecommunity itself assumed responsibility for helping the family.

The power of community buffered Rosetos residents against stress anddisconnected the conventional pathways leading from our prevalent modernlifestyle to the modern killer heart disease. To the extent we are able to nurturesupportive, inclusive communities in southwest Alberta, we may be able toexperience the same.

One way to build supportive and inclusive communities is to adopt a perspectiveof hope. Hope has been identified as a fundamental root cause of well-being,related to control of destiny and social participation, and has been defined as thesum of perceived capabilities, within an environment which allows theirexpression, to produce routes to desired goals, along with the perceived

motivation to use those routes. This definition speaks to a process ofempowerment, mutual support, vision, leadership, and growth a process thatboth creates hope as pathways are followed and also is driven by hope for theattainment of an improved future state.

The opposite of hope is fear or despair. Victor Frankl in Mans Search forMeaning writes of a provisional existence (Frankl, 1984), defined as uncertain


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(i.e. unpredictable or controlled by others) and unlimited (i.e. of no set duration).Unemployment and poverty can fall within this definition.

We welcome you to join the Coalition as we work to build a healthier, moreinclusive, and supportive southwest Alberta - a southwest Alberta connected not

by technology but by the common thread of humanity.


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Appendix A - Dont Blame Me, a poem by Geoffrey Canada

The girls mother said, Dont blame me.Her father left when she was three.I know she dont know her ABCs, her 1,2,3s,

But I am poor and work hard you see.You know the story, its dont blame me.

The teacher shook her head and said,Dont blame me, I know its sad.Hes ten, but if the truth be told,He reads like he was six years old.And math, dont ask.Its sad you see.Wish I could do more, but its after three.Blame the mom, blame society, blame the system.Just dont blame me.

The judge was angry, his expression cold.He scowled and said, Son youve been told.Break the law again and youll do time.Youve robbed with a gun.Have you lost your mind?The young man opened his mouth to beg.Save your breath, he heard instead.Your daddy left when you were two.Your momma didnt take care of you.Your school prepared you for this fall.Cant read, cant write, cant spell at all.

But you did the crime for all to see.Youre going to jail, son.Dont blame me.

If there is a God or a person supreme,A final reckoning, for the kind and the mean,And judgment is rendered on who passed the buck,Who blamed the victim or proudly stood up,Youll say to the world, While I couldnt save all,I did not let these children fall.By the thousands I helped all I could see.No excuses, I took full responsibility.

No matter if they were black or white,Were cursed, ignored, were wrong or right,Were shunned, pre-judged, were short or tall,I did my best to save them all.And I will bear witness for eternityThat you can state proudly,Dont blame me.By Geoffrey Canada, CEO of the Harlem Children's ZoneFebruary 2007 http://www.hcz.org/images/stories/pdfs/dont_blame_me.pdf


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Page 24 of 25

Appendix B Summary of 2009 Report Card on Child and Family Poverty inCanada: 1989 2009 from Campaign 2000:http://www.campaign2000.ca/reportCards/national/2009EnglishC2000NationalReportCard.pdf

About 1 in 10 children in Canada (637,000 children) and their families live inpoverty (2007 LICO after tax); thats as large as the population of Winnipegbut does not show the shameful situation of First Nations communities where1 in every 4 children is growing up in poverty

Paid work does not assure a pathway out of poverty; more than 4 in every 10low-income children have a parent who works full-time throughout the year

Children of recent immigrants, of Aboriginal identity, in racialized families andthose with a disability remain much more vulnerable to poverty

Most low- and modest-income families do not have access to affordablehousing or high quality Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) services

Rising costs of post-secondary education are a formidable barrier to low-

income students.

Whats Happened since 1989?

Prosperity has not solved persistent poverty, but strong economic growth hashelped to move poverty rates down slowly in several provinces.

The depth of poverty the amount of money the average low-income familywould need to reach the poverty line remained high; in 2007, the averagedepth for two-parent and female-led lone parent families was in the range of$9,500.

Seven out of ten provinces have (or will have) a poverty reduction strategy;British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan remained uncommitted. Atlantic

and Ontario premiers called on the Federal Government to develop a nationalpoverty reduction strategy to work in concert with provincial efforts to preventand reduce poverty in 2008.

Whats Needed?

Minimum wages need to be increased to at least $11/hour with indexation by2011 while increases to worker tax credits, like the Working Income TaxBenefit, are put into place at the same time. A worker tax credit of $200 permonth would benefit parents who are unable to find or to take on full-timework year-round.

Restore eligibility requirements to 360 hours with benefit levels based on the

best 12 weeks of earnings for all regions of Canada.


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Appendix C HungerCOUNT2009

http://foodbankscanada.ca/documents/HungerCount2009NOV16.pdfThe need for food banks has grown across the country. Alberta (61% increase),

Nova Scotia (20% increase) and Ontario (19% increase) have been hit thehardest,

As in past years, children made up a significant percentage (37.2%) of thoseassisted by food banks. Children were particularly highly represented inManitoba (49%), Saskatchewan (44%), and Alberta (43%). Overall, 293,677children were assisted by a food bank in March of this year.

Reflecting the difficulties associated with the economic downturn, In Alberta, thepercentage of employed people utilizing food banks is twice the national average.Quoting from the report:

What is new this year is that the working poor, those who are under- orunemployed, and those struggling on fixed incomes have been joined bythose who, believing they had a stable income, stretched their expenses,only to see all or part of that income disappear.

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SWACP 2010 Poverty Report Card

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