Trudeau: time to step up on poverty

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This article was published 22/12/2017 (790 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

THis is the time when everyone wants to help support their local food bank. But "sharing the season" always poses a tough question for me: how do we help our neighbours when, according to Canada Without Poverty, there are 4.9 million neighbours to help? The number of Canadians in need only seems to grow.

The truth is, heavy reliance on food banks remains a symptom of larger problems — namely poverty and social inequality.

Citizens for Public Justice says one in seven Canadians — including one in five children and four in 10 Indigenous children — lives in poverty. Plenty of research demonstrates that poverty negatively affects health. The Canadian Institute for Health Information reports people living in poverty suffer a greater incidence of hospitalization for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and more mental health issues. One in 10 suffers from diabetes and other health issues.

Statistics Canada says 40,000 Canadians — 110 people each day — suffer premature death as a result of poverty.

So who’s on top and how are they faring? Perhaps, too well.

The Broadbent Institute says the top 10 per cent of Canadians hold 47.9 per cent of this country’s wealth, while the bottom 50 per cent hold less than six per cent. Since 2005, the wealthiest 10 per cent of individual Canadians have seen a doubling of their incomes by $620,600, while the lowest 10 per cent have seen a drop of $5,100. The problem is not just inequality, but that inequality has grown steadily over two decades.

Charity is simply not enough.

Don’t get me wrong, donating to food banks and charities is worthwhile — I do it every year and recommend you do, too. But governments also need to step up.

So, what can we do to address poverty and social inequality?

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his colleague, Families, Children and Social Development Minister Jean-Yves Duclos, have promised Canadians the "first-ever national poverty reduction strategy." Unfortunately, we are still waiting.

The prime minister needs to hear from Canadians that addressing poverty and social inequality are a priority, and that we need this federal plan now.

Citizens for Public Justice has proposed an impressive six-point plan which could nudge the government in several worthwhile directions, including indexing the child benefit, providing more safe and affordable housing, establishing a national pharmacare program, providing improved access to skills training and funding for Indigenous education and a national child-care program.

Of course, some think poor people should just get jobs. If only it were that easy.

Living Wage Canada points out that 70 per cent of Canadians living in poverty are working but not making enough to cover living costs. In fact, there has been a five-fold increase in minimum-wage work in the past 17 years in Ontario.

A recent New York Times headline aptly observed, Plenty of Work, Not Enough Pay. At the same time, corporate Canada is sitting on an estimated $600 billion of what former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney called "dead money" that is not benefiting the economy.

So what’s the solution?

Governments need to ensure Canadians working can earn a living. Raising the minimum wage is a good first step. Businesses also need to pay their workers fairly. Sound idealistic? Many businesses are already paying a living wage and finding they are retaining employees, can now afford training and find they have a better and more productive work environment.

We also need to make sure Canadians, including businesses, are paying their fair share of taxes. Canadians for Tax Fairness reports that we are losing $10 billion to $15 billion a year to tax havens. That alone would sure go a long way to addressing economic inequality across the country. A fair and just tax system enables us to do together what we cannot do alone.

’Tis the season to share and to commit to reducing the need for food banks.

It is not a question of whether Canadians can afford to reduce hunger, but whether we are willing. Poverty and inequality lead to insecurity.

And as former Chilean ambassador Juan Somavia said at the World Summit on Social Development in 1995, "You cannot have secure nations full of insecure people."

David Pfrimmer is a contributor with EvidenceNetwork.ca and professor emeritus and a fellow at the Centre for Public Ethics at Waterloo Lutheran Seminary at Wilfrid Laurier University.