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November
23 - 29, 2003 is
Child Poverty Awareness Week
The Child Poverty
Quiz
Test your knowledge
about Child & Family Poverty in Canada
QUESTIONS
1. Almost one in six children in Canada still lives in poverty. True or False? Check Answer
2. As long as families have jobs they can lift themselves out of poverty. True or False? Check Answer
3. Most governments support the production of affordable housing for families. True or False? Check Answer
4. Affordable, high quality child-care is key to an anti-poverty strategy. True or False? Check Answer
5. Some groups, including Aboriginals, visible minorities and children with disabilities, are at a higher risk of living in poverty. True or False? Check Answer
6. Low income children are less likely than higher income children to be in excellent health. True or False? Check Answer
7. The federal Government could make substantial progress in addressing child poverty through investments in the Canada Child Tax Benefit. True or False? Check Answer
8. Social programs and public investments do not really have a big impact on reducing poverty in Canada. True or False? Check Answer
9. The best way to improve the life chances of low-income children is to improve the conditions for all children, through universal programs. True or False? Check Answer
10. Compared to European countries, Canada has one of the best records in fighting child poverty. True or False? Check Answer
ANSWERS
1. Almost one in six children in Canada still lives in poverty. True or False?
TRUE
The most recent statistics show that one in six children - or almost 1.1 million children - still experienced poverty in 2000.The number of poor children in Canada had dropped from one in five to one in six for the first time since 1989, when the House of Commons passed a resolution to seek to eliminate child poverty in Canada by the year 2000. Unfortunately the one in six children who live in poverty have not experienced much of an improvement in their living standards, despite consecutive years of economic growth in Canada.
What needs to be done
A successful plan to address the needs of children and families in Canada requires significant increases to the Canada Child Benefit, expanded access to early childhood education and care programs, affordable housing and jobs with good wages and decent working conditions that allow parents to support their families.
2. As long as families have jobs they can lift themselves out of poverty. True or False?
FALSE
Although good jobs that adequately support families are a key component in reducing child poverty, many families continue to try to make ends meet in low paying jobs with wages that are far from adequate to lift them from poverty.
The last decade saw a growth of jobs in the small business sector and self-employment, as well as the move to non-standardized forms of employment. While full-time jobs increased 13% between 1990 and 2000, part-time employment grew 21%. And while permanent jobs during the recovery years of 1997 through 2000 grew 8%, temporary employment grew by 21%.In 2000, an estimated 580 000 workers worked for minimum wage. The national average minimum wage falls considerably below the poverty line in most communities. In 2001, it fell $4,769 before the low-income cut-off for one person living in a metropolitan area. Families are even worse off, falling on average $9, 474 below the poverty line.
When comparing Canadian minimum wages internationally, Canada is placed fourth lowest of 17 highly industrialized countries. Our national minimum wage amounts to 34% of the estimated average earnings of full-year full time workers, placing us lower than the United States, whose minimum wage represents 37% of average full-time full year-earnings.
What needs to be done
Parents require income security and jobs with good wages and decent working conditions to support their families.
3. Most governments support the production of affordable housing for families. True or False?
FALSE
Low vacancy rates, rapidly rising rental costs, and reduced social assistance rates have made decent housing unattainable for many lower-income families. In fact, the number of children living in unaffordable housing increased 91% from 1989 to 1996, and the number of households in Canada paying more than 50% of their income on rent increased by 43%. As a result, families are the fastest growing population requiring emergency shelters.
Stable, affordable housing in a child-friendly neighborhood is essential for healthy child development. Yet, it is out of the reach of many poor and modest income families. Governments, who once made a key contribution to housing supply, vacated the market and private developers have not filled the gap. Production fell from more than 20,000 units annually in the 1980s to an average of 4,450 units by 1994.What needs to be done
Ottawa has taken a step back into affordable housing, committing $680 million over four years in 2001, and additional dollars in the 2003 budget. While the provinces and territories have signed a framework agreement with the federal government for the new initiative, the majority have yet to contribute their own funding to make the agreement work. Tackling the housing crisis requires bolder steps. Pent up demand necessitates an aggressive program that will create 20,000-30,000 units annually over the next 10 years and rehabilitate 10,000 affordable units per year. This obligates Ottawa with the provinces to step up its current $170 million allocation to $1 billion annually over the next five years
4. Affordable, high quality child-care is key to an anti-poverty strategy. True or False?
TRUE
Affordable, high quality early childhood education and care (ECEC) is key to an anti-poverty strategy. Programs that deliver seamless child care and early childhood education can enrich early development and support parents both as parents and as participants in the labour force and training.Today there is only enough regulated child care to serve 1 out of every 10 children under 12 years in Canada; less than 1 in 3 of the children using regulated child care has a fee subsidy. The absence of a national commitment to high quality child care continues to act as a barrier to the labour force participation of parents, the full development of children, and social inclusion.
What needs to happen
The federal government needs to establish a foundation for early childhood education and care services that includes high quality child care and is available to all families.
5. Some groups, including Aboriginals, visible minorities and children with disabilities, are at a higher risk of living in poverty. True or False?TRUE
The erosion of Canada's social safety net has had a particularly negative impact on those families that have historically experienced exclusion and disadvantage in society.
» Among Aboriginal children, whether living on or off reserve, almost one in two lives in poverty.
» The poverty rate for recent immigrants reached 27% in 1998, double that of non-immigrants.
» Among racialized groups, the rate of poverty for children under six is 45%, compared to 26% for other children of the same age.
» Rates of poverty are five times higher among families that have children with disabilities than among other families.What needs to be done
Cuts to Canada's social safety net leave fewer resources to implement programs that promote social inclusion. Investments are needed that can respond to the particular needs of disadvantaged populations while supporting all families in income security, affordable housing, quality community programs and good, stable jobs.
6. Low income children are less likely than higher income children to be in excellent health. True or False?TRUE
Researchers agree that adequate income and a healthy start in life have a long-term impact on the health and well-being of children. Children who live in poverty encounter more hurdles to healthy development and are at an elevated risk for a wide range of negative outcomes to their health and well-being. Low income children are more than twice as likely to have low levels of vision, hearing, speech, mobility, dexterity, cognition and emotion; less likely to have an annual visit to the dentist; and more likely to be exposed to environmental contaminants.What needs to be done
Canada needs to develop a coherent and comprehensive investment plan for children and families to ensure:
» children and youth do not live in poverty;
» early childhood education and care is available to give every child a good start in life;
» parents have income security and jobs with good wages and decent working conditions to support their families; and,
» safe and affordable housing is a reality for all.
7. The federal Government could make substantial progress in addressing child poverty through investments in the Canada Child Tax Benefit. True or False?
TRUE
Canada could make substantial gains in reducing child poverty be doubling the amount of the Canada Child Tax Benefit. By July 2004, the National Child Benefit will have increased modestly to $2,500 for the first child, which is just over half of the required support level. A commitment to a multi-year plan to raise child benefits for low-income parents to at least $4,400 is essential in any serious strategy to reduce the overall depth and level of child poverty.The Canada Child Tax Benefit is comprised of two separate benefits, the Child Tax Benefit, which is for all families with children, and the National Child Benefit Supplement (NCBS), which is geared to low-income families. Many provinces, including the province of Ontario, deduct the NCBS from families on social assistance, which means that some of the lowest income families are not receiving this important, and much needed benefit. For example, in Ontario, a single mother with one child has her annual NCBS payment of $1,463 deducted dollar for dollar from her welfare income of $13 871.
What needs to be done
The federal government must commit to a substantial reduction in the depth and level of child poverty over the next five years through improved child benefits for all low, modest and middle income families that includes families on social assistance.
8. Social programs and public investments do not really have a big impact on reducing poverty in Canada. True or False?FALSE
Social expenditures play an essential role in advancing the well-being of children by reducing family poverty. Every year, social transfers such as the GST credit, the Canada Child Tax Benefit and Employment Insurance are crucial in preventing hundreds of thousands of children in Canada from falling into poverty. In 1999 alone, close to 590,000 children escaped poverty as a result of such public investments.However, most low-income families experience such deep poverty that current government measures are too modest to move them above the poverty line. In fact, in 2000, two parent families continued to fall deeper into poverty and would need, on average, $10,032 just to reach the poverty line. Despite some improvement, lone parent families would require $8,510 to reach the poverty line.
What needs to be done
Any serious strategy to reduce the depth and level of child poverty requires substantive and additional income transfers. Benefits in the order of $4,400 per child are necessary if Canada's poverty rates are to show a substantial decline. Real progress will only occur when the National Child Benefit is extended to all poor children, regardless of their parents' labour force participation.
9. The best way to improve the life chances of low-income children is to improve the conditions for all children, through universal programs. True or False?
TRUE
To build an inclusive society, we must reduce inequality and ensure that every citizen has opportunities to be involved. While targeted programs often isolate vulnerable individuals, universal programs, with core public funding, are essential in ensuring the involvement and social cohesion of diverse groups of people.Campaign 2000 believes that every child in Canada must be endowed from birth with public assurances of the essentials necessary to secure her/his basic well-being and to support the realization of her/his inherent worth as a person and as a member of Canadian society.
10. Compared to European countries, Canada has one of the best records in fighting child poverty. True or False?
FALSE
In its most recent report on "Child Poverty in Rich Nations", UNICEF reports that Canada ranks a low 17th out 23 OECD nations in terms of its success in addressing child poverty. The international rankings show that a nation's level of wealth does not predetermine its ability to prevent children from falling into poverty.Most of the nations that have been more successful than Canada at keeping low levels of child poverty are willing to counterbalance the effects of unemployment and low paid work through substantial investments in comprehensive family policies. These include policies such as: generous income security and unemployment benefits, national affordable housing programs, widely accessible quality early childhood education and care services, along with other social supports.
What needs to be done
A successful plan to address the needs of children and families in Canada requires comprehensive social policies that include significant increases to the National Child Benefit, expanded access to early childhood education and care programs, affordable housing and jobs with good wages and decent working conditions that allow parents to support their families.
Thank you for taking the Child Poverty Quiz!
The text of this quiz comes from Campaign 2000 and has been published on the North Bay Network for Social Action site as part of our Child Poverty Awareness Week.
We hope to raise community awareness of child and family poverty as well as what needs to happen to ensure the well-being of children and families.
North Bay Network for Social Action - Media Advisory dd Nov. 19, 2003
Child Poverty & Housing Crisis: The North Bay Network for Social Action will hold a Press Conference
Friday, November 21 at 11:00 A.M at the Catholic Centre, 387 Algonquin Avenue. Read More =>
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