Living wage

The recession of 2008-2009 hit fast and furiously, with a steep decline in Gross Domestic Product and employment. Since then, both indicators have recovered well, leading some to trumpet Canada’s quick recovery from the recession. But other indicators, such as social assistance caseloads, have not seen the same strong recovery. And still other indicators, while on their way back to pre-recession levels, still reveal worrisome trends.

We know that the recession significantly increased Canada’s poverty levels. But do Canada’s poor now risk being permanently left behind? Our survey of the economic indicators over the past several weeks suggests that the answer is yes. Read more »

Last month I participated in a press conference on behalf of Canadians for Tax Fairness, arguing for fairer taxes instead of service cuts. A reporter called me afterward and asked me if tax cuts weren’t necessary to ensure economic growth. “Oh no,” I assured him. “The Finance Department’s own calculations show that investing tax revenues in public services that Canadians need has a higher rate of economic return than tax cuts.”

My answer was true, but I nonetheless wondered later if I had in fact given the right answer. The reporter’s question assumed that economic growth was so important that we should do anything to achieve it – even lose valuable public services for the sake of cutting taxes if tax cuts were necessary to stimulate growth. My answer to him accepted this assumption. Read more »

The Globe and Mail has an excellent article today looking at the costs of poverty and the social and economic benefits of fighting poverty and income inequality, "How paying people's way out of poverty can help us all." In particular, the authors look at the issue of widening inequality and the political unrest it can cause, concluding "Despite Canada’s reputation for a strong social safety net, the country is becoming economically polarized. And the decades-old dominant economic dogma that growing wealth among society’s highest earners would trickle down to those less fortunate is being challenged by an alternative approach: Eliminate crushing poverty among the lowest earners, and wealth will trickle up." Read more »

In the past couple of weeks, I’ve written about the problems with labourism and its emphasis on securing economic security through paid jobs. I’ve highlighted the need to broaden our definition of work to include unpaid forms of work and the urgency of breaking the link between economic security and paid employment. But it has to be said that Christians are sometimes the worst offenders for insisting that people must work for a living. Our cultural emphasis on paid employment also has roots in the Catholic and Protestant notion of a work ethic.

But in fixating on paid employment, we’ve distorted the very idea of work as good for human development. We’ve also failed to come to grips with the fact that insisting on a responsibility to work must also equate a right to work – and how does that take shape in a world in which there are not enough paid jobs for all? Read more »

Last week we prepared two brochures for a group of Canadian high school students who were interested in contacting and writing letters to their Members of Parliament about supporting various justice initiatives. Based on legislation currently before the House of Commons, we decided to send them information on poverty elimination and housing.

Check out these brochures below! Read more »

This week, ACORN Ottawa (the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now) launched their 2010 Platform for the upcoming municipal election. I joined ACORN members and supporters as they gathered at the Dorothy O’Connell Monument to Anti-poverty Activism at Ottawa City Hall and announced their policy priorities for the election. With the election coming up on October 25, 2010 supporters hope to get the message out to candidates across the city – poverty matters. Read more »

A common criticism of social advocates of income assistance programs like social assistance, disability supports, and child tax benefits is that they are insufficient compared to the costs of living. Instead of helping people out of poverty and difficult situations, such support systems often keep people in poverty because they do not measure up to housing prices, the cost of food, and other costs of living.

Many social advocates and organizations have been calling for an overhaul in these systems to make them more effective, taking into account things like the cost of living, help people get out of poverty, and build sustainable change. The Social Assistance Review Advisory Council called for a review of all major income assistance programs in Ontario, including Ontario Works, Ontario Disability Support, all provincial child tax benefits, unemployment assistance programs and other social supports. Read more »

Recently I participated in a telephone conference call with Tamarack on Nova Scotia’s poverty reduction strategy, Preventing Poverty, Promoting Prosperity. This is the third learning tele-conference in Tamarack’s series on provincial poverty reduction strategies.

Participants included Brenda Murray, director of Policy, Planning and Research with the Department of Community Services, Dr. Ulrich vom Hagen, Coordinator of the Poverty Reduction Strategy, and Tamarack’s Mark Cabaj. The discussion covered the roots and formation of the plan, the goals and targets, as well as implementation strategies. Read more »