How To Reduce Poverty In Canada

A nation-wide social issue in contemporary Canadian society is relative poverty. Universal basic income (UBI), or ‘basic income’, is a model which aims to eliminate it. In this response, I will argue that UBI can reduce relative poverty in Canada. Subsequently, that the reduction of relative poverty will also improve both physical and mental health as well as diminish income discrimination in Canada. Since income inequality not only creates poverty but also is a social determinant of health. To accomplish this, I briefly outline the current state of Canadian poverty, the tenets of UBI, and the benefits that can stem from its establishment. Concludingly, discussing a measuring mechanism to ensure that the relative poverty is being resolved.

Poverty is a serious issue in Canada needs to be addressed promptly. Poverty is not simply about the lack of money an individual has; it is much more than that. The World Bank Organization defines poverty by stating that, “Poverty is hunger. Poverty is lack of shelter. Poverty is being sick and not being able to see a doctor. Poverty is not having access to school and not knowing how to read. Poverty is not having a job, is fear for the future, living one day at a time”. In Canada, 14.9 percent of Canada’s population has low income as Statistics Canada reports, which is roughly about two million of Canadians in poverty or on the verge of poverty. In addition, according to an UNICEF survey, 13.3 percent of Canadian children live in

Although Canada is a rich country there are still people who live in poverty, “In 2011, the government classified about 4.7 million men, women and children –– almost 15 percent of the Canadian population –– as poor” (Macionis, Janson, Benoit, & Burkowicz, 2017) but Canada calculates its poverty rate by “one popular measure known as the LICO, a family has an income below the low income cut-off of it spends more than 63 percent of its after-tax income on the necessities of food, clothing, and shelter, including corrections for different family sizes and the cost of living in particular communities.”

2007).People, who live in poverty in Toronto, are having a hard time, because they can not get enough of life necessities such as clothes and food, and they can not care about their health.

The story Barbara Ehrenreich provides throughout her novel, Nickel and Dimed has been critical to the study of political ideologies within our society, from the date it was published in 2001 to today. The political implications of poverty in our society is crucial to understanding when looking through a social development lense. There are many ideological political routes to take to help mitigate or resolve the poverty issues within the country, which can be looked at through social policies and social development. Ehrenreich provides a qualitative research analysis into the life of those living in poverty through a covert field research perspective. The welfare state has always been a controversial topic within Canada, throughout the rise and fall of it all. However, this book outlines some of the key concerns surrounding the welfare state which could help those in power have a more qualitative understanding.

Poverty is an ongoing problem in Canada. Poverty is defined as the inability to obtain the necessities for life . Despite poverty being an ongoing problem, how to properly measure it is disputed among scholars. There are two basic formations for the measurement of poverty: the relative measurement and the absolute measurement. In Canada they are called the low income cut off, or LICO, measurement and the market basement measure, or MBM, measurement. The LICO measurement is individuated to Canada whereas the MBM measurement is a worldwide standard. Of the two the LICO measurement of poverty is most relevant for Canadian politicians. This because a relative measurement allows for policy makers to understand poverty based upon what it means

Duffy and Mandell portray many themes around poverty in their article “poverty in Canada”, but there is one word that really symbolizes the main theme, and

There is a national consciousness in Canada about global poverty reduction, with 94% of Canadians saying it is important to improve health, education and economic opportunity for the world’s poorest, and 76% of Canadians agreeing we have a moral obligation to help expand health, education, and economic opportunity for the world’s

In the spectrum of OECD (Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development) countries, Canada has higher poverty rates and inequality of incomes than most. From 1994 until 2008 Canada has shown steady economic growth, yet the increase in wellbeing of Canadians was not strong enough in comparison. 1 After the 2008 recession, the gap between the Canadians at the top and the ones at the bottom of the pay scale continue to grow, resulting in the decreased wellbeing of those on both extremes of the socioeconomic ladder, often seen in unbalanced societies. With the living wage in Toronto being about $18.52 an hour between two working parents with two children in 20152 about 3.3 million workers earning less than $20,000 in Ontario as

Inequality in Canada is a growing problem. As income rises for the rich and remains the same for the poor, a gap is forming between Canada’s highest and lowest earners. This gap has sparked outrage by some, resulting in the Occupy Movement, and apathy in others. However, it can indeed be said that in Canada “the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer.”

Poverty in Canada has been on the rise for many years and there have been various statistics surrounding poverty among the provinces in Canada. The driving forces regarding poverty such as the social assistance benefits, the level of minimum wage, and minimal employment all are key elements that encourage poverty. Those that are most susceptible to go through poverty include children, aboriginals, Canadians of colour, those that have disabilities or physically impaired, women, and those that recently immigrated to Canada. These visible minorities seem to face the most issues dealing with poverty as they incur discrimination in employment, and in income. Those that have physical impairments are less likely to even get hired. Immigrants are

Every night there are at least 35,000 people who go without homes in Canada, yet, the Canadian government has little to show for prevention. The “social assistance” (welfare, disability support payments, old age security and employment insurance) provided does not begin to cover for basic living expenses. Today in Victoria, one month's rent in a studio apartment is anywhere from 800-1200 dollars, yet a single recipient of “social assistance” in BC will receive a total of 610 dollars to cover all of their basic needs. Many lower and middle-class Canadians live one day at a time having to make tough decisions whether to pay the hydro bill or fix their car. With the cost of living rising and minimum wage at 10.85 an hour, it makes it almost impossible to be above the poverty line, especially with single income

In 1914, Canadas poverty rate was at a high of approximately twenty percent. At this time in Canada, it did not matter what age you were, either six months or ninety-nine years old the likeliness of being poor were very high. Poverty does not only destroy a person's life, it is crippling to a country its self.   Canada was hit hard with poverty, especially during and after the Great Depression and our government knew there was a need for help. Over the past century, the government of Canada has created many different types of social programs.1

Canada promotes market oriented approach and is one of the lowest spender toward social infrastructure such as education, early childhood, and public spending (June 13 Lecture). Due to this market orientation, according to the video "Child poverty in Canada", the rich are getting richer, poor are getting poorer and the middle class in shrinking. As discussed in the June 15 lecture, since Canada was a liberal welfare state, the introduction of neo-liberalism was adopted

The poverty issue has taken center stage in the social front owing to the impact it has on Canadian households as well as the tripartite level of government, that is Federal, Provincial and municipal government. This research paper will therefore assess the genesis of this social issue, the indicators established for proving its existence, the policies enacted and adapted towards its reduction in the country and also the role of the public in combating the challenge.