By Terence Ho | Foundation of HKPLTW
Terence is a Research Coordinator for the Foundation of HKPLTW with interests in history & traditions, social organization & inter-group relations, culture & religion, and economics & politics of Canadian Indigenous People and Visible Minorities. Follow him on Twitter: @hkpltw
Poverty can affect the strength and resiliency of our communities. Economic growth can slow and even decline when the middle-class struggles, income inequality rises, and poverty persists.
Having considered this article series and the questions posed within it, our NGO (HKPLTW) invites you to participate in the discussion of the development of a comprehensive poverty reduction strategy that will guide its actions in the future of Canada.
Some Canadians Are At Higher Risk of Poverty
Poverty places a heavy burden on individuals. Canadians living in poverty are forced to make difficult choices, often deciding between paying for necessities such as rent and utilities or buying healthy food, clothing and medication. Deprivation can also cause people to make dangerous choices, like staying with an abusive partner rather than risking their children living in poverty. In addition, certain groups are more likely to live in low income than others. These groups include women, persons with disabilities, newcomers to Canada, single parents, unattached individuals, Indigenous peoples, trans-gendered and non-binary individuals, and individuals from radicalized communities. To them, poverty entails more than the lack of income and productive resources to ensure sustainable livelihoods. Its manifestations include hunger and malnutrition, limited access to education and other essential services, social discrimination and exclusion, and the lack of participation in decision-making. In addition, these groups bear a disproportionate burden of poverty.
Therefore, the poverty reduction policy in Canada is a long-term goal requiring commitment and accountability from the government and non-governmental organizations to address the root causes of poverty, provide for basic needs for all and ensure that the poor have access to productive resources, including credit, education and training.
Poverty and Its Impact on Women
Women have been more likely to live in poverty than men, although, in 2016, the overall percentage of men (10.3%) and women (10.8%) in poverty was about the same. However, across Canada, some women face unique barriers that make them more vulnerable to poverty than men. For instance, 80% of single parents are women. As a result, over one-third of single-parent women live in poverty. In addition, women tend to take on more responsibilities and put more hours into caregiving activities than men, which becomes much more stressful if they also struggle to make ends meet.
Therefore, it is crucial to address poverty among women because of the added impact of poverty on their children. Some individuals may also face intersecting challenges that make them more at risk of poverty, for example, individuals from radicalized communities and transgender individuals. In addition to being more likely to experience low income, these groups are statistically more likely to live in low pay for long periods. This is troubling because the longer a person is poor, the harder it is for them to escape poverty.
Poverty’s Impact on Remote Area Residents
Furthermore, individuals living in remote communities can also experience distinct challenges that make them more at risk of living in poverty, such as increased costs of food, barriers to accessing health care and unmet housing needs, which are challenges in Nunavut.
Impact of Poverty on Newcomers to Canada
Another high-risk group is newcomers to Canada. We, as Canadians, need to acknowledge that racism can profoundly impact the hiring practices of businesses and agencies throughout the city. Lower the employment gap between visible and non-visible minorities. For example, in 2016, the total number of immigrants, including non-permanent residents within Calgary, was 431,870. According to Census 2016 data, 17% of the people who immigrated to Calgary are living in low income. In comparison, the same data source shows that 7.6% of non-immigrants were living in low income.
On a community level, unique challenges persist for newly arrived individuals and families as they become woven into the social fabric of Canada. Some systemic barriers and obstacles impede their mix and social success, such as racism, unequal employment opportunities and social isolation. If the current incidence of low income for immigrants continues to increase, poverty will deepen and hinder the successful integration of families and individuals as new Canadians.
My Opinion On Poverty Reduction
In my opinion, poverty reduction must be mainstreamed into national policies and actions alongside programs by non-governmental organizations. Poverty goes beyond inadequate income. It can be food insecurity, social exclusion, inadequate housing, and the lack of access to transportation and services, among other hardships.
A social perspective on development requires addressing poverty in all its dimension. Therefore, it needs to promote a people-centred approach to poverty eradication advocating the empowerment of people living in poverty through full participation in all aspects of political, economic and social life. In particular, it needs to focus on designing and implementing policies that affect the poorest and most vulnerable social groups.
Furthermore, an integrated strategy towards poverty eradication necessitates implementing procedures geared to more equitable distribution of wealth and income and social protection coverage. Understanding the unique risk factors, the impact of intersecting experiences and the needs of diverse groups will hopefully help our government tailor interventions under the strategy to address poverty in Canada more effectively.
Work Cited
British Columbia, British Columbia Government EBook Collection, and British Columbia. Ministry of Social Development and Poverty Reduction. Together BC: British Columbia’s Poverty Reduction Strategy. British Columbia, Victoria, B.C., 2019.
Canada, Statistics. Labour Force Survey, 2016. Abacus Data Network, 2016.
Eremenko, Janet, and desLibris – Documents. Poverty in Calgary: A Picture of the Incidence and Experience of Low Income in Calgary and Area. Vibrant Communities Calgary, Place of publication not identified, 2018.
Foundation of HKPLTW (Canada) 