For over 18 months ESPC has had a representative involved with the Poverty Elimination Steering Committee. On March 3 the Committee reported back to the City of Edmonton Community Services Committee and submitted our final report. The work does not stop here, rather this report will form the foundation for the work that goes forward to the Mayor’s Task Force on Poverty Elimination in Edmonton.
C. LEVELS OF GOVERNMENT/C03 EDMONTON/Changing the Conversation Final Report.PDF
January 24, 2013
Alberta is one of the country’s wealthiest provinces, with an abundance of resources and opportunities at our fingertips. However, below the surface is an issue that continues to grow, and one that prevents a staggering number of Albertans from accessing those opportunities, attaining an adequate quality of life, or even simply making ends meet every month.
Poverty reaches far beyond the traditional stereotypes of those too lazy and unwilling to work to make a better life for themselves and their families. The truth is, many of Alberta’s poor are working full-time jobs year-round and are still falling short. According to Public Interest Alberta (PIA), poverty affects one in 10 Albertans.
“Poverty has risen quite dramatically with the downturn of the economy, and so there are a lot of people who are really just a paycheque away from living in poverty if they lose their job or if they get injured,” says Bill Moore-Kilgannon, executive director of PIA, which is continuing to work towards a comprehensive poverty strategy and supports Action to End Poverty in Alberta.
Contributing to Alberta’s poverty rate is the fact that Alberta has the second-lowest minimum wage in Canada at $9.75 per hour, just ahead of Saskatchewan, which comes in at $9.50 per hour. Moore-Kilgannon points out that this can be troublesome, particularly because Alberta also has the lowest post-secondary participation rate in Canada. While people are able to enter high-paying jobs in industries such as oil and gas without post-secondary certification, he says if they become injured and aren’t able to continue that line of work, they have nothing to fall back on and have to resort to low-paying service jobs. This, coupled with the expensive cost of living in Alberta, can make it incredibly difficult to get out of poverty if a person falls below that line.
“We need, in Alberta, to do a better job of rewarding work and making work pay,” notes John Kolkman, research coordinator for the Edmonton Social Planning Council. “That includes looking at how we can increase wages for low-income workers: things like minimum wage, things like earned income tax credits that basically provide a supplement to low-wage workers. There’s a number of things that can be done without expending huge dollars that will nonetheless, if we do them properly, will make a significant difference to reduce poverty in the province.”
On November 20, 2012 also known as National Child Day PIA, along with the Alberta College of Social Workers and the Edmonton Social Planning Council, published Achieving the Promise: Ending Poverty in Alberta, one of many reports being released across Canada by the national coalition Campaign 2000. For the first time, the report presented data using the Low Income After-Tax (LIM AT) rather than the Low Income Cut-off (LICO), which has only been updated for inflation rather than other changes in expenditures for Canadian families. LIM AT is updated yearly, and by these standards, a family of four in Alberta earning $38 000 after taxes would be considered poor. For a single person, this cut off would be a yearly salary of $19 000.
The report highlights that of all age groups in Alberta, one of the most widely affected by poverty is children under the age of 18. The most recent figures relating to child poverty were recorded in 2010, and the data revealed that at that time 91 000 children (11.3 percent) were living below the low-income measure. The number of younger children meaning under the age of six was slightly higher: over one in six children (17.2 percent) under the age of six are living in low income families or 48 200 children. However, in 2010, 51.6 percent of children in poverty lived in households where one or more persons worked full-time year round.
Children living in poverty have no choice in the matter, and Moore-Kilgannon says while each situation is different and poverty is a complex issue, it limits children in terms of their vision of self-image and their potential.
“That’s unfortunate because what we need to be doing is developing the full potential of all children and yet, so much of our society is basically this user-pay model and it excludes children so much, so children living in poverty cannot get involved in things like hockey; it’s just too expensive,” he continues. “Children living in poverty feel that they are clearly not going to be getting the latest stuff and then they get ostracized at school, and young girls in particular can be quite cruel to each other on these things … and that creates self-esteem issues, so there are many, many things that happen growing up in these situations and that has lasting, life-long implications.”
Kolkman acknowledges child poverty is a prevalent problem in the province, but does not want to paint too gloomy a picture, as most people do not stay in poverty their entire lives. He points out past data, which shows there has been a 12-percent decrease in the number of children in poverty from 2009 to 2010, and the number of children lifted out of poverty by all government income transfers including child tax benefits, social assistance and employment insurance—has increased to 47.2 percent. He says some families also manage to lift themselves out of poverty through career improvements or by going back to school, although this can be difficult given the cost of childcare in the province, which can be as high as $700 per month, per child, and often more expensive for infants and children under the age of six.
“But there are some who stay trapped, and I think we need to do a better job of helping them exit poverty as well. Some of it has to do with the design of some of the programs that we have,” Moore-Kilgannon says, noting that reducing poverty will require some additional public investment, but there is evidence to suggest that it saves both the government and society money in the long run. “Children growing up in poverty tend to earn lower income as adults. They tend to drop out of school more, so they have lower education attainment, they tend to have greater involvement with the criminal justice system, they tend to get sick more and have greater costs in the health-care system. If we can make some strategic investments and reduce poverty, particularly among children, there are going to be some long-term benefits.”
Joe Ceci, coordinator of Action to End Poverty in Alberta, says that research conducted by the organization, in terms of publishing poverty costs in 2012, indicated that 20 to 25 percent of children living in poverty remain in poverty throughout their lives. This means that while those individuals lose out economically due to being unable to attain better employment, so does the government due to less taxes being paid from those individuals who may also be receiving benefits rather than contributing to the domestic product of the province and the economy.
“That’s what our work is, to try and produce some government policies, a report that will have government policies that will save Alberta money in the long run and have a better outcome for people living in poverty,” Ceci says, adding that there is often not a great deal of transitional support into employment for those working to get out of poverty, and the thought of losing some of that assistance can be a deterrent for families.
Premier Alison Redford pledged to end child poverty in Alberta within five years during the last provincial election, with further measures to be taken to end poverty in Alberta within 10 years, and is being challenged to make good on her word. Redford stated at that time that the plan wasn’t about giving handouts, but rather focusing on creating equal opportunity and ensuring all Albertans had the opportunity to benefit from the province’s economy. Implemented under the Alberta government’s newly formed Human Services, the first step was to review all government programs through result-based budgeting and determine if they are meeting the needs of Albertans. Currently, Human Services Manager Dave Hancock is developing the social policy framework, which Moore-Kilgannon says is a new policy for the whole ministry of Human Services that will include a poverty reductions strategy, but he says while the services provided by the ministry are critical, other areas, such as access to education, need to be addressed.
“I’m worried that the social policy framework is going to be more rhetoric than reality and it’s not going to be backed up with any substantial investments,” Moore-Kilgannon adds. “I’ll be the first to congratulate them if they do, but I’m not holding my breath.”
“The social policy framework is a really good first step in taking steps towards creating a provincial poverty reduction strategy, and their leadership in that regard will really help all sectors identify how they can play a role in preventing and ultimately eliminating poverty in Alberta,” Ceci says of the plan, which has not yet been released.
In the meantime, Action to End Poverty in Alberta will be addressing policies to reduce poverty in Alberta with its report, Poverty Costs 2.0: Creating Policies That Save, in March.
Alberta is one of the country’s wealthiest provinces, with an abundance of resources and opportunities at our fingertips. However, below the surface is an issue that continues to grow, and one that prevents a staggering number of Albertans from accessing those opportunities, attaining an adequate quality of life, or even simply making ends meet every month.
Poverty reaches far beyond the traditional stereotypes of those too lazy and unwilling to work to make a better life for themselves and their families. The truth is, many of Alberta’s poor are working full-time jobs year-round and are still falling short. According to Public Interest Alberta (PIA), poverty affects one in 10 Albertans.
“Poverty has risen quite dramatically with the downturn of the economy, and so there are a lot of people who are really just a paycheque away from living in poverty if they lose their job or if they get injured,” says Bill Moore-Kilgannon, executive director of PIA, which is continuing to work towards a comprehensive poverty strategy and supports Action to End Poverty in Alberta.
Contributing to Alberta’s poverty rate is the fact that Alberta has the second-lowest minimum wage in Canada at $9.75 per hour, just ahead of Saskatchewan, which comes in at $9.50 per hour. Moore-Kilgannon points out that this can be troublesome, particularly because Alberta also has the lowest post-secondary participation rate in Canada. While people are able to enter high-paying jobs in industries such as oil and gas without post-secondary certification, he says if they become injured and aren’t able to continue that line of work, they have nothing to fall back on and have to resort to low-paying service jobs. This, coupled with the expensive cost of living in Alberta, can make it incredibly difficult to get out of poverty if a person falls below that line.
“We need, in Alberta, to do a better job of rewarding work and making work pay,” notes John Kolkman, research coordinator for the Edmonton Social Planning Council. “That includes looking at how we can increase wages for low-income workers: things like minimum wage, things like earned income tax credits that basically provide a supplement to low-wage workers. There’s a number of things that can be done without expending huge dollars that will nonetheless, if we do them properly, will make a significant difference to reduce poverty in the province.”
On November 20, 2012—also known as National Child Day—PIA, along with the Alberta College of Social Workers and the Edmonton Social Planning Council, published Achieving the Promise: Ending Poverty in Alberta, one of many reports being released across Canada by the national coalition Campaign 2000. For the first time, the report presented data using the Low Income After-Tax (LIM AT) rather than the Low Income Cut-off (LICO), which has only been updated for inflation rather than other changes in expenditures for Canadian families. LIM AT is updated yearly, and by these standards, a family of four in Alberta earning $38 000 after taxes would be considered poor. For a single person, this cut off would be a yearly salary of $19 000.
The report highlights that of all age groups in Alberta, one of the most widely affected by poverty is children under the age of 18. The most recent figures relating to child poverty were recorded in 2010, and the data revealed that at that time 91 000 children (11.3 percent) were living below the low-income measure. The number of younger children—meaning under the age of six—was slightly higher: over one in six children (17.2 percent) under the age of six are living in low income families—or 48 200 children. However, in 2010, 51.6 percent of children in poverty lived in households where one or more persons worked full-time year round.
Children living in poverty have no choice in the matter, and Moore-Kilgannon says while each situation is different and poverty is a complex issue, it limits children in terms of their vision of self-image and their potential.
“That’s unfortunate because what we need to be doing is developing the full potential of all children and yet, so much of our society is basically this user-pay model and it excludes children so much, so children living in poverty cannot get involved in things like hockey; it’s just too expensive,” he continues. “Children living in poverty feel that they are clearly not going to be getting the latest stuff and then they get ostracized at school, and young girls in particular can be quite cruel to each other on these things … and that creates self-esteem issues, so there are many, many things that happen growing up in these situations and that has lasting, life-long implications.”
Kolkman acknowledges child poverty is a prevalent problem in the province, but does not want to paint too gloomy a picture, as most people do not stay in poverty their entire lives. He points out past data, which shows there has been a 12-percent decrease in the number of children in poverty from 2009 to 2010, and the number of children lifted out of poverty by all government income transfers—including child tax benefits, social assistance and employment insurance—has increased to 47.2 percent. He says some families also manage to lift themselves out of poverty through career improvements or by going back to school, although this can be difficult given the cost of childcare in the province, which can be as high as $700 per month, per child, and often more expensive for infants and children under the age of six.
“But there are some who stay trapped, and I think we need to do a better job of helping them exit poverty as well. Some of it has to do with the design of some of the programs that we have,” Moore-Kilgannon says, noting that reducing poverty will require some additional public investment, but there is evidence to suggest that it saves both the government and society money in the long run. “Children growing up in poverty tend to earn lower income as adults. They tend to drop out of school more, so they have lower education attainment, they tend to have greater involvement with the criminal justice system, they tend to get sick more and have greater costs in the health-care system. If we can make some strategic investments and reduce poverty, particularly among children, there are going to be some long-term benefits.”
Joe Ceci, coordinator of Action to End Poverty in Alberta, says that research conducted by the organization, in terms of publishing poverty costs in 2012, indicated that 20 to 25 percent of children living in poverty remain in poverty throughout their lives. This means that while those individuals lose out economically due to being unable to attain better employment, so does the government due to less taxes being paid from those individuals who may also be receiving benefits rather than contributing to the domestic product of the province and the economy.
“That’s what our work is, to try and produce some government policies, a report that will have government policies that will save Alberta money in the long run and have a better outcome for people living in poverty,” Ceci says, adding that there is often not a great deal of transitional support into employment for those working to get out of poverty, and the thought of losing some of that assistance can be a deterrent for families.
Premier Alison Redford pledged to end child poverty in Alberta within five years during the last provincial election, with further measures to be taken to end poverty in Alberta within 10 years, and is being challenged to make good on her word. Redford stated at that time that the plan wasn’t about giving handouts, but rather focusing on creating equal opportunity and ensuring all Albertans had the opportunity to benefit from the province’s economy. Implemented under the Alberta government’s newly formed Human Services, the first step was to review all government programs through result-based budgeting and determine if they are meeting the needs of Albertans. Currently, Human Services Manager Dave Hancock is developing the social policy framework, which Moore-Kilgannon says is a new policy for the whole ministry of Human Services that will include a poverty reductions strategy, but he says while the services provided by the ministry are critical, other areas, such as access to education, need to be addressed.
“I’m worried that the social policy framework is going to be more rhetoric than reality and it’s not going to be backed up with any substantial investments,” Moore-Kilgannon adds. “I’ll be the first to congratulate them if they do, but I’m not holding my breath.”
“The social policy framework is a really good first step in taking steps towards creating a provincial poverty reduction strategy, and their leadership in that regard will really help all sectors identify how they can play a role in preventing and ultimately eliminating poverty in Alberta,” Ceci says of the plan, which has not yet been released.
In the meantime, Action to End Poverty in Alberta will be addressing policies to reduce poverty in Alberta with its report, Poverty Costs 2.0: Creating Policies That Save, in March.
January 24, 2013
Alberta is one of the country’s wealthiest provinces, with an abundance of resources and opportunities at our fingertips. However, below the surface is an issue that continues to grow, and one that prevents a staggering number of Albertans from accessing those opportunities, attaining an adequate quality of life, or even simply making ends meet every month.
Poverty reaches far beyond the traditional stereotypes of those too lazy and unwilling to work to make a better life for themselves and their families. The truth is, many of Alberta’s poor are working full-time jobs year-round and are still falling short. According to Public Interest Alberta (PIA), poverty affects one in 10 Albertans.
“Poverty has risen quite dramatically with the downturn of the economy, and so there are a lot of people who are really just a paycheque away from living in poverty if they lose their job or if they get injured,” says Bill Moore-Kilgannon, executive director of PIA, which is continuing to work towards a comprehensive poverty strategy and supports Action to End Poverty in Alberta.
Contributing to Alberta’s poverty rate is the fact that Alberta has the second-lowest minimum wage in Canada at $9.75 per hour, just ahead of Saskatchewan, which comes in at $9.50 per hour. Moore-Kilgannon points out that this can be troublesome, particularly because Alberta also has the lowest post-secondary participation rate in Canada. While people are able to enter high-paying jobs in industries such as oil and gas without post-secondary certification, he says if they become injured and aren’t able to continue that line of work, they have nothing to fall back on and have to resort to low-paying service jobs. This, coupled with the expensive cost of living in Alberta, can make it incredibly difficult to get out of poverty if a person falls below that line.
“We need, in Alberta, to do a better job of rewarding work and making work pay,” notes John Kolkman, research coordinator for the Edmonton Social Planning Council. “That includes looking at how we can increase wages for low-income workers: things like minimum wage, things like earned income tax credits that basically provide a supplement to low-wage workers. There’s a number of things that can be done without expending huge dollars that will nonetheless, if we do them properly, will make a significant difference to reduce poverty in the province.”
On November 20, 2012—also known as National Child Day—PIA, along with the Alberta College of Social Workers and the Edmonton Social Planning Council, published Achieving the Promise: Ending Poverty in Alberta, one of many reports being released across Canada by the national coalition Campaign 2000. For the first time, the report presented data using the Low Income After-Tax (LIM AT) rather than the Low Income Cut-off (LICO), which has only been updated for inflation rather than other changes in expenditures for Canadian families. LIM AT is updated yearly, and by these standards, a family of four in Alberta earning $38 000 after taxes would be considered poor. For a single person, this cut off would be a yearly salary of $19 000.
The report highlights that of all age groups in Alberta, one of the most widely affected by poverty is children under the age of 18. The most recent figures relating to child poverty were recorded in 2010, and the data revealed that at that time 91 000 children (11.3 percent) were living below the low-income measure. The number of younger children—meaning under the age of six—was slightly higher: over one in six children (17.2 percent) under the age of six are living in low income families—or 48 200 children. However, in 2010, 51.6 percent of children in poverty lived in households where one or more persons worked full-time year round.
Children living in poverty have no choice in the matter, and Moore-Kilgannon says while each situation is different and poverty is a complex issue, it limits children in terms of their vision of self-image and their potential.
“That’s unfortunate because what we need to be doing is developing the full potential of all children and yet, so much of our society is basically this user-pay model and it excludes children so much, so children living in poverty cannot get involved in things like hockey; it’s just too expensive,” he continues. “Children living in poverty feel that they are clearly not going to be getting the latest stuff and then they get ostracized at school, and young girls in particular can be quite cruel to each other on these things … and that creates self-esteem issues, so there are many, many things that happen growing up in these situations and that has lasting, life-long implications.”
Kolkman acknowledges child poverty is a prevalent problem in the province, but does not want to paint too gloomy a picture, as most people do not stay in poverty their entire lives. He points out past data, which shows there has been a 12-percent decrease in the number of children in poverty from 2009 to 2010, and the number of children lifted out of poverty by all government income transfers—including child tax benefits, social assistance and employment insurance—has increased to 47.2 percent. He says some families also manage to lift themselves out of poverty through career improvements or by going back to school, although this can be difficult given the cost of childcare in the province, which can be as high as $700 per month, per child, and often more expensive for infants and children under the age of six.
“But there are some who stay trapped, and I think we need to do a better job of helping them exit poverty as well. Some of it has to do with the design of some of the programs that we have,” Moore-Kilgannon says, noting that reducing poverty will require some additional public investment, but there is evidence to suggest that it saves both the government and society money in the long run. “Children growing up in poverty tend to earn lower income as adults. They tend to drop out of school more, so they have lower education attainment, they tend to have greater involvement with the criminal justice system, they tend to get sick more and have greater costs in the health-care system. If we can make some strategic investments and reduce poverty, particularly among children, there are going to be some long-term benefits.”
Joe Ceci, coordinator of Action to End Poverty in Alberta, says that research conducted by the organization, in terms of publishing poverty costs in 2012, indicated that 20 to 25 percent of children living in poverty remain in poverty throughout their lives. This means that while those individuals lose out economically due to being unable to attain better employment, so does the government due to less taxes being paid from those individuals who may also be receiving benefits rather than contributing to the domestic product of the province and the economy.
“That’s what our work is, to try and produce some government policies, a report that will have government policies that will save Alberta money in the long run and have a better outcome for people living in poverty,” Ceci says, adding that there is often not a great deal of transitional support into employment for those working to get out of poverty, and the thought of losing some of that assistance can be a deterrent for families.
Premier Alison Redford pledged to end child poverty in Alberta within five years during the last provincial election, with further measures to be taken to end poverty in Alberta within 10 years, and is being challenged to make good on her word. Redford stated at that time that the plan wasn’t about giving handouts, but rather focusing on creating equal opportunity and ensuring all Albertans had the opportunity to benefit from the province’s economy. Implemented under the Alberta government’s newly formed Human Services, the first step was to review all government programs through result-based budgeting and determine if they are meeting the needs of Albertans. Currently, Human Services Manager Dave Hancock is developing the social policy framework, which Moore-Kilgannon says is a new policy for the whole ministry of Human Services that will include a poverty reductions strategy, but he says while the services provided by the ministry are critical, other areas, such as access to education, need to be addressed.
“I’m worried that the social policy framework is going to be more rhetoric than reality and it’s not going to be backed up with any substantial investments,” Moore-Kilgannon adds. “I’ll be the first to congratulate them if they do, but I’m not holding my breath.”
“The social policy framework is a really good first step in taking steps towards creating a provincial poverty reduction strategy, and their leadership in that regard will really help all sectors identify how they can play a role in preventing and ultimately eliminating poverty in Alberta,” Ceci says of the plan, which has not yet been released.
In the meantime, Action to End Poverty in Alberta will be addressing policies to reduce poverty in Alberta with its report, Poverty Costs 2.0: Creating Policies That Save, in March.
Alberta is one of the country’s wealthiest provinces, with an abundance of resources and opportunities at our fingertips. However, below the surface is an issue that continues to grow, and one that prevents a staggering number of Albertans from accessing those opportunities, attaining an adequate quality of life, or even simply making ends meet every month.
Poverty reaches far beyond the traditional stereotypes of those too lazy and unwilling to work to make a better life for themselves and their families. The truth is, many of Alberta’s poor are working full-time jobs year-round and are still falling short. According to Public Interest Alberta (PIA), poverty affects one in 10 Albertans.
“Poverty has risen quite dramatically with the downturn of the economy, and so there are a lot of people who are really just a paycheque away from living in poverty if they lose their job or if they get injured,” says Bill Moore-Kilgannon, executive director of PIA, which is continuing to work towards a comprehensive poverty strategy and supports Action to End Poverty in Alberta.
Contributing to Alberta’s poverty rate is the fact that Alberta has the second-lowest minimum wage in Canada at $9.75 per hour, just ahead of Saskatchewan, which comes in at $9.50 per hour. Moore-Kilgannon points out that this can be troublesome, particularly because Alberta also has the lowest post-secondary participation rate in Canada. While people are able to enter high-paying jobs in industries such as oil and gas without post-secondary certification, he says if they become injured and aren’t able to continue that line of work, they have nothing to fall back on and have to resort to low-paying service jobs. This, coupled with the expensive cost of living in Alberta, can make it incredibly difficult to get out of poverty if a person falls below that line.
“We need, in Alberta, to do a better job of rewarding work and making work pay,” notes John Kolkman, research coordinator for the Edmonton Social Planning Council. “That includes looking at how we can increase wages for low-income workers: things like minimum wage, things like earned income tax credits that basically provide a supplement to low-wage workers. There’s a number of things that can be done without expending huge dollars that will nonetheless, if we do them properly, will make a significant difference to reduce poverty in the province.”
On November 20, 2012—also known as National Child Day—PIA, along with the Alberta College of Social Workers and the Edmonton Social Planning Council, published Achieving the Promise: Ending Poverty in Alberta, one of many reports being released across Canada by the national coalition Campaign 2000. For the first time, the report presented data using the Low Income After-Tax (LIM AT) rather than the Low Income Cut-off (LICO), which has only been updated for inflation rather than other changes in expenditures for Canadian families. LIM AT is updated yearly, and by these standards, a family of four in Alberta earning $38 000 after taxes would be considered poor. For a single person, this cut off would be a yearly salary of $19 000.
The report highlights that of all age groups in Alberta, one of the most widely affected by poverty is children under the age of 18. The most recent figures relating to child poverty were recorded in 2010, and the data revealed that at that time 91 000 children (11.3 percent) were living below the low-income measure. The number of younger children—meaning under the age of six—was slightly higher: over one in six children (17.2 percent) under the age of six are living in low income families—or 48 200 children. However, in 2010, 51.6 percent of children in poverty lived in households where one or more persons worked full-time year round.
Children living in poverty have no choice in the matter, and Moore-Kilgannon says while each situation is different and poverty is a complex issue, it limits children in terms of their vision of self-image and their potential.
“That’s unfortunate because what we need to be doing is developing the full potential of all children and yet, so much of our society is basically this user-pay model and it excludes children so much, so children living in poverty cannot get involved in things like hockey; it’s just too expensive,” he continues. “Children living in poverty feel that they are clearly not going to be getting the latest stuff and then they get ostracized at school, and young girls in particular can be quite cruel to each other on these things … and that creates self-esteem issues, so there are many, many things that happen growing up in these situations and that has lasting, life-long implications.”
Kolkman acknowledges child poverty is a prevalent problem in the province, but does not want to paint too gloomy a picture, as most people do not stay in poverty their entire lives. He points out past data, which shows there has been a 12-percent decrease in the number of children in poverty from 2009 to 2010, and the number of children lifted out of poverty by all government income transfers—including child tax benefits, social assistance and employment insurance—has increased to 47.2 percent. He says some families also manage to lift themselves out of poverty through career improvements or by going back to school, although this can be difficult given the cost of childcare in the province, which can be as high as $700 per month, per child, and often more expensive for infants and children under the age of six.
“But there are some who stay trapped, and I think we need to do a better job of helping them exit poverty as well. Some of it has to do with the design of some of the programs that we have,” Moore-Kilgannon says, noting that reducing poverty will require some additional public investment, but there is evidence to suggest that it saves both the government and society money in the long run. “Children growing up in poverty tend to earn lower income as adults. They tend to drop out of school more, so they have lower education attainment, they tend to have greater involvement with the criminal justice system, they tend to get sick more and have greater costs in the health-care system. If we can make some strategic investments and reduce poverty, particularly among children, there are going to be some long-term benefits.”
Joe Ceci, coordinator of Action to End Poverty in Alberta, says that research conducted by the organization, in terms of publishing poverty costs in 2012, indicated that 20 to 25 percent of children living in poverty remain in poverty throughout their lives. This means that while those individuals lose out economically due to being unable to attain better employment, so does the government due to less taxes being paid from those individuals who may also be receiving benefits rather than contributing to the domestic product of the province and the economy.
“That’s what our work is, to try and produce some government policies, a report that will have government policies that will save Alberta money in the long run and have a better outcome for people living in poverty,” Ceci says, adding that there is often not a great deal of transitional support into employment for those working to get out of poverty, and the thought of losing some of that assistance can be a deterrent for families.
Premier Alison Redford pledged to end child poverty in Alberta within five years during the last provincial election, with further measures to be taken to end poverty in Alberta within 10 years, and is being challenged to make good on her word. Redford stated at that time that the plan wasn’t about giving handouts, but rather focusing on creating equal opportunity and ensuring all Albertans had the opportunity to benefit from the province’s economy. Implemented under the Alberta government’s newly formed Human Services, the first step was to review all government programs through result-based budgeting and determine if they are meeting the needs of Albertans. Currently, Human Services Manager Dave Hancock is developing the social policy framework, which Moore-Kilgannon says is a new policy for the whole ministry of Human Services that will include a poverty reductions strategy, but he says while the services provided by the ministry are critical, other areas, such as access to education, need to be addressed.
“I’m worried that the social policy framework is going to be more rhetoric than reality and it’s not going to be backed up with any substantial investments,” Moore-Kilgannon adds. “I’ll be the first to congratulate them if they do, but I’m not holding my breath.”
“The social policy framework is a really good first step in taking steps towards creating a provincial poverty reduction strategy, and their leadership in that regard will really help all sectors identify how they can play a role in preventing and ultimately eliminating poverty in Alberta,” Ceci says of the plan, which has not yet been released.
In the meantime, Action to End Poverty in Alberta will be addressing policies to reduce poverty in Alberta with its report, Poverty Costs 2.0: Creating Policies That Save, in March.
The Edmonton Poverty Elimination Initiative is a city-wide effort involving individuals an organizations from a broad range of sectors that share a vision of ending poverty in Edmonton. Led by a Steering Committee, they drafted, “Unleashing our Potential: Eliminating Poverty in Edmonton” in June 2012, a preliminary framework that laid out the Initiative’s foundational approach and intended as a tool for engaging Edmontonians in a poverty dialogue. This document proposed to shift the poverty dialogue and action beyond charity and the alleviation of poverty through an approach based on resilience, investment and engagement.
This dialogue began with Edmontonians, especially those living in poverty, to participate in identifying solutions to poverty. From September to December 2013, a series of focused conversations were held with various groups and organizations. This report is a documentation of experiences of poverty that people shared in these conversations, their perceptions and insights of what causes poverty and their ideas on solutions to poverty. More importantly, their hopes and aspirations for better quality of life in the city.
F. SOCIAL ISSUES/F.04 POVERTY/Engaging_Edmontonians_to_Thrive_and_Prosper_Report_Final_Report.pdf
The Edmonton Poverty Elimination Initiative is a city-wide effort involving individuals an organizations from a broad range of sectors that share a vision of ending poverty in Edmonton. Led by a Steering Committee, they drafted, “Unleashing our Potential: Eliminating Poverty in Edmonton” in June 2012, a preliminary framework that laid out the Initiative’s foundational approach and intended as a tool for engaging Edmontonians in a poverty dialogue. This document proposed to shift the poverty dialogue and action beyond charity and the alleviation of poverty through an approach based on resilience, investment and engagement.
Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse
The Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse (CCSA) has a legislated mandate to provide national leadership and evidence-informed analysis and advice to mobilize collaborative efforts to reduce alcohol- and other drug-related harms. Site offers a collection of research and statistics on general health, alcohol and drug addiction, and gambling.
Inflation Calculator: Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE)
The calculator uses the all-items Consumer Price Index (CPI) as a measure of inflation for different locations in Canada. It can be used to calculate the change in value of dollar figures over time.
OECD Factbook 2013 : Economic, Environmental and Social Statistics
The OECD Factbook is a free online tool which provides a global overview of today’s major economic, social and environmental indicators, in a range of user-friendly formats. The 2009 edition features many indicators on OECD member countries and Brazil, Russian Federation, India, Indonesia, China and South Africa. The 2009 Factbook also contains a special chapter with a focus on Inequality.
Social Return On Investment (SROI) Edmonton Financial Proxies Database
Financial proxies are estimates of value created through social enterprise or service delivery. Proxies help determine whether or not desired changes or outcomes have taken place. In Social Return on Investment (SROI) analysis, proxies are monetized to measure the social return that has been achieved.
Statistics Canada produces statistics that help Canadians better understand their country, its population, resources, economy, society and culture. In Canada, providing statistics is a federal responsibility. As Canada’s central statistical agency, Statistics Canada is legislated to serve this function for the whole of Canada and each of the provinces. In addition to conducting a Census every five years, there are about 350 active surveys on virtually all aspects of Canadian life. Some sub-sites of interest:
Stats & Facts
Published by the Canadian Council on Social Development. Stats & Facts provides accessible, accurate and regularly updated statistical information on social and economic indicators for policy analysts, community planners, activists, journalists, and students. Site contains facts sheets organized by topic area (demographics, families, health and education, labour market and economic security) and offer national, provincial and some international data.