Category: Social Issues: Income

 

Title:Restoring minimum wages in Canada
Author(s):Battle, Ken
Subject:Employment – wage issues
Publisher:Caledon Institute of Social Policy
Place of Publication:Ottawa
Date of Publication:2011
Abstract:

A severe recession with its tight fiscal aftermath is not a time when one expects improvements in social policy. But there is a bright spot for one of Canada’s oldest social programs – minimum wages, which have risen substantially in recent years in every province and territory except one (British Columbia). And BC just announced an end to its lengthy freeze on the minimum wage, starting with an increase on May 1, 2011.
The national average minimum wage rose from $6.54 an hour in 1965 (in constant 2010 dollars) to a peak of $9.92 in 1976, then fell to $7.01 in 1986. But it increased again to reach $9.16 in 2010 – just 76 cents below the mid-1970s high.
The recent increase in minimum wages across Canada is due in part to the creation of poverty reduction strategies, which have focused attention on minimum wages.
The report argues that the provincial and territorial governments should – in conjunction with key actors including business, labour, experts and social groups – work together through a transparent process to define what constitutes an adequate minimum wage (e.g., equal to the poverty line, or a percentage of average earnings) and how to protect its value over time through some form of indexation (e.g., to the cost of living, or to the change in average earnings).
The report also compares minimum wages in Canada to other countries.

Language:English
Material Type:Report

F. SOCIAL ISSUES/F.05 INCOME/2011 restoring_minimum_wages.pdf

 

Title:Living wage: an introduction.
Author(s):Cabal Garces, Maria L.
Subject:Employment – wage issues
Publisher:Guelph & Wellington Task Force for Poverty Elimination
Place of Publication:Guelph ON
Date of Publication:2011
Abstract:

Many Canadian families are finding it difficult to make ends meet even when they work long hours. The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA)1 reported that Canadian families in the bottom half of the population, those who have the lowest incomes from a 50% cut-off, are working more compared to families in the 1970’s, yet they have experienced a 24% drop in total earnings. Long work hours means that less time is available for family activities leading to difficulties balancing work and family responsibilities.
For many Canadians then, having a job does not guarantee a route out of poverty, and in many cases makes them working poor. According to the CCPA3, the working poor are individuals who work year-round and full time but receive wages that are insufficient to lift oneself out poverty. The concept of a living wage, or a rate of pay high enough that allows families to afford a decent and dignified life, has been introduced as a way to improve the livelihoods of the working poor. Many lessons need to be learned from those who have used living wage policies as a tool to fight poverty. This report explores some of the issues related to their implementation.

Language:English
Material Type:Report

F. SOCIAL ISSUES/F.05 INCOME/2011 living_wage.pdf

Title:HRSDC financial capability scan part 2: emerging models and promising practices : a “snapshot” of community-based financial capability practice in Canada.
Author(s):Murray, Janet M.
Subject:Income security programs – general
Publisher:Human Resources and Skills Development Canada
Place of Publication:Ottawa
Date of Publication:2011
Abstract:

The financial capability of vulnerable populations has been identified as a key area of interest to the Community Development and Partnerships Directorate (CDPD) of HRSDC. In the fall of 2010, CDPD commissioned an intensive primary research survey to learn about the financial capability practice of leading community-based organizations, and to contribute to CDPD’s evidence base for developing policy options. Eight leaders in community-based financial capability programming shared extensive information about their funding, program design and delivery, promising practices, and partnerships.

Language:English
Material Type:Report

F. SOCIAL ISSUES/F.05 INCOME/2011 hrsdc_financial_capability.pdf

 

Title:The financial knowledge of Canadians
Author(s):Keown, Leslie-Anne
Corporate Author: Statistics Canada
Subject:Income security programs – general
Publisher:Statistics Canada
Place of Publication:Ottawa
Date of Publication:2011
Abstract:

Many things influence how Canadians navigate their way through the many financial options and services available. One of the factors affecting the finances of individuals is their level of financial knowledge. This article uses the objective assessment (quiz) of financial knowledge that was asked as part of the Canadian Financial Capability Survey (CFCS) in 2009. It explores, for the first time in a national Canadian context, how personal financial knowledge is related to someone’s socio-demographic characteristics and other financial behaviours such as having a budget or having investments.

Language:English
Material Type:Report

F. SOCIAL ISSUES/F.05 INCOME/2011 financial_knowledge_canadians.pdf

 

Title:Alberta welfare reform and employment outcomes of welfare recipients
Author(s):Kwan, Rosita Yi Ki
Subject:Employment – programs, services|split|Poverty – programs, services
Publisher:The Progressive Economics Forum
Place of Publication:Toronto
Date of Publication:2011
Abstract:

It is well-established in the literature that financial work incentives and employability programs have positive labour supply effect. Though it is found that after a series of welfare reforms based on the work-first approach in Canada, the U.S., and the U.K., former welfare recipients and vulnerable groups, such as single mothers, tended to work in part-time or temporary jobs and witnessed limited wage growth; little is known about other job characteristics, such as union membership and pension plan coverage, of these groups. This study fills this gap by studying the 1993 welfare reform in Alberta using two years of panel data from Survey of Labour and Income Dynamics. I find that both welfare recipients and single mothers who started working after the reform were more likely to be covered by collective agreement and work full-time. However, welfare recipients tended to work regular evening schedules rather than daytime schedules; while single mothers received lower composite wage rates. Hence, there is mixed evidence as to whether the Alberta welfare reform improved employment outcomes for these two groups. More research in this area is certainly needed.

Language:English
Material Type:Report

F. SOCIAL ISSUES/F.05 INCOME/2011 alberta_welfare_reform.pdf

Title:Welfare incomes 2009
Corporate Author: National Council of Welfare
Subject:Income security programs – general
Publisher:National Council of Welfare
Place of Publication:Ottawa
Date of Publication:2010
Abstract:

Welfare Incomes 2009 estimates total welfare incomes (social assistance plus child benefits and tax credits) for 4 family/household types in each of the 13 provinces and territories for a total of 52 cases (some information on Alberta’s separate program for people with severe disabilities is also provided). The four family types are: A single person considered employable; A single person with a disability; A lone parent with a 2-year-old child; A couple with two children aged 10 and 15. The NCW has published similar estimates since 1986.

Language:English
 Material Type:Report

F. SOCIAL ISSUES/F.05 INCOME/2010 welfare_incomes_2009.pdf