Edmonton Social Planning Council

Category: Social Issues: Family

  • 2010 Families Count

     

    Title:Families count: profiling Canada’s families IV.
    Corporate Author: The Vanier Institute of the Family
    Subject:Family – general|split|Family – statistics
    Publisher:The Vanier Institute of the Family
    Place of Publication:Ottawa
    Date of Publication:2010
    Abstract:

    Within the pages of Families Count: Profiling Canada’s Families IV, readers will discover the many ways in which the structural, functional and affective dimensions of family life have changed. Today’s families are smaller. Adults wait longer to marry if they do so at all. Common-law unions are no longer just a preliminary or trial stage before marriage but, for many, an alternative to marriage. On average, Canadians wait longer than did their parents or grandparents to have children. They are more likely to separate or divorce. In less than a lifetime, the dual- earner family has gone from an exception to the norm, and a growing number of women are primary income earners within their families. In contrast to the past when most children growing up with only one parent were living with a widow or widower, the children growing up today with a lone parent are most likely to have another living parent, albeit a mother or, as is most often the case, a father living elsewhere. All of these changes, and many others, can only be understood against the backdrop of wider social and economic trends: the evolution of a global economy, increasing respect for human rights, the emancipation of women, the migration of populations between and within countries, as well as from the country into cities, and the many technological innovations that have so profoundly changed the ways in which we work, play, communicate, and care.

    Language:English
    Material Type:Report

    F. SOCIAL ISSUES/F.11 FAMILY/2010 Families_Count.pdf

  • 2010 Current State Family Finances

    Title:The current state of Canadian family finances: 2009 report.
    Author(s):Sauvé, Roger
    Subject:Family – general|split|Family – finances|split|Family – statistics
    Publisher:Vanier Institute of the Family
    Place of Publication:Ottawa
    Date of Publication:2010
    Abstract:

    Of particular interest to readers of The Current State of Canadian Family Finances is the Bank of Canada’s conclusion that, among five key risks to the Canadian financial system, only one has become more pronounced. That risk concerns household balance sheets in households that continue to take on more and more debt relative to income. This annual report has warned about this alarming trend in previous issues.

    Many Canadians are worried about their debt loads. A recent Manulife Financial poll found “that paying down credit cards and lines of credit is a growing financial priority among Canadians.”4 About 28% pegged debt elimination as their main goal, up from 24% a year earlier, and marking a five-year high. The second priority is paying down the mortgage, and the third is saving for retirement. Will Canadians follow through with corrective actions … or is this just wishful thinking?

    The economy has clearly moved off the bottom and a slow recovery seems to be the consensus outlook. Even so, many difficulties and challenges remain. So far, much of the recovery has been the result of government fiscal and monetary stimulus. The global economy is still waiting for the private sector to play a bigger role.

    Key features characterize the economic outlook in Canada:

    Interest rates are at record low levels and are likely to remain there for at least several more months.

    Government deficits are at record high levels with ongoing deficits and growing government debt foreseen for several more years.

    The Federal and Provincial governments, the Bank of Canada and CMHC (Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation) will likely begin to formulate and apply “exit” strategies to reduce deficits and pull back on the monetary and fiscal levers that are now in place. This will involve hard choices, including rising interest rates, spending cuts, tightening mortgage terms and tax increases.

    There are long years of recovery ahead.

    Language:English
    Series:Family Finances
    Material Type:Report

    F. SOCIAL ISSUES/F.11 FAMILY/2010 Current_state Family Finances.pdf