Edmonton Social Planning Council

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fACTivist Feature Article: School Resource Officers and the School-to-Prison Pipeline

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Note: this is excerpted from the Fall 2020 edition of our fACTivist publication. The Edmonton Social Planning Council, in collaboration with volunteers and colleagues within the sector, strives to provide stakeholders and community members with updates on ESPC’s activities and projects, including articles and initiatives that address a variety of pertinent issues that affect our community.

Written by Sydney Sheloff

The school-to-prison pipeline is a set of policies and practices that push youth marginalized by class and race oppressions away from education and towards the criminal justice system (Mallet, 2015). This is a complicated system with many interrelated elements, including harsh disciplinary techniques, student streaming, alongside racism and discrimination. However, given the current debate on removing School Resource Officers (SRO) from Edmonton schools, the focus will be on how disciplinary techniques, especially those that involve SROs, contribute to this system.

SROs are police officers who work within K–12 schools. They are tasked with the responsibility to ensure school safety, collaborate with community organizations to support youth, educate youth about issues related to crime, and divert youth from the criminal justice system (Edmonton Police Service, 2019). However, the way that they actually operate in schools has been called into question. The debate to remove SROs is part of the growing conversation around Black Lives Matter and police brutality. Many argue that SROs extend police involvement, discrimination, and brutality into the lives of BIPOC youth and children, which brings them into—and keeps them entrenched in—the criminal justice system.

The Edmonton Police Service (EPS) claims that SROs divert youth away from the criminal justice system (2019), but SROs are themselves a part of the criminal justice system. Youth may not be going to court, but they are regularly watched, judged, and disciplined by police officers. SROs are arguably introducing more criminal justice involvement into the lives of students, as misbehaviours that would have previously been addressed by school authorities, such as principles or teachers, are now being addressed by police, and can possibly result in a criminal charge (Bernard & Smith, 2018). Police-Free Schools Winnipeg (2020) shared several stories from teachers who were encouraged to bring in SROs to deal with minor behavioural issues. These situations increase the odds for certain students to interact with police and can establish conditions for youth to enter the criminal justice system.

Abela and DonLevy (2020) explain that SROs are often not given specialized training to work in schools or with youth—they rely on basic police training. Illustrating this point, some students in Edmonton have claimed that officers at their schools view students as potential threats and criminals rather than as young students (CBC News, 2020). Local activist Bashir Mohammed found evidence that Edmonton SROs were setting up “bait phones” with tracking devices in an attempt to entrap potential thieves. Students were supposed to learn about these phones through gossip to understand that officers were always on the lookout for crime (2020). The Toronto District School Board’s review of their School Resource Officer Program found that many students felt that they were being watched or targeted by SROs, which made them feel intimidated and uncomfortable going to school (2017). Police-Free Schools Winnipeg (2020) also collected several testimonials from students who stated that SROs harassed them and made them feel scared or uneasy. Thus, youth do not feel protected by police—they feel like suspects being watched.

Although SRO student arrests directly contribute to the school-to-prison pipeline, they are not the only issue. When students feel targeted, unsafe, scared, or harassed, they are less likely to attend school. Police-Free Schools Winnipeg (2020) shared stories of students who had skipped class because they felt too anxious around SROs, which made it harder for them to succeed. School completion influences future career opportunities and earning potential, so students who miss school are likely to face barriers in attaining gainful employment. This could keep these students in poverty—yet another factor that can lead to involvement with the criminal justice system.

In much the same way that BIPOC are disproportionally targeted by the police in public, BIPOC students are targeted by SROs in schools. Stereotypes that claim Black and Indigenous people are violent or dangerous may be just one way that SROs are led to perceive these students in negative ways. Students in Edmonton have claimed that SROs target Black, Brown, and Indigenous students (CBC News, 2020). Police-Free Schools Winnipeg (2020) also shared stories of students who believed BIPOC students were targeted by SROs. Unfortunately, there is no data on SRO interactions disaggregated by race, so there is no evidence that SROs are in fact disciplining BIPOC students at a higher rate. However, a study done on anti-Black racism within the Peel District School Board found that Black students were suspended at a disproportionate rate—Black students made up 10.2% of the school population but 22.5% of those suspended (2020).

SROs are also tasked with offering counselling and support to students (Edmonton Police Service, 2019), but these services would be much better performed by other professionals (Mallet, 2015). Youth who have trouble in school are not going to certified counsellors or mental health professionals to deal with their problems, they are going to police who have little to no training in this specific field (Abela & DonLevy, 2020). Furthermore, as illustrated above, many students, especially BIPOC and impoverished students, feel targeted by SROs and do not trust or feel safe around them, so it is unlikely that they would go to them for support.

Crime is often the result of interactions between systemic and personal issues such as mental health, racism, poverty, and victimization. Youth who experience these problems need support to overcome barriers and access opportunities for a better life. However, the SRO program, by hiring police officers instead of certified counsellors, does not give youth the support they need. Rather, SROs monitor, discipline, and may even criminally charge vulnerable and marginalized youth. Marginalized youth are not given support to succeed in school, but are instead pushed toward the criminal justice system.

There are studies on Canadian SRO programs that found the programs to be positive and useful, but these findings should be questioned. A study on the SRO program in the Peel District of Ontario found SROs were effective at preventing crime, improving student perceptions of police, and making students feel safer (Duxbury & Bennell, 2018). However, this study paid no attention to how different groups of students experienced SROs in different ways. A study on the Peel District School Board two years later found wide-spread anti-Black racism within the school district by teachers and administrators, and shared some evidence of SROs discriminating against Black students (Chadha, Herbert, & Richard, 2020), calling into question the results of the first study.

A separate study of the SRO program in the Winnipeg schools district also found students had positive perceptions of SROs, and that SROs were useful in a school setting (Kaplan Research Associates, 2014). However, according to Police Free Schools Winnipeg (2020), “policing discriminates against a minority of students on the basis of race and class. The positive opinion of a majority, who themselves have little or no interaction with the police, is irrelevant to assessing the harm caused by police presence.” Both the Peel District and Winnipeg studies asked students who had little interaction with police what their perceptions were, which resulted in positive results. But these results are irrelevant to the issues. Marginalized students are the ones who are the most affected by SROs—the ones who claim the greatest harm by SROs—and yet they were not consulted.

Those in power, such as governments, school board officials, and the EPS, have depicted the SRO program as a benefit to schools and students. However, since its inception in 1979, the program has never been formally reviewed (CBC, 2020). Going forward it is important that we look past these idealistic portrayals, engage in rigorous research, and listen to the perspectives of those who are actually impacted by these programs.

Sources

Abela, G. & Donlevy, J. K. (2020). Violence in Alberta’s schools: The perspectives of school resource officers. Education and Law Journal 29(2), 1-26.

Bernard, W. T. & Smith, H. (2018). Injustice, justice, and africentric practice in Canada. Canadian Social Work Review 35(1), 149-157. DOI: 10.7202/1051108ar

CBC News (2020, June 24). Motion to remove police resource officers from schools narrowly defeated. CBC. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/edmonton-public-school-resource-officers-suspension-review-1.5624966

Chadha, E., Herbert, S., & Richard, S. (2020). Review of the Peel District School Board. http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/new/review-peel-district-school-board-report-en.pdf

Duxbury, L., & Bennell, C. (2018). Review and Summary: Assigning Value to Peel Regional Police’s school Resource Officer Program. Carleton University. https://www.peelpoliceboard.ca/en/board-meetings/resources/Presentations/Dr.-Duxbury-Presentation—Assigning-Value-To-Peel-Regional-Polices-School-Resource-Officer-Program.pdf

Edmonton Police Service (2019). School Resource Officers. https://www.edmontonpolice.ca/CommunityPolicing/FamilyProtection/SchoolResourceOfficers

Kaplan Research Associates (2014). An evaluation of the school resource officer program of the Winnipeg school division: 2012-2014. Kaplan Research Associates Inc.

Mallet, C. (2015). The school-to-prison pipeline: A critical review of the punitive paradigm shift. Child & Adolescent Social Work Journal 33(1), 15-24. DOI: 10.1007/s10560-015-0397-1

Mohamed, B. (2020, June 2). Edmonton Anti-Racism Toolkit. https://www.bashirmohamed.com/blog/2020/6/2/edmontontoolkit

Police-Free School Winnipeg (2020). Stories. Police Free Schools Winnipeg. https://policefreeschoolswpg.ca/stories/

Sydney Sheloff is the Research Officer for the Edmonton Social Planning Council.
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November 12, 2020
fACT Sheet — Food (In)Security During COVID-19

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What is Food (In)Security?

As defined by the United Nations’ World Food Summit of 1996, food security exists when “all people, at all times, have physical, social, and economic access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food to meet dietary needs for a productive and healthy life.”

Food insecurity occurs when individuals or families lack access to food due to financial, physical, or social barriers. The accessibility of food can occur at community and national levels as well as within individual households. Thus, food security achieved at the community level does not necessarily prevent individuals from experiencing household food insecurity. Factors to consider when assessing food security include the availability and accessibility of food, alongside adequacy (i.e. nutritious, safe, and environmentally sustainable food) and acceptability (i.e. culturally acceptable food).

Household food insecurity occurs due to financial constraint and exists on a spectrum that can be divided into three categories: marginal (concern about running out of food, or a limited food selection), moderate (compromise in quality or quantity of food), and severe (miss meals, reduce food intakes, or multiple days without food).

Living with food insecurity can have detrimental impacts. According to the non-profit Community Food Centres Canada, food insecurity affects physical and mental health, relationships with loved ones and children, while also being attributed to increased social isolation, barriers in finding and maintaining employment, difficulty finding meaning and purpose in life, and impediments in the expression and sharing of culture.

Who Is Most Impacted by Food Insecurity?

Before the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, nearly 4.5 million Canadians were experiencing food insecurity. According to Food Banks Canada’s 2019 HungerCount, food banks across Canada had over 1 million visits, of which nearly 375,000 of them being children. In Alberta, food banks recorded over 89,000 visits, with more than 35,282 of them being children. Food bank use nationwide had stabilized with roughly the same number of visits as in 2018. Within Edmonton, 13.8% of residents were food insecure in 2017-2018. In 2019, 63,323 people received a hamper from Edmonton’s Food Bank or one of its affiliates.

Indigenous and racialized people are also disproportionately impacted by food insecurity. Black households are 3.5 times more likely to be food insecure than white households, and almost half of all First Nations families are food insecure.

Of those who access food banks to meet their needs, the 2019 HungerCount reported that 34% were children, 48% were single adult households, 18% were single parent households, and 57.4% were on social assistance or disability-related supports.

COVID-19’s Impact on Food Security

The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated existing food security challenges for Canadians. According to Statistics Canada, almost one in seven Canadians (14.6%) experienced food insecurity in May 2020—an increase from 10.5% just two years earlier. Canadian households with children were particularly more likely to experience food insecurity, representing nearly one in five households (19%). As a result, food bank visits increased by 20%. Notably, not everyone who is food insecure accesses a food bank, so it’s possible these numbers are even higher.

Emergency Funding and COVID-19

When the COVID-19 pandemic spread, all levels of government introduced a number of relief measures to help Canadians weather the public health emergency. This included funding to address food security.

In April 2020, the Government of Canada announced $100 million in funding through the Emergency Food Security Fund to Canadian food banks and other national food rescue organizations to help improve access to food for people experiencing food insecurity. Of this funding, $50 million went to Food Banks Canada while the remainder went to Second Harvest, Community Food Centres Canada, Breakfast Club of Canada, and Salvation Army. These organizations work in the areas of food rescue, food education and advocacy, school clubs, and community meals, respectively. In October 2020, the federal government announced another $100 million in funding to address food security.

In May 2020, the Government of Alberta gave $5 million in funding to food banks across Alberta—part of the $30 million in emergency social service support that went to more than 460 agencies.

Locally, the Edmonton Community Foundation delivered emergency funds to various community organizations through the COVID-19 Rapid Response Fund (over $4 million) and the Emergency Community Support Fund ($2.4 million). More than $500,000 and $600,000 from these two funds, respectively, were delivered to 46 different projects that addressed food security challenges.

Food Rescue Initiatives

In an era when millions of Canadians experience food insecurity, diverting food waste—especially perfectly edible food that might end up in the dumpster of a grocery warehouse due—is seen as a key measure to provide emergency relief for those in need.

In August 2020, the Government of Canada announced a $50 million investment through the Surplus Food Rescue Program to distribute food—that would otherwise go to waste—to vulnerable Canadians that would otherwise go to waste. This food surplus was one outcome of the pandemic that had forced the closure of restaurant and hospitality industries, leaving many producers without a key market for their food commodities. Not-for-profits like Food Banks Canada and Second Harvest would redistribute 12 million kilograms of fresh fruit, vegetables, meat, fish, and seafood to food insecure families that would otherwise have been wasted.

Locally, Edmonton’s Food Bank gleans 4.8 million pounds of food waste annually, equivalent to 60—80% of its annual meals.

Leftovers Edmonton also diverts food waste for emergency relief, and in 2019 rescued enough food to provide 164,000 meals to charity.

The Role of Community Gardens

While fresh food provides more nutrition than packaged or processed food, only 40% of supplies distributed to food banks is fresh. As a result, community gardens have seen renewed interest.

The University of Alberta’s Campus Community Garden, located in the East Campus Village since 2003, promotes urban agriculture by teaching campus community members sustainable gardening practices. It also contributes to food security by providing a portion of its harvest to the Campus Food Bank.

The use of community gardens as a way to enable greater access to locally grown food and mitigating any potential disruptions to the global supply chain also saw increased interest as the COVID-19 pandemic took hold.

In response, the City of Edmonton launched the Pop-Up Community Gardens Pilot in the spring of 2020, adding 350 garden plots in 29 temporary garden sites, designed to give residents a chance to start gardening or expand on an existing one. The city provided the planter boxes and soil to each site while gardeners were responsible for plants, seeds, and tools. Sites were chosen based on the number of grocery stores and/or the number of multi-family buildings within the neighbourhood. These gardens have the potential to increase food education, strengthen gardening skills, and enable more consumption of nutritious fruits and vegetables.

While these pilot initiatives demonstrate positive outcomes like social connectedness, healthier eating habits, improved mental health, and increased physical activity, they are unlikely to significantly impact food insecurity rates in Canada.

Multicultural Responses to Food Insecurity

Food insecurity disproportionately impacts Indigenous, newcomer, and racialized populations in Canada. It’s important, therefore, that food security measures are responsive to their needs as they are more likely to experience social isolation due to food insecurity. Within Edmonton, a number of new initiatives aim to address these concerns.

Food hamper programs were set up by organizations such as the Somali Canadian Education and Rural Development Organization (SCERDO) and the African Diaspora COVID-19 Response. This response team was set up by the Africa Centre in collaboration with ten other groups within the African community providing food hampers to their members in order to gain better access to nutrition (which includes providing culturally relevant foods like injera and yucca powder). They also help members to navigate government support programs, provide psychosocial and emotional support, as well as career support for those facing job loss.

In addition, the C5: Collaborative for Change (Bent Arrow Traditional Healing Society, Boyle Street Community Services, Edmonton Mennonite Centre for Newcomers, Norwood Child and Family Resource Centre and Terra Centre for Teen Parents) set up a food hamper program in response to the pandemic, delivering food to 550 families—2,000 individuals every two weeks.

These measures are in addition to the ongoing services that existed before the pandemic. For example, the Multicultural Health Brokers Co-op has a Grocery Run Program. This program is designed to address food security challenges among immigrant and refugee communities (particularly perinatal, pregnant, and post-partum women) as a result of barriers to transportation, language, or unfamiliarity with mainstream food products. The program has seen an increase from 100 to now 450 families accessing the program each week.

Food insecurity in Canada is primarily linked to income or financial insecurity.

Final Reflections

The reasons individuals and families experience food insecurity are complex, and include physical, economic, and social barriers. Within Canada, food insecurity is primarily linked to income or financial insecurity: unemployment, low-wage or precarious jobs, and social assistance rates that do not provide a livable income for recipients.

Measures to provide immediate food relief for emergency situations are important and valuable work, but long-term policies to address income insecurity must also be part of the solution to tackle food security both during and beyond, a global pandemic. These measures include a living wage, universal basic income, and protection from sudden changes or shocks to income sources.

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October 28, 2020
fACT Sheet — WINning: The Trials, Tribulations, and Triumphs of Opening a Women’s Shelter
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Introduction

To coincide with the 50^th anniversary of the founding of what would become known as WIN House (Women in Need), a new book by Marsha Mildon, WINning: The Trials, Tribulations, and Triumphs of Opening a Women’s Shelter, was released in June 2020. The book chronicles the storied history of how the women’s shelter movement took hold in Edmonton. In the late 1960s, a group of concerned citizens came together to start what was a new concept at the time: a dedicated women’s shelter to serve as a safe place. First for any single woman in need, then opening to women with children who were living in unsafe conditions—such as those experiencing intimate partner violence (physical, mental, or emotional)—and had nowhere to go. The Edmonton Social Planning Council (ESPC) played an important role in helping to establish the shelter, which included administrative and staffing support.

More information about the book, including how to order, can be found here: http://www.enable.org/winning/

The following is a timeline of notable events and developments that mark the history of WIN House.

Spring 1968: Daisy Wilson, Diocesan President of the Catholic Women’s League (CWL), reads an article in the Edmonton Journal about the plight of girls and women (particularly Indigenous women) arriving at the bus and train stations, especially late in the evening, having no contacts, no resources, and no place to stay.

May 1968: Daisy speaks out about her concern for these women at the CWL’s Social Action Committee meeting, the Women’s Inter-Church Council’s meeting, as well as the YWCA—who tell her that housing these women is not in their mandate.

June 20, 1968: YWCA hosts a meeting with 28 organizations, agencies, and concerned citizens in attendance. A decision is made to do some research on the issue.

1969: The Mossman Report is completed, which explored the needs of transient women, services currently available, and what additional services may be needed.

November 29, 1969: All Saints Anglican Cathedral offers space in their basement and bell tower for a three-month trial run. Lynn Hannley and Bettie Hewes from ESPC are involved in the planning process from the beginning working alongside the YWCA, which was the umbrella organization for the first four months.

January 23, 1970: The Overnight Shelter for Women opens with donations from church and community groups. The Junior League is the largest donor, providing $500 a month.

May 1, 1970: ESPC takes over from the YWCA as the umbrella organization for Edmonton Women’s Shelter (EWS), under the guidance of Bettie Hewes, Executive Director of ESPC.

July 1, 1970: The Women’s Emergency Shelter moves to a former pawn shop location on 101 Street and 102 Avenue on a monthly rental basis.

Note: The Edmonton Women’s Shelter used a variety of names—including the Edmonton Women’s Emergency Shelter, Overnight Shelter for Women, or Edmonton Women’s Overnight Shelter—as it was being established.

August 31, 1971: The shelter moves to a city-owned house in the 102 block of 108 Street.

May 1, 1973: Another move, this time to the 103 block of 101 Street – a second store front location.

July 1, 1973: A three-storey house on 98 Avenue in the river valley is rented to use as Sheltered Accommodation to shelter women who needed “acceptance and safe time to figure out what they might do next” (i.e. longer term users).

By this point, EWS had spent nearly 5 years moving the shelter around downtown Edmonton from one rental to another, including city owned properties.

September 26, 1973: A non-profit corporation is registered as Edmonton Women’s Shelter Ltd. The EWS officially becomes its own entity. ESPC is no longer the umbrella organization, but continues to provide advice and support.

September 30, 1974: EWS closes due to a lack of suitable accommodation.

October 30, 1974: The Government of Alberta announces funding for the Edmonton City Centre Church Corporation (e4c) to operate a service for transient women. This shelter becomes the Women’s Emergency Accommodation Centre (WEAC) and is now the responsibility of e4c—an organization of white male Protestant ministers. WEAC opened in October 1974.

January 15, 1975: WEAC has official public opening in the renovated Immigration Building.

1975—76: The original EWS group is devastated but continues to meet and research what to do for women next.

May 1977: EWS announces their new project is a shelter for battered* mothers and their children. They enter the family violence field.

*Note: The use of battered, although now dated and potentially triggering, reflects the terminology of the era and is used here contextually.

May 1, 1978: Clifford E. Lee Foundation offers $100,000 for the purchase of a house for EWS.

September 1978: Clifford E. Lee Foundation purchases a house and leases it to EWS for 10 years at $1 a year.

December 6, 1978: WIN House I opens and is quickly at capacity. This is the first Women’s Shelter in Alberta that specializes in taking in women with their children.

Atonement Home offers space to overflow applicants from WIN House. Eventually, the Franciscan Sisters open Lurana Shelter—the second shelter for battered women and children in Edmonton. One EWS board member becomes chair of their advisory committee.

Note: Catholic Social Services will assume full operational responsibility for Lurana Shelter by April 1, 2021.

April 1980: Ronald Dyck, University of Alberta academic, is hired to study the actual needs of battered women.

July 11, 1980: Dyck’s report and recommendations are released. An EWS Expansion committee begins work on the design and construction of housing that is deemed suitable to their clients’ needs.

May 1982: An anonymous donor covers the cost of building WIN House II—the first purpose-built shelter for women and children in Canada.

November 12, 1982: WIN House II is opened with no mortgage thanks to community donors.

1983: Alberta Council of Women’s Shelters (eight shelters and one second stage housing, which provides housing and supports for women who have left abusive relationships as they make plans for independent living) is incorporated. EWS ex-president becomes president.

1984: The EWS Board researches and proposes another second stage housing project.

1985: The EWS Board determines that a separate organization should take on this housing project.

1986: WINGS (Women In Need Growing Stronger) second stage housing is formed, supported by the Sisters of Providence with a number of former EWS board members.

1987: EWS hires ESPC to evaluate service and organization. ESPC recommends a move from a hands-on board to a governance board. Over the next few years, EWS manages this change in structure.

1985—1989: EWS studies the abuse of the elderly and initiates EARS (Elderly Adult Resource Service).

1990: EARS and Catholic Social Services collaborate to work on providing this service.

2006: A building is purchased for the EWS office.

2008: Studies and research continue on what the needs of women experiencing family violence are.

2009: A four-bedroom house is purchased to shelter immigrant, refugee, and women escaping human trafficking.

2010: WIN House III opens. It is the first house world-wide to focus on the needs of immigrant women.

2013: WIN House III closes due to funding shortfalls.

November 2014: WIN House III re-opens in thanks to a large private donation and increased funding from the government. The donor family asks that the shelter be named Carol’s House.
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August 26, 2020
fACTivist Feature Article: Economic Insecurity Concerns During COVID-19

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Note: this is excerpted from Summer 2020 edition of our fACTivist publication. The Edmonton Social Planning Council, in collaboration with volunteers and colleagues within the sector, strives to provide stakeholders and community members with updates on ESPC’s activities and projects, including articles and initiatives that address a variety of pertinent issues that affect our community

During the height of the pandemic, Alberta’s unemployment rate went as high as 15.5%, according to Labour Force Survey results for the month of May 2020, as businesses were forced to close due to public health restrictions. This excludes those who did not lose their jobs entirely, but rather saw their hours and income drastically reduced; some experts believe the true unemployment rate could be as high as 30%.

This major disruption has laid bare who some of the most financially vulnerable are during this pandemic and has exposed holes in our social safety net. According to Statistics Canada’s recent report, Work Interruptions and financial vulnerability, single mothers are some of the most vulnerable individuals when faced with work interruption of two months, with 56% of them unlikely to be able to make ends meet. Commentary that the current economic downturn has disproportionately affected women, at time referred to as a “she-cession,” means this development is not a complete surprise. Other highly vulnerable households include those headed by Indigenous people or newcomers. Financially vulnerable families would need approximately $1,745 per month, on average, just to stay above the poverty line.

In addition, these work interruptions have laid bare the vulnerability of workers engaged in precarious work, especially those in the so-called “gig economy,” where unincorporated self-employed workers enter into various contracts with firms to complete specific tasks for a negotiated sum. These include the use of online platforms such as Uber, Lyft, TaskRabbit, Skip the Dishes, and Upwork. While some take on gig work as a supplemental source of income in addition to standard employment, nearly half of Canadians who take on gig work do so as a primary source of income. These types of working arrangements do not provide adequate job security, health benefits, or consistent income, nor do they support opportunities to save money.

When the pandemic hit, it became abundantly clear that a lot of Canadians who found themselves out of work faced barriers to accessing benefits, especially when their situations did not meet the threshold for obtaining income supports such as Employment Insurance (EI). The federal government reacted by creating benefit programs designed to help those who would otherwise fall through the cracks, such as the Canadian Emergency Response Benefit and the Canada Emergency Student Benefit. They also provided temporary boosts to existing programs for parents of children, seniors, persons with disabilities, and gave out additional GST rebates.

While these relief measures are welcome and much-needed for vulnerable low-income Albertans and Canadians, the pandemic has made clear that we need to rethink our safety nets not only for public health emergencies, but for all times.

Robust conversations have been had on whether a universal basic income would be needed to address this shortfall. While the precise details of what a basic income would look like, and how it would be incorporated within our existing social programs, is still an open conversation, it is abundantly clear that we need to ensure there is a floor built for our society’s most vulnerable. By ensuring they can access the most basic of needs—nutritious food, shelter, medicine, clothing, access to transportation, and others—they will never be forced to go without or fall through the cracks.

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August 10, 2020
fACT Sheet — Child Benefits in Alberta and Canada

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Introduction

Child benefits have been demonstrated to be an important tool for alleviating and reducing child poverty. A recent report from UNICEF highlighted that in 15 high-income countries, delivering universal child benefits alone led to a five percentage point reduction in child poverty on average. In light of the economic toll the COVID-19 pandemic is having on low- and middle-income families coupled with recent changes to benefit programs, our fACT Sheet assesses the current state of provincial and federal child benefit programs for Alberta and Canada, respectively.

Alberta Child and Family Benefit: Overview and History

Child benefits in Alberta were initially introduced as the Alberta Working Family Supplement by Premier Jim Prentice in March 2015. At the time, the tax credit would provide working families earning less than $41,220 an annual benefit of $1,100, and an additional $550 for each of the next three children. This was set to take effect July 2016.

When Rachel Notley became premier in May 2015, the program was revamped and implemented as the Alberta Child Benefit (ACB).

This was done in conjunction with an enhanced Alberta Family Employment Tax Credit (AFETC), which provided a maximum annual benefit of $754 for the first child, ranging up to $1,987 for families with four children of more. Families had to earn at least $2,760 in employment income to receive the credit. The “phase out” threshold was $41,250, and families earning above that threshold were to receive less of the credit proportionately to their income, becoming zero when their income reached about $77,000.

In its first year of implementation (2016-2017 benefit year), the ACB reached 245,060 children in 127,345 families while the AFETC reached 359,790 children in 178,745 families. The average annual amounts families received for each benefit were $1,145 and $780, respectively.

In the years following, these benefits were indexed for inflation. By 2019, the maximum benefit for the ACB was $1,155 for one child and $2,886 for four or more children. For the AFETC, families could receive a maximum benefit of $783 per year for one child, and $2,604 for four or more children.

The New Benefit Program

After Jason Kenney became premier in April 2019, his government’s first provincial budget saw the ACB and AFETC combined into a single program called the Alberta Child and Family Benefit (ACFB). The ACFB took effect in July 2020 and provides direct financial assistance on a quarterly basis to low- and middle-income households. The benefit is divided into two components: the base component and the working component. The base component is available to families regardless of employment status and gives up to $1,330 annually for the first child, all the way up to $3,325 for four or more children. This component starts to decrease after families make $24,467 and ends once families make $41,000 in household income. The working component applies to families who make over $2,760 a year, and provides up to $681 annually for the first child, or $1,795 for four or more children. This component starts to drop after families make $41,000 and ends at $61,000 in household income.

What the New ACFB Means for Low-Income Families

The threshold for receiving provincial child benefits drops off drastically at a relatively low-income cut-off, and families who are barely making enough to support themselves will not get sufficient benefits. Once a household income reaches $41,000, a family is no longer eligible for the base component of the ACFB, while the working component simultaneously begins to decrease. This means that a dual income family where both parents work full-time at minimum wage ($15 per hour) would not receive the base component and would see a reduced working component.

In comparison, under the previous ACB and AFETC benefit schemes a dual-income family with two children that made $41,000 would have received $3,187 in benefits, while under the new system they will only receive $1,886. This is a significant reduction in benefits and undermines the progress previously made in alleviating child poverty. Families losing out on government transfer income will likely have to make more employment income to support their families in order to provide a modest existence and reach financial security.

Canada Child Benefit: Overview and History

Child benefits delivered by the federal government have been in existence in some form since 1945. The most recent incarnation is the Canada Child Benefit (CCB), which was introduced by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in 2016 to replace its predecessor, the Universal Child Care Benefit (UCCB). The UCCB initially provided a taxable $100 per month benefit to every child in the country under the age of six. By 2015, the benefit had increased to $160 per month, just before Justin Trudeau was elected Prime Minister.

Trudeau’s revamped CCB increased federal spending on child benefits, making them more generous for low- and middle-income households, and less generous for higher-income households. At the CCB’s inception, households with an annual income of $30,000 or less received a maximum of $6,400 per year for each child under the age of 6, and $5,400 per year for each child between the ages of 6 and 17. Higher household incomes received progressively smaller benefit amounts, up to a maximum of households earning more than $200,000 annually, which did not receive any benefits. All of those benefits were tax-free.

Since 2016, the CCB has been indexed to inflation to keep up with rising costs of raising children. As of July 2020, the maximum child benefit families receive is $6,765 per child under the age of 6 and $5,708 per child between the ages of 6 and 17.

In the 2018-2019 benefit year, nearly $24 billion in benefits reached more than 3.6 million recipients in Canada. In Alberta, nearly $3 billion in benefits reached over 445,000 recipients in the province.

Recent Developments

As a response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Prime Minister Trudeau issued a number of relief measures to help Canadians financially impacted by the economic downturn caused by the virus. This included a one-time extra payment of $300 to families for each child under the age of 18 allocated via the CCB.

The Trudeau Liberals also campaigned during the 2019 federal election on a pledged 15% increase to the CCB for children under the age of 1, giving families up to $1,000 more annually. Despite their re-election, this campaign pledge has yet to be implemented for the 2020-21 benefit year.

Areas of Concern

While the CCB has been lauded for reducing child poverty across Canada and lifting nearly 280,000 children out of poverty, questions persist about whether further investments are needed to address child poverty during the COVID-19 pandemic. Some advocacy groups, including Campaign 2000, have argued that the one-time $300 top-up to the CCB should be continued for at least the duration of the pandemic and its economic fallout as an important income security tool.

In addition, the distribution of child benefits for both provincial and federal programs to those who qualify is contingent upon filing a tax return. An average of 12% of adult Canadians do not file tax returns (15.3% for Albertans). A large portion of those who do not file are among the most vulnerable populations, with estimates showing that roughly one-third of social assistance recipients do not file taxes. As many as 40% of eligible First Nations families do not receive the CCB. This lag in distribution undermines the intended poverty reduction goals of these programs.
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August 4, 2020
fACTivist Feature Article: Family Class Sponsored Immigrant Seniors in Canada: Income Dependency Challenges
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Note: this is excerpted from Summer 2020 edition of our fACTivist publication. The Edmonton Social Planning Council, in collaboration with volunteers and colleagues within the sector, strives to provide stakeholders and community members with updates on ESPC’s activities and projects, including articles and initiatives that address a variety of pertinent issues that affect our community

Written by Jenn Rossiter, in collaboration with the Multicultural Health Brokers Cooperative and Age of Wisdom

Canada is a welcoming nation that embraces newcomers, and supports diversity and healthy families within its communities. However, when immigrants arrive they often encounter regulations and policies that make settling in a new country difficult. This can be especially tough for senior immigrants who face additional challenges to access income programs that could help them gain independence and security in their new surroundings.

Senior immigrants typically arrive in Canada through the Family Class pathway, which allows Canadian citizens or permanent residents of Canada who are aged 18 years or older to sponsor family members (e.g. a spouse, child, parent or grandparent, or sibling).

Every sponsorship is subject to a federal Sponsorship Agreement, which specifies how long a sponsor must financially support the incoming family member (called the undertaking period). This timeframe has been steadily increasing, causing undue stress and uncertainty for those involved. At the moment, parents and grandparents (PGPs) who arrive via Family Class sponsorship are required to remain financially dependent on their sponsor for 20 years. This affects their lives in countless challenging ways.

The undertaking period for Family Class sponsorships has changed four times since the Immigration Act, 1976. From the late 70s, the undertaking period was between 1-10 years. However, the government found that sponsorship breakdowns were too frequent, leaving immigrants to rely on federal supports and costing the government money. In 1997, new regulations were introduced that put stricter financial requirements on a sponsorship, and set the undertaking period at 10 years.[i] The Immigration and Refugee Protection Act replaced Canada’s Immigration Act in 2002, and changed the undertaking period to either 3 or 10 years, depending on the relationship between sponsor and applicant. For example, the undertaking period for a spouse was only 3 years, whereas the undertaking period for PGPs remained 10 years.

In 2012, the federal government realized that 70% of PGPs’ income came through the federal Old Age Security pension (OAS) and the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) programs.[ii] Of several amendments, the government doubled the sponsorship undertaking period for PGPs to 20 years, starting in 2014. This was meant to help ease government costs associated with federal and provincial social assistance programs, but also added financial responsibility to the sponsor—an annual increase of approximately 19% per household.2 Financial dependency can place a heavy burden on one family and household; these income supports could help alleviate anxieties, but program regulations are creating challenges.

Eligibility for OAS is based on residence and legal status requirements. Qualifying seniors must be over 65, be a legal resident, and have lived in Canada for at least 10 years. There are two levels of OAS: the full pension and the partial pension. In addition to the above requirements, recipients can qualify for the full pension if they have lived in Canada for a minimum of 40 years. The partial pension qualification, in addition to the basic requirements above, is determined by a calculation using the number of years lived in Canada, beyond the minimum of 10.[iii]

The GIS program is available to support seniors who qualify as low-income. Unfortunately, low-income rates among senior immigrants in Canada is nearly double that of non-immigrants, averaging at around 21%.[iv] Despite this, PGPs are typically not eligible to receive GIS until they have resided in Canada for a minimum of 10 years, are eligible for OAS, and their undertaking period has come to an end. For those immigrating after 2014, this means they cannot access GIS until they have been in Canada for a minimum of 20 years.

Generally speaking, PGP applicant eligibility (after 2014) could be summarized by the following:

For a senior immigrant who has legally resided in Canada for less than 10 years:
- Individuals are not eligible for OAS.
- Individuals are not eligible for GIS.
For a senior immigrant who has legally resided in Canada for 10-19 years:
- Individuals may be eligible for partial
- Individuals are not eligible for GIS.
For a senior immigrant who has legally resided in Canada for 20 years or more:
- Individuals may be eligible for partial or full
- Individuals may be eligible for GIS.
To illustrate this, consider a Canadian citizen who has just been approved to sponsor their 70-year-old mother. The mother will be 80 years old before she can apply to access any of these income supports, and could likely only access partial OAS at that point. She will have to wait until she is 90 years old to apply for GIS, and an incredible 110 years old before applying for the full pension! These extended wait times for seniors to access supports and benefits are inhospitable, and are negatively affecting families.

If the mother qualified for the partial OAS benefit after 10 years of residence, she would only receive ¼ of the full pension amount, meaning that, with current calculations, at the age of 80 she would receive a modest $153 each month[v]—an amount that would remain fixed for the remainder of her lifetime. All the while she will have been relying on her child to financially support her, paying for basic needs (food, shelter, clothing) and other necessities (health, transportation). Contributing such a small amount of money each month can leave PGPs feeling like a burden. This causes a lot of financial and emotional strain on a family, not to mention the impact of unexpected changes in health and income that are almost certain to occur in a household over a 10 or 20 year period.

These issues only begin to explore some of the extensive financial obligations and stresses that fall on PGPs and sponsors, and the challenges that PGPs face in trying to become independent residents in Canada. Canada is a country that welcomes newcomers, but this financial stress should be reduced to benefit its population, in a way that truly does support healthy families and communities.

References

[i] Citizenship & Immigration Canada (1998), http://publications.gc.ca/collections/Collection/Ci51-86-1998E.pdf

[ii] Government of Canada (2013), http://gazette.gc.ca/rp-pr/p1/2013/2013-05-18/html/reg2-eng.html

[iii] Government of Canada, https://www.canada.ca/en/services/benefits/publicpensions/cpp/old-age-security/benefit-amount.html#h2.2-h3.2

[iv] Statistics Canada (2019), https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/75-006-x/2019001/article/00017-eng.htm

[v] Government of Canada, https://www.canada.ca/en/services/benefits/publicpensions/cpp/old-age-security/guaranteed-income-supplement/eligibility.html

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July 31, 2020