Question: What is the face of poverty?
The Answers:
- The poorest fifth of Canadian families spend more than half their income on shelter. The richest fifth spends less than one sixth (from 2016 report).
- Canada’s income security system is now one of the weakest among developed countries. Those in receipt of social assistance continue to subsist on benefits that place them well below any poverty measure in Canada. From A National Plan for a Poverty-free Canada https://cwp-csp.ca/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Dignity-for-All-A-National-Plan-for-Poverty-in-Canada.pdf
- Regina Homelessness Count: 286 in 2018, for more information see: https://www.homelesshub.ca/sites/default/files/attachments/2018-PiT-Count-Report.pdf or https://www.homelesshub.ca/community-profile/regina.
- In 2018 the poverty rate for children and adults living in couple families was eight per cent. But 48 per cent of children living in female lone-parent families were poor.
From Poverty in Saskatchewan: http://uregina.ca/~gingrich/skp2018r.pdf - Low income people – especially the homeless – are more likely to be held in detention once they are arrested and charged by the police.
Poverty and Criminal Justice System Go hand in hand: https://johnhoward.on.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/counter-point-1-poverty-and-crime-is-there-a-connection.pdf - Poverty is not just about money, it’s about being excluded from community life.
From Poverty Free Saskatchewan Information on Poverty: https://povertyfreesask.ca/.