"True, having a job makes it more likely that an adult will not be poor, and having two
What is happening here is a violation of our human rights. Balance must be found- inequalities levelled out.
working adults in a household makes it even more likely that that household will not be poor. But having a job isn’t necessarily a ticket out of poverty. Canada has one of the highest proportions of low-paid workers among industrialized countries. About one in six workers, one in five female workers, and one in 10 full-time workers are low paid and earning poverty wages.No minimum wage rate in Canada comes close to reaching the level of a living wage: the highest minimum wage rates pay about 66% to 75% of living wage rates.
Moreover, it is clear that social policy, or the strength or weakness of the social safety net, is as important as employment, and perhaps even more important, in poverty prevention, alleviation or reduction. "
See tables from the National Council of Welfare.
Here are some facts from the National Council of Welfare (an advisory board of the Federal Gov't. Lots of advice- but how much is heeded? Poverty Profile Report 2007.
- Poor Seniors receive most of their income from gov't transfers
- Very few working-age families living in poverty rely only on welfare.
- Most depend on employment earnings to get by
"Often the stereotype is that all poor people live off welfare. It's just not true. Welfare does play an important role in providing income to some of those living in poverty. However, many people living in poverty depend on income other than welfare to get by."
" Female lone-parent families living in poverty were the most likely to rely primarily on welfare (36%). However, an almost equal number (31%) depended mainly on earnings."
And the inequalities continue. The gap between the rich and the more grows each year. Specifically, the top 1%. Lets face it, how much can a wealthy consumer consume? Betcha they consume in many other places than Canada!
Gone are the days when you could work for the same company for 25 years and retire with a fabulous pension. Its an ever changing world. We have employment agencies that hire workers for companies. The workers hired through the temp agencies get a lower pay!
We caw to the world that we have this marvelous Parental Leave- both parents can take time off to raise their children. Problem is, well, several problems. The amount of money a woman receives while on maternity leave is so pitiful it does not even cover a groceries for a month. Secondly, as much as men are given the privilege to take time off, many are impacted in their careers if they do! Women are forced back to work and if couples thought their lives were busy before their children, well, going back to work full time and raising kids just amplified the busy-ness!
Single Parent women are challenged on a much wider scale- I don't want to make this about women and men as surely there are an increasing amount of male lone parent families.
See article on cuts to Legal Aid http://www.lawyersweekly.ca/index.php?section=article&articleid=1281
Women generally end up with full care of the children. Having given birth, they tend to be the ones who continue to be the main care giver until the kids turn 18. They miss work when their children are sick and continually have to worry about quality affordable day care. If the man leaves, she has to deal with a complex legal system to access child support. Many just don't bother. Yes, we have a wonderful mandatory child support system but how many women are not able to even get the guy to court, access Maintenance Enforcement or have regular child support payments?
So what about Canada's wonderful safety net?
In 2005, for the first time in 30 years, Canada came the closest it ever has to a National Child Care system. The first thing Prime Minister Harper did when he came on board as the Prime Minister is cancel the National Child Care agreements. This meant a loss to the provinces of over 5 billion dollars in transfer payments to the provinces/territories....I know, because I sat on the Rural Remote and Northern Child Care Committee. Shock reverberated across the country. In Fort Smith, NWT, we had to close our day care. It was a hot political mess. Many people were deeply hurt but those who suffered the most were the families and children.
The sheer amount of energy, time, money spent by lobby groups, non-government agencies- etc- who work in concert to simply get the government to actively act on the recommendations being made. The very advisory boards the government funds. Why bother funding an advisory board if you are not going to listen to them. I suspect if the government had the Canadian Council for Chief Executives requesting changes and say, the National Council on Welfare- it is a safe bet who has the most leverage!
Well, Harper went on to do more than that. Here is an excellent article by the Winnipeg Free Press. http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinion/columnists/harpers-defence-of-women-rings-hollow-83997992.html
Of course Harper had to cut all these programs! Our federal reserve, like our Canada Pension Plan, Employment insurance is leaking like a huge sieve! Free Trade has blasted the door open for blue colour workers around the world. Have you checked out any job search sites? Have you ever seen so many temp hiring agencies? Worse, we seem to be going backwards ! Check out http://www.cbc.ca/canada/montreal/story/2010/10/20/temp-agencies-hire-immigrant-workers-for-cash-only.html
Having a job does not mean you will be safe from poverty. "Canadian food bank use has now reached its highest level on record." See Nov 16, 2010 articleHaving a job is not the only way these days to create income and wealth- especially if you are extremely wealthy or are a large corporation. You have tax advantages beyond the scope of the middle income families.
What is happening here is a violation of our human rights. Balance must be found- inequalities levelled out.
We can be the leaders in taking out great nation forward- if we had the right leaders and enough public awareness. We have everything we need - right here - we have the money, the resources. We have the ability to be a community that values all as equals, feeds the hungry, supports those in need and provide an enviable quality of life.
The thing is, we had a system that worked- in our lifetime, in our country. Failing the resurrecting of this system, we have highly successful countries to model ourselves after- we don't have to reinvent the wheel.
Information, accurate information, gives you a place to start. Be well informed, be correctly informed. This is simply where we are now- we have the power to change our future- now. How will you change the world?
Love and All Good Things,
The Peaceful Matriarch
No comments:
Post a Comment