Child Poverty

 It has been around two decades since the House of Commons unanimous resolution to end child in poverty by the year 2000, It is now 2012 and children in poverty still exist so how have we failed to make sure child poverty was not eliminated.

 The UN has put out a report that finds Canada lagging behind other advanced countries (The Canada Press). The UN suggests that child poverty in the industrialized world has much to do with government policies.  The government should increase child benefits and the child tax benefit, this will not eliminate child poverty, but help it along  the path of extinction. Government action is key to reduce child poverty, this makes a tangible difference in children’s lives. The risk of a child’s development is affected not just by government policy but the spending priorities of the government, With these suggests it should not depend on whether interest rates are rising or falling or on whether a particular government is in power or on what particular policy is in fashion.  According to UNICEP report card (2002) Canada ranks 18th of 35 industrialized nations. How can this be our economy has more than doubled in size, yet the income of families are still low the money that it would take to rise above the poverty line remains high.
As globalization and neoliberalism have risen to the forefront of international politics in the last several decades, economic restructuring of governmental policies have been enacted in order to conform with the changing global context (Bashevkin 1994). The result from such restructuring has exacerbated poverty in already disadvantaged groups and further embattled those whom the policies initially intended to assist. Exploring the negative influence of neoliberalism on poverty in Canada, specifically its impact on women in the lower socioeconomic sectors; the relationship between the government and women; and the importance of addressing women‟s issues in the context of welfare as they care for childern and if they are poor so are there childern. 

For years we knew that there was a need to take this seriously. We don’t take or embrace the strategies to reduce the children living in poverty, we need to help improve the situation it has been more than 20 year since the federal government vowed to end child poverty. We need to hold the government accountable for what they promised. It is also the responsibility of us to become aware of these promises for and to children to live without poverty.

Jen M

 Laurie, N. (2008). The Cost of Poverty: An Analysis of the Economic Cost of Poverty in Ontario. Ontario Association of Food Banks. Retrieved from http://www.oafb.ca/assets/pdfs/CostofPoverty.pdf.  

Statistics Canada, Income Statistics Division. (2011). Low Income Lines, 2009-10. Catalogue No. 75F0002M, No. 002. http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/75f0002m/75f0002m2011002-eng.pdf  

 Report Card 10: Measuring Child Poverty

www.unicef.ca/en/disover/article/unicef-reportcard-10

Neoliberalism and Its Effect On Canadian Women In Poverty

Olivia Bako
The Lyceum, Vol. 1, No. 1 (September 2011), pp.
http://www.google.ca/#hl=en&spell=1&q=neoliberalism+in+poverty&sa=X&ei=D-qiUI27OOGA2gW28YDADA&ved=0CBwQBSgA&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.&fp=a3c5d24f624717fa&bpcl=38093640&biw=1255&bih=626

Hudson, C. A., & Graefe, P. (2012). The Toronto Origins of Ontario’s 2008 Poverty Reduction Strategy: Mobilizing Multiple Channels of Influence for Progressive Social Policy Change. Canadian Review of Social Policy/Revue canadienne de politique sociale, (65-66).

Phillips, S. D. (2012). Dual restructuring: civil society and the welfare state in Canada, 1985-2005. British Journal of Canadian Studies, 25(2), 161-180.

The Legislation of Prostitution: A Current Social Issue in Ontario, Canada

Prostitution and the exchange of sex are licensed in Canada. In her article on prostitution in Canada, Lang (2012) mentioned that there are no laws which consider sex trade as an illegal act. The past few months, prostitution has been a social issue in Canada, since that The Ontario Appeal Court has authorized prostitution and the trading of sex. On the other hand, the legislation was narrowed and controlled. It was permitted as long as no outdoor activities are involved. The Legislation aims to protect women by keeping them safe and off streets (Doherty,Resenberg, Feldman, MasPherson, and Cronk JJ.A, 2012).  

           The music video " How To Love" by Lil Wayne tells a story of a girl who has been physically and emotionally abused, for that she did not experience love in her relationships with her surroundings. Throughout the story, the video shows how the mother's choices in life shaped her daughter's personality and her choices in life as well. The video continues to highlight some of the events that made the girl become a prostitute, such as the absence of her father and getting raped by her mother's ex male partner.The lyrics say that love is taught and learned. At the end of the video, a flash back happens and some changes occur, such as not having any child abuse in her childhood and graduating from college, indicating how the girl's life would have taken a different turn if she had experienced love, caring, and tendency in her life (Lil Wayne, 2011).

            In this blog, I am going to talk about the group of women who did not choose to be prostitutes and want to get out of the sex trade industry. Sextrade101 ; is a group of Canadian women who work as sex traders that started their own organization in 2007. The organisation was founded to educated people about the hidden face of prostitution.The group has it's own website that they use to communicate with others. Each female member of the Sextrade101 has her own unique story that includes many ups and downs, struggles, hardships, and battles. Just like the woman in the video, many women have been abused, raped, beaten, ignored, and taken for granted. In general, women who work as prostitutes have been dragged into that field because of the economic or social situations they have gone through in their lives (Sextrade101). 

A Marxist ideology view on prostitution is the only one that looks at prostitution as a social problem from an economic perspective. Ericsson mentioned that Marxists argue that prostitution is a result of the unjust capitalist system. For instance, they blame the system for creating two social classes; the poor and the rich. Also, they explain that prostitution is linked to the wage or monthly payment the woman get from the government (p.344). Moreover, Marxists blame the wealthy men for the outgoing of prostitution, because they believe that rich men support prostitution by taking a part in it (Ericsson, p.347). Furthermore, Marxists would view prostitution as it is liberated from the ethics and morals that have been set by the society and its members. They believe that the woman has not turned into a prostitute because she lacks self-respect, but because she needs the money in order to survive (Ericsson, p.344). They also argue that prostitution is linked to poverty because most women who become prostitutes are victims of the economic and financial situations they face. Therefore, earning money becomes an issue, so that is why many women return to prostitution (Ericsson, p.347). 

The trade of sex or prostitution is legal in Canada. There are no restrictions on prostitution unless it is outdoors. The Ontario Appeal Court agreed to provide a safe environment for prostitutes to work in (Doherty,Resenberg, Feldman, MasPherson, and Cronk JJ.A, 2012). A group of Canadian sex trader women founded an organisation to represent their voice and to change the stereotype people have about prostitution. Also, the organization aims to share the real image of prostitution with Canadian locals and citizens (Sextrade101).

-Farah

References:

Doherty,Resenberg, Feldman, MasPherson, and Cronk JJ.A. (March 26,

          2012). Court of Appeal for Ontario. Retrieved

          from http://www.ontariocourts.ca/decisions/2012/2012ONCA0186.pdf

Ericsson, L. (April, 1980). Charges Against Prostitution: An Attempt a Philosophical

Assessment. The University of Chicago Press. 90(3). Pages(335-348). Retrieved from  

          http://www.jstor.org/stable/2380575 

Lang,G. (March 26, 2012). Prostitution in Canada: You Can't Talk about It, But

You Can Do It. Canada.com. Retrieved from  http://o.canada.com/2012/03/26/prostitution-in-canada-you-cant-talk-about-it-but-you-can-do-it/

Sextrade101. (2012).

Canada's New Plan: Cutting the People Out of the Budget

      In today's Canadian society we still have serious poverty issues, and the government doesn't seem to have much concern about the issues at hand. As I look through online news websites, it is clear that our poverty issue is just as serious as other countries that are considered underdeveloped. The living conditions may be of higher quality, having indoor plumbing and health care, but we still have homeless people, and people without food and clean water. These issues are not being taken as seriously as they should be by the government that is supposed to be providing the basic necessities, looking at this from a social democratic position. In fact, our government has made it public knowledge that they are cutting funding for many of our public sectors , including education and social services. The National Post news report on this years federal budget was alarming to say the least, as they are taking money out of the most important sections like Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development, Health, as well as Food and Agriculture, with further predictions that they will continue to reduce the funding for these programs ( Postmedia News, 2012) . This has serious consequences for those already living in less than optimal conditions, as they will have even larger challenges to face without the support they need.

     

      The people suffering currently are of many races, they have many different cultural backgrounds, and they all share the same country. Many people are of the First Nations, living on government reserves and have very little income. These reserves are small, underdeveloped communities, with very small, unfinished houses and often several people living together for shelter (Arsenault, 2012). Many of them do not have access to clean water or affordable groceries, and due to large extractions of natural resources, much of their hunting and fishing traditions have been destroyed. Many First Nations living on reservations close to these extraction projects are becoming deathly ill with cancers and fatal diseases from toxic waste, with their fish poisoned, and their natural hunting habitats destroyed (To the Last Drop). 

    

     There are so many factors as to what is affecting our population's poverty issues, that the complete ignorance of our country's policy-makers are responsible for the challenges faced currently, especially when they are cutting back on the basic needs of the first people that lived on these lands. There are many people standing up and speaking out for those who are suffering in these terrible conditions, and yet they are given very little amounts of money from the government to try to compensate for the destruction of their well-being. I personally think that was the beginning of the issue, as people cannot eat money, and the food available is generally tainted in some form and is also expensive, those who live on fly-in reservations pay triple the price of the food that is supplied across the country, this is shown on the Food Bank Canada hungercount report for 2012. I feel the government should be looking further into adequate housing and alternative gardening, like greenhouses for year round food supply, as these are the basis of sustainable living. People need to be healthy before they can be productive, and for a society with a lack of basic needs, those should be the highest priorities for any government that is responsible for the greater good of the people. Our future generations are the ones suffering, over 30% of those in poverty are children (Ferguson, 2012). There are enough people in the world to grow more then enough food for them selves, and there is enough technology to ensure optimal temperatures for growing food, so why is our government cutting funding for these issues? It seems they are only looking at the profit margin of globalization, and deciding that money is far more important then the lives of thousands of Canadians. I feel we should be re-evaluating those with political power that make these decisions, as we are failing to uphold the basic human rights people have in this country.

Elizabeth

Research:Arsenault, C. (2012, February 11). Canada's mining boom leaves nation in the cold. Retrieved from http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2012/02/201221017545565952.html

Witness, , dir. To the Last Drop. Dir. Radford Thompson. 2012. Film. Retrieved from http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/witness/2011/06/20116227153978324.html.

Ferguson, . (2012, November 1) "Rich-poor gap widening." St. Catharines Standard [Welland]Retrieved from http://www.stcatharinesstandard.ca/2012/11/01/rich-poor-gap widening.

Postmedia News. (2012, March 29). Canada's federal budget 2012 : Planned cuts by
department. National Post. Retrieved from http://news.nationalpost.com/2012/03/29/budget-2012-planned-cuts-by-department/

                              

The Neo-Conservative View of Poverty and Social Assistance Programs

It’s not a big shock when most people hear that third-world countries have an ample amount of citizens below the poverty line, such as Zimbabwe, Haiti, and Nigeria. But many people don’t know the growing economic crisis that is poverty in first world countries. According to a 2008 study, in Canada alone, almost 10% of the entire country’s population is below the poverty line, which is about 3.45 million people (CIA World Factbooks, 2012). So many people struggle to keep a roof over their heads that they go hungry and can only afford one or the other. However, the conservative government believes that the social welfare system is not necessary as it would create a dependency on the government while interfering with the free market (Straka, 2012).

Recently, big cuts to social welfare programs have caused conflicts with individuals who rely on welfare assistance to help pay their bills, such as the severely disabled, people below the poverty line, and people living with a chronic illness. A recent cut to the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) has caused an outcry amongst citizens relying on it, as of January 1^st, 2013, they will not have access to emergency funding to pay for commodities such as rent or utilities (Mihell, 2012). As we are ruled by a majority Conservative government, their goal is to ensure that benefits towards citizens are minimal, while cutting government services to move to private services (Straka, 2012).

We live in a country where there’s more than enough money to go around to help people in poverty, yet we don’t. Why is this? Is it because people who make millions and are extremely successful deserve it, and people who are skin and bones on the street do because they are not smart enough or resourceful enough? Every person has a right to live. If the government is cutting back on funding for these individuals, and we’re too busy with our lavish, expensive cars, phones, iPods and gadgets, then who will help them? We need a strong voice that can be heard throughout the crowd stating that budget cuts for people living in poverty is unacceptable while billionaires are getting tax breaks and bailouts on their companies. That strong voice is the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty (OCAP).

More cuts have also recently been added to the social assistance programs including the elimination of the Community Start-Up and Maintenance benefit (CSUMB), which is also in relation to ODSP and Ontario Works (OW). It is a $1500 benefit for people with one or more children, and $799 in all other circumstances (Bonnar, 2012). OCAP is the voice in society which is dictating the rights and wrongs of the government and standing up for the people stricken with poverty. By holding a walk in Toronto, they helped raise the awareness of how vital the benefit is for these individuals, and created an application form to apply for CSUMB (Bonnar, 2012). Although their work is noble, the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing (MMAH) created a new program called The Community Homelessness Prevention Initiative (CHPI), which is a $246 million initiative that replaces five provincial homelessness funding programs while spreading it out on a wider basis to a wider number of people. This is equal to 50% of the current expenditure under CSUMB (Bonnar, 2012).

For people to not have access to basic necessities such as food, clean water, and some form of shelter in a “first world” country is absolutely ludicrous. In Canada, we have a right to free speech, a right to gather and protest peacefully, but not a right to live without worrying where the next meal is going to come from? Politics play an enormous role in seeing what gets funded and what gets cut because money is the main source of influence. A Hamilton woman stated. “”I’m willing to freeze my salary…because I don’t want to see people without access to these basic programs,” she said. “I have discretionary benefits and so do middle class people. That’s what this is about”” (Craggs, 2012). In my opinion, more people need to have this attitude, especially the wealthy as they control the economy and have politicians wrapped around their little fingers. For me, it’s just unfathomable to comprehend that humans aren’t willing to help out other humans for the benefit of man. Life isn’t a race, and it’s not a competition. Yet wealthy people see it as this, and their view of the world is obscured by their lust for money. If more of the prosperous individuals in society were like Bill Gates, who is asking to get taxed more (BBC, 2012) and donated over $28 billion to save lives in third world countries (Yarow, 2012) the world would be way better off than it is now. 

 By: Spencer Edgar

References:


BBC. (2012). Bill Gates: I don't pay enough tax [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-16714480

Bonnar, J. (2012). Anti-poverty activists demand Ontario government save Community Start-Up Benefit. Retrieved from http://rabble.ca/blogs/bloggers/johnbon/2012/10/anti-poverty-activists-demand-ontario-government-save-community-start

Craggs, S. (2012). Hamilton councillors defer low income benefits decision. Retrieved from http://www.cbc.ca/hamilton/news/story/2012/11/01/hamilton-discretionary-benefits.html

Mihell, B. (2012). Program that supports Ontario Works and ODSP clients, faces big cut. Retrieved from http://www.saultthisweek.com/2012/10/17/program-that-supports-ontario-works-and-odsp-clients-faces-big-cut

"Population below poverty line by country", CIA World Factbooks 18 December 2003 to 28 March 2011. Retrieved from http://www.NationMaster.com/graph/eco_pop_bel_pov_lin-economy-population-below-poverty-line

Straka, S. (2012). Social Welfare Theory [PowerPoint Slides]. Retrieved from http://www.courses.algomau.ca

Yarow, J. (2012). Bill Gates Has Given Away $28 Billion Since 2007, Saving 6 Million Lives. Retrieved from http://www.businessinsider.com/bill-gates-infographic-2012-1

Poverty, Policy and Social Democracy

          Even today, many Canadians still suffer regarding the issue of poverty and the inability to afford basic daily needs.  Those suffering from poverty deal with the issue of inequality through the discrimination and ignorance of those who are better off.  If Canada is such a wealthy, developed country, why does our government refuse to help those in need?  It seems like our country can afford to do so. 

          Oliver de Schutter, the United Nations Right-to-Food envoy aims to investigate the issue of multi-generational poverty within Canada.  He explains that “Canada is a system that prevents barriers for the poor to access nutritious diets,” and hopes to convince the Canadian government into developing a national food strategy (Whittington, 2012).  

          Statistics in 2011 provide that one in ten families with children under six years of age are unable to provide enough food needed for consumption daily (Whittington, 2012).  Almost 820, 000 Canadians turned to the usage of food banks, a 31 percent higher rate than during Canada’s last recession (Whittington, 2012).  Whereas Canada is stereotypically viewed as “the land of plenty,” it is not always so.  De Schutter says“[Canada] is a country that is rich but that fails to adapt the levels of social assistance benefits and its minimum wage to the rising costs of basic necessities, including food and housing” (Whittington, 2012).  De Schutter’s knowledge evolves from thorough investigation and observation of Canadian culture.  Similar to the ideas and opinions of de Shutter himself, “Resetting the Table:  A People’s Food Policy for Canada” becomes the result of a collaborative process involving thousands of Canadians devoted to creating a national food policy that would best suit the needs of individuals cross-country (People’s Food Policy, 2011).  It outlines the concept of food sovereignty and the importance of food as a primary foundation in healthy communities and economies (PFPP, 2011).  Both the distribution of de Schutter’s ideas and that of the People’s Food Policy for Canada drift towards a Social Democratic view of society.  

           People’s Food Policy for Canada defines a system in which could provide sufficient amounts of healthy, acceptable and accessible food for all Canadians (PFPP, 2011).  The process of such policy outlines a Social Democratic ideological analysis credible throughout many of its key components.  The development of such national food strategy would ensure that food is eaten as close to the location in which it was produced, involving communities in support of their agriculture and local farmers (PFPP, 2011).  This idea illustrates a social democratic structure in that it involves the belief that all individuals within a cooperative community should have the opportunity to fulfill their moral potential (Reimer et al, 2012).  It takes into note the importance of supporting all members of the community, among that of local farmers who lose money through the import of consumer foods by superior industries.    The policy would support food providers in shifting towards ecological production in the areas of agriculture, fisheries and indigenous food systems, and would also support the integration of new farmers into agriculture (PFPP, 2011).  These ideas provide a social democratic analysis because it involves the protection of basic rights, as well as involves an equitable distribution of the community’s wealth by providing publicly and socially controlled aspects of economic life (Reimer et al, 2012).  Canadians of both rural and urban locations would participate in local organic production, while generating more jobs for local farmers within their own communities.  The development of an educational food strategy, including school mean programs, gardens and food literacy programs would work to ensure the availability of healthy foods to children (PFPP, 2011).  Finally, the development of such strategy would include the active involvement of the public in decisions that affect the food system within their own communities, and nation-wide (PFPP, 2011).  This provides the social democratic idea to advance social justice for those who have been least free in society (Reimer et al, 2012).  It also provides equal opportunity for all individuals within their own community, another present social democratic value (Reimer et al, 2012). 

          The United Nations have ranked Canada as one of the most developed countries in the world.  NDP representative Jean Crowder states that “it’s the least fortunate who must choose between paying their rent and putting food on the table.  That’s not a choice that Canadian’s should have to make” (Whittington, 2012).  The People’s Food Policy proposes an idea for the Canadian federal government to enact a strong poverty elimination and prevention program to ensure Canadians can better afford healthy foods (PFPP, 2011).  This key element reflects the ideas of de Schutter and his proposal for the Canadian government to aid in the elimination of poverty and development of a Canadian national food strategy (Whittington, 2012).  For these reasons, both de Schutter’s and the People’s Food Policy’s ideas need to be taken into account.  If hunger and malnutrition are seen as socially unacceptable issues within third world countries, then why is it the representatives of our country choose to ignore the same issues happening in our own backyard?   Us Canadians must look to the issues revolving around our own nation.  The poverty and hunger of our people can no longer be ignored.

 

-   Kara

 

 

References: 

Whittington, L.  (2012, May 16).  “UN food envoy blasts inequality, poverty in Canada.” The Star.  Retrieved from http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/politics/article/1179208--jason-kenney-blasts-un-food-envoy.

Various authors of (PFPP) People’s Food Policy Project.  (2011, April).  “Resetting the Table:  A People’s Food Policy for Canada.”  Creative Commons.  Retrieved from http://peoplesfoodpolicy.ca/files/pfpp-resetting-2011-lowres_1.pdf.

Reimer, N., Simon D.W. & Romance, J.  (2012).  “Democratic Socialism and Communism:  Ideologies of the Left.”  The Challenge of Politics:  An Introduction to Political Science.  Retrieved from http://college.cqpress.com/sites/challenge/Home/chapter7.aspx.