Poverty strategy a start but devil will be in details

SYDNEY, N.S. — A federal poverty reduction strategy is a good step forward in an important conversation, but it remains to be seen what concrete new measures will result from it, one local advocate says.

"As with all budgets or predictions or whatever, it's in the details, and those details aren't really outlined," said Louise Smith-MacDonald of Every Woman's Centre, after her preliminary reading of the document. "It's hard to tell how much new money is attached to it because it kind of takes into consideration initiatives that were started in 2011, quite a few are in 2017, but there will be some new money attached as we go forward to 2030 which is their target date."

This week, the Liberal federal government released its poverty reduction strategy, saying that since 2015, $22 billion has been invested and about 650,000 Canadians will have been lifted out of poverty by 2019. Measures undertaken include the Canada Child Benefit, the Canada Workers Benefit, the National Housing Strategy and the increase to the Guaranteed Income Supplement.

One criticism that has been made of the document is that it is short on details regarding additional funding commitments, although it does address an official measure of poverty, poverty reduction targets and also sets out a national advisory council on poverty.

Sydney-Victoria MP Mark Eyking said Wednesday the fact that the strategy will be enacted through legislation means that it can't simply be discarded if and when another party finds itself in government.

"We've talked to stakeholders right across the country, poverty groups and we have a goal to reach a certain benchmark to reduce poverty," he said.

One recommendation that they took from those consultations was to take an approach using zones, noting that comparable income levels can result in very different living conditions depending upon the community due to cost of living.

Using the basket of goods scenario in setting the poverty level is important, Eyking said.

The child benefit has also gone a long way in assisting families, he added.

"I've talked to many parents and they've said their kids can do things now they couldn't do before, whether it's dance, skating or learning how to swim," he said.

Eyking lauded groups like Every Woman's Centre and New Waterford Kinsmen Club for the work they do with families, particularly at this time of year, in helping with the ever-increasing costs associated with going back to school.

"Poverty reduction is top of mind with many Cape Bretoners, and the investments we have made since 2015 are starting to show that we are headed in the right direction," Cape Breton-Canso MP Rodger Cuzner said in a news release. "This strategy will lead to the lowest level of poverty in Canada's history, creating a country where all have a real chance to reach their full potential."

Both Smith-MacDonald and Lynne McCarron, executive director of the United Way of Cape Breton, were pleased to see that the market basket of goods was being used as the poverty measure, as it more accurately reflects the economic challenges facing people.

"They don't have enough money to meet their most basic needs," McCarron said of the measure. "People understand, they can't buy healthy food, they can't get appropriate shelter, they can't get enough clothes and transportation, those kinds of things. When you break it down that way for the lay person, it's, 'Oh, OK, I see what you're talking about now.'"

They were also both in favour of the strategy being enshrined in legislation and the advisory council providing oversight.

McCarron noted many of the issues addressed in the strategy have been highlighted locally as the effort to address poverty has evolved. She added there is also now an effort to collect data through Statistics Canada which allows the government to be able to set goals and benchmarks and see where there are successes and failures.

"If you don't have data, it's really hard to see whether it's working or not," McCarron said.

The fact that there is a discussion taking place about poverty is an important step, Smith-MacDonald said, noting Nova Scotia doesn't have a provincial poverty reduction strategy.

"Where it goes from here, it's going to take a while to kind of unwind it all and have a look and see actually what it means," she said.

In 2015, there were 4.2 million Canadians living in poverty, representing one in eight Canadians or 12.1 per cent. By 2016, this number dropped to 3.7 million Canadians, a half -million decrease.

In Cape Breton, about one-third of children are living in poverty.

The federal initiative targets a 20 per cent reduction in poverty by 2020 and a 50 per cent reduction in poverty by 2030.

This article was originally published Aug. 23, 2018.