Manitoba groups call for child poverty action

WINNIPEG — The federal government is 19 years overdue on delivering on its promise to end child poverty, it is time to fix the problem.

This is the message hammered home by a group demonstrating on the front steps to the Manitoba Legislature on Monday at noon, using empty paper bags to illustrate children in Manitoba are in poverty.

The promise to end child and family poverty by 2000 was made in 1989, but successive federal governments have fallen short on action, according to organizers. With Parliament set to return on Dec. 5, their goal is to give higher priority to this issue.

“We want them to take it seriously, look at the policies they’re putting in place and always put on a poverty lens, and that has to be at all three levels of government,” said Kate Kehler, executive director for the Social Planning Council of Winnipeg.

Both the provincial and federal government, however, pointed to numbers and programs that showed reductions on child poverty over the last few years.

Deputy Premier and Minister of Families, MLA Heather Stefanson referenced Manitoba’s Poverty Reduction and Social Inclusion Strategy report for 201718 which shows a reduction in 17 of 21 indicators of poverty within the province.

“We’ve reduced child poverty by 42 per cent since taking office,” she said. “We’ve also reduced overall poverty by seven per cent. I think we’re moving in the right direction, but there’s certainly more work to be done. We welcome any ideas from advocates out there.”

Organizers pointed to Manitoba having the second-highest rates of child poverty in the country in 2017 with 27.9 per cent in poverty, behind only Nunavut (31.17 per cent) — the national rate is 18.6 per cent — pulling from taxfiler data.

First Nations and northern communities do have a much higher rate of poverty than other parts of the country, but Northern Affairs minister Dan Vandal, said the federal government is working to improve those numbers.

Vandal pointed to the Child Tax Benefit which came into existence in 2016 as a major driver of improving poverty levels.

“Poverty rates in Canada are too high, there’s a lot of work to do. We’re committed to doing that work. We are trending in the right direction,” he said. “There are 800,000 less people in poverty than when we took office in 2015. That’s the first time in my memory, poverty rates are going down.”

The federal government announced in March the government hit an all-time low in 2017 with a poverty line of 9.7 per cent.

Kehler acknowledges the CTB did help, but says “it does not go deep enough.” The group also questioned the measuring device used for gauging poverty in the country, saying the Market Basket Measure does not give an in depth enough picture.

“We need (the CTB) to be strengthened and more targeted more to actually help people that are in that low income level,” she said.

The MP for Saint BonifaceSaint Vital, however, said the government is not finished with its fight against poverty. He pointed to campaign promises to enhance old age security for seniors over 75, while pointing to investments in Indigenous communities in the north for education, health and infrastructure.

“We’re encouraged by the progress, but we know there’s still a ton of work to do and we’re committed to doing it,” said Vandal.