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The National Council of Welfare (NCW) is an arm's length advisory body to the Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development on matters of concern to low-income Canadians. Site Map

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MEDIA COVERAGE
General
Anti-Poverty Strategy
Welfare Incomes, 2006 and 2007
Welfare Incomes 2005
Poverty Profile, 2002 and 2003


NEWS RELEASES




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May 25, 2007

The Chronicle Herald, Halifax, Raising minimum wage to $10 in 3-5 years proposed, Amy Smith Provincial Reporter, "Nova Scotia's minimum wage should be increased to $10 an hour within three to five years, a legislature committee heard Thursday. "Now do you jump to $10? No, you do it gradually, but not by 10 cents," John Murphy, past chairman of the National Council on Welfare, told the community services committee. The council is an arm's-length advisory body to the federal government. Mr. Murphy said raising the minimum wage would get workers to the poverty line. Education Minister Karen Casey said the MacDonald government recognizes there is a connection between the minimum wage and poverty levels. (> ...> )"

May 24, 2007

Canadian Press News Wire, N.S. legislative committee told province should up minimum wage to $10 an hour, Nova Scotia's minimum wage should be increased to $10 an hour within three to five years, a legislature committee was told Thursday. ''Now do you jump to $10? No, you do it gradually, but not by 10 cents,'' John Murphy, past chairman of the National Council on Welfare, told the community services committee. The council is an arm's-length advisory body to the federal government. Murphy said raising the minimum wage would get workers to the poverty line. As for the effect the change would have on businesses, he pointed to a 2006 study by 650 U.S. economists, including five Nobel Prize winners, that said increasing the U.S. minimum wage would not hurt productivity, result in job losses or cause companies to move away. ''We've been saying as governments across the country that's what would happen,''Murphy said. ''There's some myths here somewhere, somebody's not got it right.'' Leanne Hachey, Atlantic region vice-president for the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, said talk of a hike to $10 an hour is ''absolutely ludicrous.'' Hachey said many smaller businesses are already struggling with the recent increase in the minimum wage. She said only about five per cent of workers earn just the minimum wage, but increases tend to bump everyone's pay up. As well, she said, higher wages mean employers have to pay more in Canada Pension Plan, employment insurance and workers' compensation benefits.

February 13, 2007

Higher welfare rates urged, Regina Leader-Post

February 10, 2007

The Toronto Star (National Report) - Stop clawing back children's benefit, "Poverty is like a dead weight that drags far too many families in Ontario down into a life of bleakness and despair. It pulls one in six Ontarians into an underclass deprived of the advantages this rich province has to offer. But it doesn't have to be that way. As they start serious planning for the next provincial budget, expected in April, Premier Dalton McGuinty and his Liberal cabinet team must remember that they could easily do two things to make life a bit easier for those Ontarians who have been neglected for far too long. First, they could raise the provincial minimum wage to $10 an hour. Second, they could honour McGuinty's 2003 election promise to end the clawback of the National Child Benefit Supplement from families on welfare. The clawback started under former Tory premier Mike Harris. (…) For the National Council of Welfare, the body that advises the federal government on the needs and problems of low-income Canadians, "The clawback reinforces the notion of the deserving and undeserving poor." (..) Aside from the unfairness of punishing families for needing social assistance, the National Council of Welfare says it has found no evidence that clawing back the children's supplement has caused parents on welfare to move to paid employment or obtain employment experience.

January 13, 2007

Story by David Olive, Toronto Star, (…) The remedies available to a wealthy nation determined to greatly reduce, if not eradicate, poverty are as plain as day. A higher minimum wage. Affordable housing. Skills upgrading. Pharmacare. Universal child care. Increased social assistance payments, which by OCAP's estimate have dropped 40 per cent after inflation from their peak in the 1980s. Nothing you haven't heard about. All that's missing is political will. (…) In November, Canada's food banks association released its HungerCount 2006 report, in which it noted that a major segment of food bank clientele are working people who complain of not being able to obtain more than 25 hours of work per week from any given employer. That prompts them to take on additional jobs - "working night and day, graveyard shifts and no time for their spouse and kids, and still not getting ahead," says Clarke. The conditions described in the food bank report angered John Murphy, chairperson of the National Council for Welfare, an advisory body to the federal government's Human Resources and Social Development department. "The continued high numbers of people who use food banks make it abundantly clear that too many Canadians struggle with hunger and poverty," Murphy said. He added that, "Welfare incomes in every province remain far below the poverty line." (…) A plan for coping with those biases would be integrated into the "comprehensive national anti-poverty strategy" called for by the National Council for Welfare. "Countries like Ireland and the United Kingdom have made fighting poverty a priority," said Murphy, "as have Quebec and Newfoundland and Labrador. Preventing and reducing poverty is essential if we are to have a strong and prosperous country."

January 13, 2007

Tackling poverty benefits all society, The Toronto Star, National Report; "As Canadians, we like to think we live in a just society, one that gives fair treatment and opportunity to individuals and groups and a rightful share of our common wealth. But how just and inclusive is a society where children go hungry, some working people cannot earn a living wage, and the homeless crowd into shelters because they cannot afford a place to live? Is it just that single mothers must live on social assistance payments that are below subsistence levels with no access to affordable daycare? Or that a disabled person who cannot work receives even less? Or that working people lose their jobs and cannot collect Employment Insurance? (…) Indeed, Canada's poorest are no better off today than they were 25 years ago. Social assistance incomes are so low they now "bear no relationship to the actual cost of even subsistence living," warns the National Council of Welfare, the federal government's own advisory body. (…)

October 4, 2006

The Ottawa Citizen (Mary Salegio), Fighting poverty , "New reports from the National Council of Welfare and other bodies indicate the depth and pervasiveness of poverty in communities like Ottawa. The good news is that more coverage is being given to this social problem. The bad news is that the problem is getting worse and there doesn't appear to be the political will to make it a priority. Our candidates for mayor need to address this problem. We need a debate dedicated to the question of poverty and its solutions. Ottawa, as the nation's capital, should be a leader, not a follower, in any campaign to reduce and eradicate poverty."

September 23, 2006

Toronto Star - Opinions / Editorials: A strategy to help the working poor “A total of 5 million Canadians — about one in every six people living in this country — struggle daily to survive on poverty incomes, including 1.2 million children. And yet neither Ottawa nor Queen's Park have a comprehensive strategy to address this shocking reality...”


Anti-Poverty Strategy

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February 25 , 2008

CBC North, Nunavut MLA calls for anti-poverty strategy,... (...) "I'm asking the premier, will he commit today to the house to establish a government of Nunavut interdepartmental working committee to address poverty, growing poverty in Nunavut?" Peterson said Friday. He added that while several government departments have some responsibility over poverty-related issues, there is no singular department in charge. Premier Paul Okalik agreed that the government needs to do more to address poverty, even though it is trying to boost the economy, develop more jobs, and have more Nunavummiut educated and trained. "We have been doing as much as we can to make sure that we get out of the vicious welfare cycle," Okalik said. "Once a person is working, they tend to be healthier and have a much positive lifestyle." Okalik said he would look into Peterson's suggestion for an anti-poverty strategy.

January 2 , 2008

The Toronto Star, 'No time to let up on the poverty front', > ...> ... At that time, we cited a National Council of Welfare warning: "If there is no long-term vision, no plan, no one identified to lead or carry out the plan, no resources assigned and no accepted measure of results, we will be mired in the consequences of poverty for generations to come. "

August 14 , 2007

The Toronto Star (Letter to the Editor), 'Canada has the means to bring end to poverty: Put poverty on premiers' agenda', > ...>  As a member of the Campaign 2000 coalition, the National Anti-Poverty Organization supports the call for national, provincial and territorial poverty-reduction strategies.

June 22, 2007

Council visits St. John's to learn more about provincial poverty reduction strategy: A letter to the Editor of the Telegram from National Council of Welfare Chairperson John Rook on the Council's recent visit to St. John's. (HTML)

June 19, 2007

The Kingston Whig-Standard (Forum): Kingston needs a workable strategy for poverty reduction,
Sister Pauline Lally, general superior of the Sisters of Providence, recently made a presentation to the mayor's task force on poverty > ...>  "Kingston can do much more to reduce poverty. The core of the policy approach we will be urging Kingston to adopt is drawn from a report issued by the National Council of Welfare this past winter. It's about a workable strategy for poverty reduction." ...


May 30, 2007

The Record (Kitchener, Cambridge and Waterloo), 'The poor are still suffering,' pastor tells community forum, ... The forum's main speaker, Greg deGroot-Maggetti, a Kitchener socio-economic policy analyst, talked about the work he has done as interim chair of the National Council of Welfare, an advisory body to the federal government on issues relating to low-income Canadians. Earlier this year, the council issued a report called Solving Poverty: Four Cornerstones of a Workable National Strategy for Canada.

April 15, 2007

The Toronto Star (Editorial), Ireland offers model for Canada on poverty, ... So what are the main lessons for Canada? First, Canada desperately needs to follow the Irish model and develop a comprehensive long-term national plan, complete with clear goals and a budget to make it happen.
Last year, the federal government's own advisory body, the National Council of Welfare, issued an urgent plea for a national anti-poverty strategy that includes measurable targets and timelines, a plan of action by governments and other partners and a structure to ensure they are held accountable ...

February 4, 2007

The Toronto Star (Editorial), Senate poverty probe time for bold thinking, , "Now, 39 years later, the Senate is again launching a year-long probe into poverty, focusing on urban issues such as homelessness and housing. Headed by Senator Art Eggleton, a former mayor of Toronto, the Senate committee on social affairs, science and technology, hopes to do the same as Croll's committee did, namely to open the eyes of Canadians to the plight of the 6.7 million in our midst who eke out an existence in a land of plenty. (…) The Senate committee's goal is to help develop a national strategy to fight poverty in Canada. It is a laudable ambition. Such a strategy was called for only last week by the National Council of Welfare. The council noted that over the last 25 years, poverty rates have fallen significantly only for seniors. The reason was that governments at all levels made a concerted effort to tackle the problem and brought in universal old age security. (…) Over the coming year, the Senate committee will focus on urban poverty, look at minimum-wage rates, affordable housing, child care, accessible education, child hunger and immigrant settlement. The Senate agricultural committee is now looking at the issue of widespread rural poverty. Eggleton's committee will have its work cut out for it. It will need to convince federal, provincial and local governments to start co-operating and develop programs that help the poor with their immediate needs and provide realistic opportunities to raise them out of poverty. (…)

January 22, 2007

the Toronto Star, (Laurie Monsebraaten), "Measuring 'poor' an elusive target, Last summer, the National Council of Welfare, which advises the federal government on social issues, called on Ottawa to draft a long-term strategy to reduce poverty with goals and timetables. But to do that, Ottawa has to bite the bullet and define the problem once and for all, says council director Sheila Regehr. "You can't set goals and you can't really track progress if you can't agree what it is you're actually working on." she says.

January 28, 2007

The Toronto Star, (Editorial), Income guarantee deserves new look, , "Some ideas just never go away. Like the idea of a guaranteed annual income, which seems to find its way back into Canadian public policy debates about every 10 years. It was raised again last week by the National Council of Welfare, which advises the federal government on helping low-income Canadians. In a new report on a national strategy for reducing poverty, the council said a guaranteed annual income was an idea raised often by those responding to an online survey it conducted last fall. (…)"

December 19, 2006

Toronto Star, Speak out on poverty, "Canadians care deeply about poverty and its consequences in this country. That is evidenced by the fact that more than 4,200 Canadians and 330 organizations across the country have offered their views on the issue and the need for a nationwide strategy to solve it since mid-October, when the National Council of Welfare posted a questionnaire online. "

October 21, 2006

Toronto Star, Victory possible in war on poverty, "In an effort to build a broad base of public support for a true national anti-poverty strategy, the National Council on Welfare launched a new website inviting Canadians to voice their opinions about the state of poverty in Canada and what politicians should do about it."

October 17, 2006

Toronto Star (Laurie Monsebraaten), Ottawa urged to establish strategy to fight poverty, “"Ireland has one. So does Quebec and Newfoundland. So why doesn't Canada have an anti-poverty strategy? It's a question the federally mandated National Council of Welfare has been asking since it released two reports last summer that show poverty rates in Canada haven't budged for a generation and the poorest in the country are getting poorer. As part of global anti-poverty events this week, the council is inviting Canadians to add their two cents by responding to an online survey on its website (www.ncwcnbes.net). The survey, which will be available until mid-December, asks respondents to weigh in on the need for a strategy and what it should contain. Results will be available early next year and will form part of the council's formal recommendation to Ottawa. Labour, feminist and social justice groups across the country have agreed to post links to the survey on their websites and use their email networks to help get the word out, said council director Sheila Regehr. Despite a raft of federal and provincial initiatives to overhaul employment insurance, welfare and child benefits, one in six Canadians is still poor, according to the council. What's needed, the council says, is a comprehensive strategy with clear goals and funding to meet them, similar to the approach used in Ireland during the mid-1990s where poverty has plummeted to less than 5 per cent from 15 per cent. The strategy would be aimed at helping the 5 million Canadians who struggle to survive on low-wage jobs, welfare disability benefits or limited pensions. Quebec adopted a law in 2002 with money and measures to fight poverty. And Newfoundland last spring introduced a strategy aimed at making it the province with the lowest poverty rate in the country within 10 years. But there is no national strategy, the council notes. "If other countries have successfully tackled poverty, Canada can, too," said council chairman John Murphy. "

September 20, 2006

Toronto Star (Laurie Monsebraaten): What the poor need: A strategy
Ireland dramatically reduced its poverty rate, so why can't rich Canada do the same?. “When Ireland decided in the mid-1990s to tackle the pervasive and grinding poverty dogging the country, the national government crafted a plan and set a goal. Ten years later, the country has cut its poverty rate from 15 per cent to less than 5 per cent. That kind of action has been missing in Canada where the poverty rate has been stuck at 16 per cent for a generation, says John Anderson of the federally mandated National Council of Welfare. If provinces like Quebec and Newfoundland can develop detailed strategies for poverty reduction and deadlines to meet them, surely Ottawa can play a role, he reasons.…”


Welfare Incomes, 2006 and 2007

(Report released December 10, 2008)

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December 10, 2008

The Toronto Star (Laurie Monsebraaten), Hardship of welfare getting harder, “Welfare incomes in Canada are increasingly inadequate to meet basic needs, according to a report to be released today in Toronto, with Ontario seeing the harshest loss over the past two decades…”

Canada.com (Norma Greenaway), Welfare recipients poorer than Canadians imagine, “Amid fears a souring economy will throw more Canadians onto provincial welfare rolls, a federal advisory body is issuing a bleak report that says most people living on social assistance are so impoverished that adequate housing, jobs and recreational activities are beyond their reach …”

cbc.ca, A cross-Canada look at welfare rates, “Incomes for most Canadians on welfare in 2007 fell well short of the poverty line, says a report released Wednesday by a government advisory panel. Welfare recipients are among the poorest of the poor and have to subsist on incomes far below what most people would consider reasonable," says the report by the National Council of Welfare …”

December 12, 2008

Cape Breton Post, National strategy needed to help welfare recipients in tough times, “Tough economic times call for a comprehensive, nationwide strategy to prevent Canadians receiving welfare from plunging even further below the poverty line, a government advisory panel said Wednesday. Welfare incomes in many parts of Canada are increasingly inadequate to meet basic needs, and payments have dropped dramatically over the past 20 years, a report from the National Council of Welfare suggests …”

December 19, 2008

The Toronto Star (Carol Goar), Blunt message about welfare, “…Their message is blunt. Canada strips welfare recipients of so much – their pride, their privacy, their savings, their ability to provide basic necessities for their children – that many will never escape poverty...”


Welfare Incomes 2005

(Report released August 24, 2006)

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August 24, 2006

CBC Radio - World Report: “…A new report shows people who receive welfare in Canada are living far below the poverty line…During an 11-year period, welfare rates were cut in many provinces. At the same time, the cost of living has gone up. The chair of the National Council on Welfare, John Murphy, says too many people, including children, are living far below the poverty line …Advocacy groups say some of the new federal government's initiatives help the poor somewhat. The cut to the GST and the universal childcare benefit, for instance. However, they say it's not enough, that what the poor in Canada really need is a guaranteed annual income that will cover the basics of food, clothing and a place to live…”

CBC Television - The National. “We know welfare payments have changed over the years, but new numbers tell us by how much. If you're not on welfare yourself, it may come as a big surprise. - It's a harsh reality …There is no political quick fix for this problem. The report's authors call for a national poverty plan. There have been calls like that and reports like these building for years.”

CBC.ca: Welfare payments called 'morally disgraceful'. “After successive federal surpluses, it's a moral outrage that Canadians on welfare are receiving some of the lowest payments in 20 years, says a national poverty group...”

CBC.ca (Edmonton): Advocates worry about bias against homeless.. “… Meanwhile, a new study by the National Council on Welfare shows that people who receive welfare in Canada are living far below the poverty line…”

Globe and Mail online (Scott Deveau): Welfare income levels hit new lows: study. “…Some people think that reducing the amount of welfare people receive is a good way to go,” Mr. Murphy said. “If you're living on half of the poverty line, it's not a good way to go at all. It's a terrible way to go.”

Canadian Press (Michael Hammond): Governments getting 'meaner' with welfare cheques, report says. “Fewer needy Canadians are qualifying for welfare and those who do qualify are getting less money, especially in booming Alberta, says a new report…“

Montreal Gazette: Fewer getting welfare cheques: “Fewer needy Canadians are qualifying for welfare, and those who do qualify are getting less money, a new report says…”

CanWest News Service (Norma Greenaway) : Governments miserly with welfare payments, advocacy group charges. “Oil-rich Alberta may be rolling in dough, but the cash is not finding its way into the pockets of welfare recipients whose meagre incomes come nowhere near the poverty line, says a major national report on welfare incomes being released today…“

HalifaxLive.com: National Welfare Council Finds Canadian Welfare Incomes Meager & Shameful.

SooNews: Martin And Chow - National Welfare Report an Indictment of Government Policies.


August 25, 2006

Globe and Mail (Michael Hammond): Payments dwindling, welfare report finds. “…Welfare payment levels peaked nationally in 1994, and those seeking social assistance in the dozen years since have been forced to make do with dwindling monthly allowances, says the study, released yesterday by the National Council of Welfare...”

Winnipeg Free Press: More people are collecting welfare in Manitoba. Province giving less to those in poverty. “Manitoba's welfare rolls are growing and those living in poverty are having to make do with less from the province. The disturbing portrait of the 60,900 Manitobans on social assistance painted by the National Council of Welfare shows the province bucking a national trend that saw a decline in the number of Canadians on the dole.”

Toronto Star (Thomas Walkom): In rich Canada, welfare worsens

CBC.ca (Manitoba): Fewer Manitobans on welfare.

CBC.ca (New Brunswick): N.B. Liberals, Tories failing people in need: NDP's Brewer.

Canoe Network (Dean Bennett): Premier Klein promises Alberta will look after vulnerable on welfare. “Alberta Premier Ralph Klein, reacting to a scathing national report on welfare payments, said Thursday his government will help those who can't help themselves…”

Liberal Party of Canada: Conservative Economic Agenda Fails Those Most in Need

The Chronicle-Herald (David Jackson): N.S. welfare rates among lowest. “…Nova Scotia’s rate for the single parent ($12,917) was higher than only Alberta’s. Nova Scotia ranked eighth for single employable people and the couple, and fifth for the disabled person’s rate ($8,897). New Brunswick ranked last in three categories.”


August 26, 2006

Winnipeg Free Press, Editorial: Hike rates for welfare. “… In a full employment economy, healthy, single persons on welfare should not expect significant help. But disabled persons cannot improve their situations by taking jobs, and in many cases neither can single parents, nor should they. Two-parent families needing temporary help are common in Manitoba as a result of immigration policies …”

Calgary Herald, The Editorial Page: Boost safety net for unemployable - but welfare shouldn't be a means to enable a culture of dependency. “In a booming province such as Alberta, people capable of working should not expect to receive welfare while so many jobs go begging. But, for those who are incapacitated, Alberta should seriously consider raising rates to a level that reflects the cost of living here today …”

Vancouver Sun, Editorial: Helping people break out of the poverty trap is a worthwhile investment. “ …But where people truly need help, that aid should be generous enough to allow them to have the basic necessities of food and shelter and to provide a stable base from which they can start moving towards a more productive life. It's time to declare the long push to whittle down the welfare rolls a success and start concentrating instead on helping the people who still need it…”

Victoria Times Colonist (Les Leyne): We have the money to raise welfare rates: Governments worked at cutting rolls, but left recipients facing grimmer lives. “…So with $600 million in savings, why didn't some of it go into boosting the rates for the remaining clients? Part of the answer is that, politically, the number of people on welfare was always more important than the quality of life for those receiving benefits...”

The Chronicle-Herald (Marilla Stephenson): Nova Scotia misses bus on accessibility issues. “… And provincial reporter David Jackson, citing a National Council of Welfare report released on Thursday, snagged the mainline story on Friday’s front page of The Chronicle Herald with his comparison of welfare rates across the country. Nova Scotia’s payments are among the lowest in the country...”


August 27, 2006

The Chronicle-Herald - Opinion (Peter Duffy): Not all poor folk deserve public support. “…It must be a struggle being poor. Too bad some people don’t put the same effort into being unpoor…”


August 28, 2006

Toronto Star, Editorial: Welfare programs fail the neediest.

Calgary Sun (Mindelle Jacobs): Trying to put poverty in perspective.


August 29, 2006

Winnipeg Sun (Tom Brodbeck): Too many on welfare Manitoba has deplorable record.


August 30, 2006

The London Free Press (Elizabeth Guthrie): Raise Welfare Rates For The Most Needy. “… Last week, the National Council on Welfare released its annual report on welfare incomes. This report indicates that in Ontario, the incomes of most welfare recipients, after adjustment for inflation, are lower now than they were 20 years ago. People on welfare in Ontario, whether it is through Ontario Works or the Ontario Disability Support Plan, receive only a fraction of what Statistics Canada figures the average person or family needs to live...”

Cape Breton Post, Comment: Criticism of welfare rates draw the standard reply. “…True, these studies are always incomplete in the way she says. But that point is more a dodge than an answer. If the minister has a more comprehensive comparison, let's have it. Or instead, let's look at how people dependent on these programs actually live…”


August 31, 2006

Edmonton Journal, Letters (Fred Douglas): The myths and realities of systemic poverty. “…Many myths surround mass poverty, also called systemic poverty, because it is caused by the economic system itself. The ignorance is understandable; poverty is not taught in the schools, and there is no course on it in university economics departments…”

Vancouver Sun (Gerry Bellett): Report urges overhauling treatment of mentally ill: Failure to recognize the link between poverty and illness cited. “…This isn't just a health issue. We know that poverty makes mental illness worse and that it can lead to poor mental health. Rather than waiting for people to be in crisis and their lives falling apart before they are helped, we need a system that helps them maintain a healthy, independent life," said Morrow…”

The Daily News (Halifax): Shameful situation. “…We join the National Council of Welfare in calling on the federal government to develop and implement a national, comprehensive anti- poverty strategy that addresses the causes of poverty and, through actively engaging people living in poverty, comes up with innovative solutions. Here in Nova Scotia, we support the demand for a provincial poverty-reduction strategy…” Susan L. Nasser, Executive Director Nova Scotia Association of Social Workers

The Chronicle-Herald: Nova Scotia regressing in its treatment of the poor - Judy Haiven, associate professor in the management department at the Sobey School of Business, Saint Mary's University, Halifax: “…According to a 2005 nationwide study released last week by the National Council of Welfare, Nova Scotia paid a "single employable" person on welfare $5,422 per year - or $451 per month. Subtract the $180 deemed the "personal allowance" - for food, toiletries, bus tickets and clothing. The remaining $271 was meant to be spent on rent…”


September 1, 2006

The StarPhoenix (Neil Petrich): Sask. needs to hone strategy for poverty reduction. “…Representatives from the Saskatoon Anti- Poverty Coalition, the Saskatoon Health Region and the Saskatoon Community Clinic held a press conference to discuss a report published by the National Council on Welfare entitled Welfare Incomes 2005…”


September 2, 2006

Toronto Star: Welfare study shows need for guaranteed income, Special To The Star, Hugh Segal. “… Now, more than 20 years since Macdonald's recommendation, the newly released report by the National Council of Welfare paints a scathing picture of the assistance programs currently available in Canada to our neediest Canadians. It concludes that those on welfare were actually worse off in 2005 than they have been since the late 1980s when the council began tracking the numbers…”


September 4, 2006

The Edmonton Journal (John Kolkman, Research and Policy Analysis Co-ordinator for the Edmonton Social Planning Council): Alberta families deserve a ticket out of poverty.

The Toronto Star (Ron Saunders, Director of the Work Network of the Canadian Policy Research Networks and former member of the Task Force on Modernizing Income Security for Working-Age Adults (MISWAA)): How to help low-wage workers.


September 5, 2006

The Chronicle-Herald, Opinion (John Jacobs, Director of the Nova Scotia office of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives): Alleviation of poverty must be a priority


September 6, 2006

Times Colonist (Victoria), Letters: Housing, higher welfare start in fixing problems., “…One of the first recommendations we made as an advisory board in 1970 was that we needed in Canada a guaranteed annual income if we ever hoped to deal adequately with the problem of poverty. Well, here it is 36 years later and the problem has not gone away. It has gotten much worse. …We can't fix all the problems. But maybe the government can start to build some low-income or social housing. Then maybe we could start to rebuild the social safety net we systematically cut down from the 1980s onward. Raising welfare rates above subsistence levels might start to make Canada a civilized country again, like we thought it was in 1970…” Gwyn Frayne, Former Member of the National Council of Welfare.


September 7, 2006

Ontario Association of Social Workers (OASW) Advocacy News: National Council on Welfare Annual Report: “On August 29, OASW sent letters to 37 major Ontario newspapers in response to the Annual Report issued by the National Council on Welfare…“


September 11, 2006

The Hill Times (Tom Korski): When media resort to news-release journalism, not so fun. “… In every province – regardless of Conservative, NDP or Liberal governments – there were fewer people on welfare last year than in 1995. Four provinces saw declines of 50 per cent or more: British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario and Nova Scotia. And three provinces saw declines every single year of the decade, in B.C., Saskatchewan and Nova Scotia …”


September 12, 2006

Times & Transcript (Moncton), Letters (Janine Granchelli, R.S.W., President, N.B. Association of Social Workers, Fredericton): Address poverty in election. “… The National Council of Welfare, a well respected group, releases this data and tells us that the people living in New Brunswick who receive Social Assistance, receive the least financial support in Canada. The answer is not to wave a flag stating how many people have been removed from Social Assistance. That is only displacing a problem…”

September 23, 2006

The Daily News (Halifax - Brian Flinn), Welfare recipients can earn a little extra picking apples, "Streatch said case workers will try to match social assistance recipients with farmers. It will probably be limited to rural areas. She doubts it's feasible for farmers to shuttle workers from metro Halifax. "We certainly don't expect our clients to cross the province for $75 a day from apple picking," she said. "" About 30,000 Nova Scotians currently receive welfare. (…)"

October 3, 2006

Calgary Herald (Adrienne Beattie), Albertans should be demanding affordable shelter, "(…) Despite our province's wealth, the National Council of Welfare released a report exposing Alberta as one of Canada's least charitable provincial governments towards the poor. In particular, Alberta welfare rates rank lowest among all provinces in two categories. A person with a disability receives just $7,851 per year and a single parent with one child receives only $12,326 in welfare. Both of those figures fall well below the low-income cutoff (a Canadian measure similar to assessing poverty line). In fact, both of those figures are actually not just below 2005 low-income cut-off values, but they would also be considered under the low-income cut-off line as far back as 1992. It seems our government, in its finest hour economically, has turned its back on its most disadvantaged citizens.(…)"

October 11, 2006

Times Colonist - Victoria (Les Leyne), They can't cook what they can't buy: Families on income assistance have less purchasing power these days. "There was an alarming report last week about hunger in B.C., suggesting it's becoming an issue of increasing concern. (…)He issued a report --Medical Health Officer Perry Kendall's Report -- on food, health and well-being last week that found a sizable percentage of the B.C. population in 2001 (17 per cent) had food issues. They couldn't afford to buy what they wanted, they worried about having enough or even went hungry. (…) Kendall said the level of food insecurity is above the national average and pointed directly to welfare rates as a reason. Housing costs are up, food costs have risen 38 per cent in the last 15 years. Everything is up. But social assistance rates in B.C. have been almost frozen, and even cut in some categories. (…) The National Council on Welfare reported in August on how low welfare rates across Canada are. It questioned whether governments and the public have turned their backs on the poor."

October 12, 2006

World Socialist Web Site (Eric Marquis), Report documents the disastrous plight of Canada's welfare recipients, "A recent report from the National Council of Welfare, an advisory board to the federal Minister of Human Resources and Social Development, paints a very somber picture of the conditions in which welfare recipients in Canada are forced to live. Invariably, those receiving welfare or “last resort” benefits have incomes far below the poverty line. Moreover, the real dollar value of the benefits paid welfare recipients has been rapidly shrinking over both the short and long term.(...)"

October 13, 2006

The Windsor Star (Marion Overhold), Clawback should end, "(…) Other provinces allow their social assistance families to keep this benefit; it does not make sense that Ontario does not. In the meantime, a social assistance rate that pays a single parent and child $1,007 a month is inadequate when the average rent for a one-bedroom apartment in Windsor is $776 for rent alone. (…) In the same year (2004), 89,000 adults and 73,000 children used food banks in Windsor and Essex County. No parent should have to make the difficult choices that families on social assistance have to make every month in order to survive.The National Council of Welfare has consistently called for major improvements in welfare and related programs. They stated "provincial and territorial governments need to commit to adequate levels of income support. There needs to be an enhanced federal financial arrangement for welfare. The clawback of federal child benefits needs to end immediately."

October 26, 2006

Times & Transcript (Moncton), by Jesse Robichaud, Poverty group splits over study; Critics say report ignored poorest NBers, authors say it's an accurate reflection of situation, "...New Brunswick is lagging behind in social assistance rates, according to the National Council of Welfare."

April 5, 2007

The Guardian, Dave Stewart, "Who would choose to live on meagre incomes provided on welfare?" Alert asks; Anti-poverty group outlines finding of 2005 report on welfare incomes that show how difficult it is for recipients with no other options to survive.



Poverty Profile, 2002 and 2003

(Report released July 20, 2006)

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July 20, 2006

Toronto Star and Hamilton Spectator (Laurie Monsebraaten): Council urges anti-poverty strategy. “The federal government needs a long-term anti-poverty strategy with clear goals to reduce income disparity among children and working-age adults, says the National Council of Welfare…”

Regina Leader-Post (Eric Beauchesne): Having a job no guarantee of leaving poverty behind. “A job, even two, is no guarantee against poverty, indicates a new report, which notes one-quarter of poor families in Canada have a breadwinner who works full time …” (Versions of this story also appeared in the Vancouver Sun, Calgary Herald, Windsor Star, Edmonton Journal and Vancouver Province.)


July 21, 2006

Victoria Times Colonist (Lindsay Kines): Child poverty rate in B.C. worst in Canada. “B.C. posted the worst child-poverty rate in the country in 2002 and 2003 with nearly one in four children living below the poverty line, according to a national report released Thursday …”


July 22, 2006

The Toronto Star: Persistent poverty shames this nation. “Nearly 25 years ago, Canada was criticized harshly, yet fairly, for its high rates of poverty among children and working-age adults. Now, despite economic upswings and downturns over the last quarter- century, those rates remain as stubbornly high as they were in the early 1980s, while our social safety net offers less protection against poverty than ever …”

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© 2007 National Council of Welfare