Poverty in Canada Essay

Poverty in Canada is a serious issue that needs to be effectively and efficiently addressed. Approximately one in six Canadians lives in poverty despite Canada being among the wealthiest developed countries. The poor live in poor housing conditions, earn minimal wages and overcrowded regions with some being forced into the streets, in cars or old vans. (www. kairoscanada. org). Poverty makes them live in fear, become malnourished, bad health conditions that make their lives a misery. Canada has a record of having the strongest economic growth especially from 1997-2003. What are the causes of poverty in Canada? Poverty rates for the minority groups’ for instance aboriginal people, new immigrants, single parents and one disabled are higher. These people lack secure employment from which they can earn a decent source of income. Without the finances they cannot cater for their basic needs like food, shelter and clothing. Lack of adequate and efficient government support also contributes to the higher rates of poverty. The poor get poorer when relevant authorities fail to provide or open channels through which they can access financial assistance. Poverty in Canada is highly correlated to gender, race and a citizen’s status in the society. (www. ccsd. ca). Those from families that are at a higher rank in terms of social power will be of better economic status compared to those from poor families. Poverty tends to be inherited as wealth and riches are. (www. kairoscanada. org). Education is a vital factor affecting or contributing to poverty. Parental education level affects how their children will be whereby those with tertiary education have the skills or knowledge to acquire decent employment that can enable them lead decent lives. The family size and structure also contributes to poverty. Single parents have higher chances of living in poverty as they have to single-handedly cater for their children. Large families also need more finances to cater for all their needs and small families generally tend to be better off. Cultural barriers and prejudice affects or influences government policies as well as social attitudes and economic structures. Distribution of wealth and not lack of it acts as a major cause of poverty in Canada. Poor pay act as a major determinant of poverty. The government allocates a minimal amount of resources for overall social transfers for instance on income assistance, child benefits, old age security, disability assistance, employment insurance and social assistance. New immigrants get poor wages and work under hostile conditions. Since they do not have permanent residency they are very susceptible to exploitation. They work for long hours, earn sub-standard wages, lack over time pay and are physically or verbally abused. (www. kairoscanada. org). Discrimination against women and people of colour hinders them from employment opportunities. Gender inequalities and domestic responsibilities, lack of appropriate childcare and language barriers hinder effective employment and consequently poverty levels rise. Family characteristics for instance the age of becoming a parent affects or rather influences family income levels and increases the chances of poverty. Research has shown that families of single mothers are generally poorer than families headed by men. In terms of wages paid women tend to earn less than males as they participate a lot in domestic chores and childcare (www. kairoscanada. org). They also tend to be more represented in the service and less paying employment opportunities as compared to men. What are the effects of poverty in Canada? Poverty in Canada has detrimental effects in economic, social as well as psychological aspects of those it involves. It deprives off the poor important things like food, shelter, clothing, education, health and employment. Inability to adequately provide for the poor is a cost to the government especially when cost of housing for example increases. Quality of healthcare provided is undermined as the demand for these services increases. Poverty is linked to poor health and since Canada provides universal health care it has increased expenses providing for more patients. Poverty and income inequalities have a major effect on health where health effects of poverty are felt more among the poor. The costs incurred on other services like education, recreation, transportation, security and pension also face a blow as the demand increases. (www. kairoscanada. org). Poverty affects people’s self esteem, dignity and belonging as it exposes them to hostile indecent living conditions. Those discriminated upon are emotionally affected by the way the society treats them. Poverty has a negative impact on social cohesion as well as economic prosperity. Poverty is also responsible for increased incidences of child labour and child abuse. Poor families can use their children to supplement their incomes. Criminal activities are aggravated by poverty since the poor may use illegitimate means to attain the basic necessities. How is poverty addressed or handled in Canada? Canadians fight or react to poverty in different perspectives. Direct donations and charity are offered to the poor and they include money, time, clothing and food. Economic based strategies are also developed for instance the creation of cooperatives and local businesses that are supported and run by the community in terms of funds or loans. This approach is beneficial to the community at large as what an individual could not have afforded is now affordable. Government protests and advocacy is another response to poverty. Churches and other non governmental organisations lobby to government to address vital issues like on income security where minimum wages can be set, employment insurance, childcare, social programs and fairness of taxation. Anti-poverty groups create or rather raise awareness of poverty and by so doing, keep the government in check. What are the strategies of fighting poverty in Canada? Government policies should be changed so as to increase more income supports for the Canadians. There should be increased security and remuneration in the labour markets whereby minimum wages as well as observance or adherence of human rights to part time and contract workers are considered. (www. socialjustice. org). There should also be increased accessibility to public facilities like housing, childcare as well as recreational programs. The children are a vulnerable population that ought to be adequately attended to. The Canadian government ought to be committed in setting targets of progress. Setting a parliamentary committee would also be appropriate especially in ensuring that there is transparency and effectiveness in the process of poverty eradication. It can establish fair tax systems for instance a low-income tax that can promote education to uplift the poor people’s living conditions. The government ought to assist single parents by increasing their benefits. Child benefits should also be increased so as to improve the living standards of children from poor families. Cultural transformation is also crucial if poverty is to be eliminated in Canada as cultural aspects influence poverty. (www. socialjustice. org). People can be encouraged to value and pursue academic goals so as to increase their chances of getting jobs that can enable them lead decent lives. An effective poverty eradication strategy is one that is made for the people and by the people. It is therefore very important to involve the minority groups like people of colour and women in the design and implementation of poverty eradication strategies. Families can be encouraged to raise small families so that their educational levels can be higher as their family incomes would be higher. Cooperative societies and other forms of community efforts to mobilize finances for the overall development should also be encouraged. They will be very important in ensuring that the status of the poor is uplifted. Education is very important in ensuring that people attain the necessary skills to fit in the job market. (www. conferenceboard. ca) Concerns of the poor should therefore be felt or reflected in the government policies as well as in its decision-making processes. Their human as well as economic rights should be fought for or respected. Reducing the gap between the rich and the poor would be an appropriate measure by the Canadian government. (english. napo-onap. ca). It only works to make the rich richer as the poor languish in poverty. Hiring processes should be fair and just so that the human rights are respected. Discrimination has negative effects, as it would result to under-utilisation of skills, capacities, talents and opportunities all of which are beneficial to the country as a whole.