Canada falls below most of its international peers when it comes to fighting child poverty, says a new report by the United Nations Children’s Fund being released Tuesday.
With a child poverty rate of 13.3 per cent, Canada ranks 24th out of 35 industrialized nations, behind the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and most of northern Europe, says the UNICEF report.
Overall, the Netherlands and Nordic countries have the lowest rates of child poverty, hovering at about 7 per cent, almost half Canada’s rate. Meantime, the United States and some of the southern European countries have the highest. (Iceland has the lowest child poverty rate at 4.7 per cent and Romania has the highest at 25.5 per cent. The U.S. rate is 23 per cent.)
When it comes to the size of the gap between child poverty and a nation’s overall poverty rate, Canada fares somewhat better at 18 out of 35, the report notes.
However, Canada’s child poverty rate is still almost two percentage points higher than the country’s overall poverty rate of 11.4 percent.
In the wake of the 2008 economic crisis, there has been little attention paid to child poverty, says the report, which defines child poverty as those living in families with disposable incomes of less than 50 per cent of the national median income.
“Because children have only one opportunity to develop normally in mind and body, the commitment to protection from poverty must be upheld in good times and in bad.” it says. “A society that fails to maintain that commitment . . . is a society that is failing its most vulnerable citizens and storing up intractable social and economic problems for the years immediately ahead.”
In a companion report, UNICEF Canada notes that the country’s tax and transfer policies are moderately effective compared to other affluent countries. Canada’s relative child poverty rate before taxes and benefits is 24.1 per cent, close to the U.S. rate of 25.1 per cent. But after taxes and transfers, the rate in Canada drops by almost a half while the U.S. rate remains unchanged, the report says.
“The good news from this is that when we invest in things like early childhood education, when we invest in early health care, when we invest in helping the most vulnerable children . . . it makes a difference,” said UNICEF Canada President David Morley.
However, Canada could do more. Ottawa invests $40.4 billion in benefits to seniors, close to three times the $13.2 billion it invests in children, the report says. As a result, seniors’ poverty has declined to 6.3 per cent.
“There is no excuse not to apply the same determination to reduce child poverty as we have for our elderly,” Morley says.
UNICEF Canada recommends Ottawa make children a budget priority and live up to its UN commitment to give them “first call” on the nation’s resources.
Specifically, it calls on the federal government to increase the Child Tax Benefit to at least $5,000 a year from the current $3,485 maximum and index it to inflation. Parents with children under age 18 should also be allowed to retain more earned income from the Working Income Tax Benefit and Employment Insurance, the report adds.
The agency also wants Ottawa to adopt an official poverty measure and develop a strategy to eliminate child poverty, starting with a target of five per cent, the lowest rate in the industrialized world.
Child poverty rates in 35 rich countries
4.7: Iceland
5.3: Finland
6.1: Cyprus
6.1: Netherlands
6.1: Norway
6.3: Slovenia
6.5: Denmark
7.3: Sweden
7.3: Austria
7.4: Czech Republic
8.1: Switzerland
8.4: Ireland
8.5: Germany
8.8: France
8.9: Malta
10.2: Belgium
10.3: Hungary
10.9: Australia
11.2: Slovakia
11.7: New Zealand
11.9: Estonia
12.1: United Kingdom
12.3: Luxembourg
13.3: Canada
14.5: Poland
14.7: Portugal
14.9: Japan
15.4: Lithuania
15.9: Italy
16.0: Greece
17.1: Spain
17.8: Bulgaria
18.8: Latvia
23.1: United States
25.5: Romania
Source: Measuring child poverty: New league tables of child poverty in the world's rich countries
Original Article
Source: the star
Author: Laurie Monsebraaten
With a child poverty rate of 13.3 per cent, Canada ranks 24th out of 35 industrialized nations, behind the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and most of northern Europe, says the UNICEF report.
Overall, the Netherlands and Nordic countries have the lowest rates of child poverty, hovering at about 7 per cent, almost half Canada’s rate. Meantime, the United States and some of the southern European countries have the highest. (Iceland has the lowest child poverty rate at 4.7 per cent and Romania has the highest at 25.5 per cent. The U.S. rate is 23 per cent.)
When it comes to the size of the gap between child poverty and a nation’s overall poverty rate, Canada fares somewhat better at 18 out of 35, the report notes.
However, Canada’s child poverty rate is still almost two percentage points higher than the country’s overall poverty rate of 11.4 percent.
In the wake of the 2008 economic crisis, there has been little attention paid to child poverty, says the report, which defines child poverty as those living in families with disposable incomes of less than 50 per cent of the national median income.
“Because children have only one opportunity to develop normally in mind and body, the commitment to protection from poverty must be upheld in good times and in bad.” it says. “A society that fails to maintain that commitment . . . is a society that is failing its most vulnerable citizens and storing up intractable social and economic problems for the years immediately ahead.”
In a companion report, UNICEF Canada notes that the country’s tax and transfer policies are moderately effective compared to other affluent countries. Canada’s relative child poverty rate before taxes and benefits is 24.1 per cent, close to the U.S. rate of 25.1 per cent. But after taxes and transfers, the rate in Canada drops by almost a half while the U.S. rate remains unchanged, the report says.
“The good news from this is that when we invest in things like early childhood education, when we invest in early health care, when we invest in helping the most vulnerable children . . . it makes a difference,” said UNICEF Canada President David Morley.
However, Canada could do more. Ottawa invests $40.4 billion in benefits to seniors, close to three times the $13.2 billion it invests in children, the report says. As a result, seniors’ poverty has declined to 6.3 per cent.
“There is no excuse not to apply the same determination to reduce child poverty as we have for our elderly,” Morley says.
UNICEF Canada recommends Ottawa make children a budget priority and live up to its UN commitment to give them “first call” on the nation’s resources.
Specifically, it calls on the federal government to increase the Child Tax Benefit to at least $5,000 a year from the current $3,485 maximum and index it to inflation. Parents with children under age 18 should also be allowed to retain more earned income from the Working Income Tax Benefit and Employment Insurance, the report adds.
The agency also wants Ottawa to adopt an official poverty measure and develop a strategy to eliminate child poverty, starting with a target of five per cent, the lowest rate in the industrialized world.
Child poverty rates in 35 rich countries
4.7: Iceland
5.3: Finland
6.1: Cyprus
6.1: Netherlands
6.1: Norway
6.3: Slovenia
6.5: Denmark
7.3: Sweden
7.3: Austria
7.4: Czech Republic
8.1: Switzerland
8.4: Ireland
8.5: Germany
8.8: France
8.9: Malta
10.2: Belgium
10.3: Hungary
10.9: Australia
11.2: Slovakia
11.7: New Zealand
11.9: Estonia
12.1: United Kingdom
12.3: Luxembourg
13.3: Canada
14.5: Poland
14.7: Portugal
14.9: Japan
15.4: Lithuania
15.9: Italy
16.0: Greece
17.1: Spain
17.8: Bulgaria
18.8: Latvia
23.1: United States
25.5: Romania
Source: Measuring child poverty: New league tables of child poverty in the world's rich countries
Original Article
Source: the star
Author: Laurie Monsebraaten
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