Tuesday, April 9, 2013
Poverty in Canada
As you finish your scavenger hunt, share your thoughts on the information you've heard and read about poverty in Canada. What surprised you? Shocked you? What questions came to mind? What didn't surprise you? What should be done, if anything? What is a priority? Why? What other comments can you make?
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As I went about finding the answers to all the scavenger hunt questions I came across many interesting and horrifying facts about poverty in Canada; however, one of the most surprising was an answer to one of the questions...
ReplyDelete“Which province/territory has the most homeless?”
Homelessness in Canada is an increasing issue nationally and varies provincially. It astounded me that of all provinces/territories Alberta had the highest rate of shelter use and therefore, I assume, the highest (or close to) rate of homelessness. Alberta is one of the wealthiest provinces because of their huge, rapidly growing oil and gas industry, allowing one to think that their would be high employment etc., but it is misleading. This made me question the true economic benefits of huge industry. The government tries to constantly tell us how many jobs the oil sands are creating throughout the province, but then why are so many Albertans in need of shelter? Is it possible that the oil sands are becoming to much of a focus and taking away from other jobs that other citizens would qualify for? Not all educated people are necessarily qualified to work in any of the “fields” that Alberta’s industry offers or can only work in those with limited jobs. If men and women can not find work in the province’s largest industry, then they have a slim chance of finding work somewhere else. The oil sands are destructive to the environment and intern harm industries such as fishing.
On the other hand, I was not surprised by many of the facts I came across, especially ones relating to physical health of children in poverty. Obesity is a major issue among low-income families and people are often misled that fat is equal to bountiful amounts of food- these people are uneducated about food. It is easier to come across affordable fast food restaurants and cheaper to buy packaged and processed foods in the supermarket, therefore, obesity is prevalent in poverty. Unhealthy eating is then combined with a lack of exercise because of more costs. Families who can’t afford real food for their kids are definitely unable to pay for any sport that requires equipment or a facility. The opportunity to take part in sports programs is much more limited for parents with lower income because they don't have the same access to safe, high-quality recreation facilities that are found in high-income neighbourhoods.
From supplying recreational centers for the less fortunate to funding food banks to supply healthy food, so much can be done to improve poverty in Canada- where do we start? In my opinion we start with education, but on a different level. As I was researching I came across some interesting and valuable information. One research projects suggested “that a year of schooling raised the earnings of welfare recipients by 7 percent” and that “in 2006, high-school grads earned about 15.5 percent more per hour than dropouts.” Both of these facts are quite interesting, but the difference in percent is not high compared to another study I found. A study done in Portland, Oregon resulted in the conclusion that “when education is combined with multidimensional job training, readiness, and a quality job search, the returns more than double.” In this specific study there was a “25 percent increase in earnings, a 21 percent increase in employment, and a 22 percent reduction of time spent on welfare (all compared with a control group that didn't get the services).”
There are so many studies out there that have begun Canada’s goal to eradicate poverty, but we must use the knowledge we now have and put it into to action.
We, the world, have enough wealth to eradicate poverty. We have enough resources to supply everyone with necessities. We can make the changes. So why is it that we haven’t? Why don’t we demand such action from our world leaders? Because the people don’t know their own power!
I find this information, in part, to all have its shocking aspects. What really astounded me in terms of the information we had to find was the fact that Canada, out of all of the G8 developed nations, has the highest homeless to population ratio. I would have never thought of Canada as being a country in which there is an irrefutable homeless "crisis"—but with just under one percent of our total population—0.8%—being homeless, there is no way to bat an eye to this issue.
ReplyDeleteIt's also very, very shocking that the results lead us to the statistic that 1/7 adults in Canada live in poverty—and yet, this supposedly insurmountable issue can be cured—cured simply by breaking the cycle of poverty. But...that requires money—money that, culturally, in my opinion, Canadians aren't willing to donate as of yet. It is an issue that cannot be remedied in one fell swoop—I think that would shock and startle our population into a state of panic. The only logical way to implement widespread change with regards to levels of poverty in Canada would be to implement a gradual system—a system that proposes a series of little changes that add up to a large change eventually. The risk with this is that the plan is never taken to fruition, and in Canadian politics, with elections held every 5 years, there's no one person that enjoys the luxury of a long enough stint in office to put into motion a series of little changes.
This problem is so easy, yet so difficult to fix at exactly the same time.
The question that came to my mind, therefore, was how? How can we fix this issue? Either we have a benevolent dictator that fixes everything gradually—an idea to which I am opposed—or we have a "make the hard decisions that will benefit Canada in the long run" party that, all of the sudden decides to take taxes at an exponentially higher rate for the greater good of those in poverty. Both difficult situations to even begin to synthesize at a governmental level...
What didn't surprise me was that obseity was associated with poverty. It's so unfortunate that healthy, nutritious food costs more than a cheeseburger at McDonalds—it's no way to get energy and nutrients, but it certainly will fill you up. When someone is trying to make food stretch, starches are the way to fill up oneself on a budget. Fat is a way to fill oneself up on a budget. It's all about economizing, and cheap food is usually the most unhealthy.
What needs to be prioritized is education and healthy food. These two things can go hand in hand. Teach those in poverty to hope that one day they will have careers that allow them to earn enough money to break the cycle, and give them enough healthy food so that they can feel good about themselves—give them energy and an educated mind—it can do nothing but good!