News/Commentary

Headlines:

NAPO News, 35 Years of Fighting for Justice June 12, 2006

Don't Ignore Recommendations on Human Rights, Canadian NGOs say May 22, 2006

UN Experts question Canada’s inaction on poverty, housing, aboriginal rights May 8, 2006

Warning: Tax cuts may be dangerous to your health May 5, 2006

Canada fails to meet economic and social rights obligations, United Nations told April 28, 2006

Moving Forward: Alternative Federal Budget puts the surplus to work April 28, 2006

Avoid a claw back by delivering the Choice in Child Care Allowance through the Child Tax Benefit March 13, 2006

NAPO issues clarification on GST tax cut December 5, 2005

Relieve energy cost squeeze on the poor – We need long term solutions, not just pre-election one-off response says NAPO September 30, 2005

The case for a living wage by Nancy Langdon, August 2005

NAPO welcomes challenge on constitutional right to civil legal aid June 20, 2005

UNICEF Report on Child Poverty Slams Canada
March 17, 2005

Right to adequate housing is at issue in Inter-American Commission on Human Rights hearings March 4, 2005

We Can Make Child Poverty History in Canada
By Dennis Howlett, February 20, 2005

Tax cuts "for the poor" could end up going mostly to the rich
November 17, 2004

Minority Government Creates Opportunities for Action on Poverty
September 2004

Time for Governments to Raise Social Assistance Rates and End Punitive Regulations July 9, 2004

Don't Ignore UN Committee Recommendations on Human Rights, Canadian NGOs say

May 22, 2006

The Canadian government cannot ignore the recommendations of the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, a network of Canadian non-governmental organizations, said.

The UN human rights body released its Concluding Observations on its review of Canada ’s record in implementing the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, one of the key United Nations human rights treaties it has signed.

The Committee found that despite Canada ’s economic prosperity, 11.2 percent of its population still lived in poverty in 2004. The Committee expressed particular concern that poverty rates remain very high among disadvantaged and marginalized individuals and groups such as Aboriginal peoples, African-Canadians, immigrants, persons with disabilities, youth, women and single mothers. The Committee noted with concern that in most provinces and territories, social assistance rates are lower now than a decade ago.

The Committee recommended Canada “fully abide by its obligations” under the Covenant and “take all possible measures to the maximum of its available resources to ensure the enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights for all.” In particular it recommended that Canada establish social assistance at levels which ensure the realization of an adequate standard of living, ensure minimum wages are increased throughout Canada , ensure access to employment insurance benefits, and address the issue of food insecurity and hunger, homelessness and inadequate housing as a national emergency.

The Committee also expressed a number of particular concerns about ways in which the rights of First Nations and Aboriginal peoples are being violated and called on Canada to re-examine its policies and practices towards the inherent rights and titles of Aboriginal peoples. It also recommended the resumption of negotiations with the Lubicon Lake Band in Alberta .

The Committee was critical of Canadian governments for treating rights such as the right to adequate social assistance or the right to adequate healthcare as "principles and programmatic objectives rather than legal obligations".  It drew attention to the "lack of effective enforcement mechanisms for these rights" and "the practice of governments to urge upon their courts an interpretation of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms denying protection of Covenant rights."   The Committee identified the controversial decision of the Supreme Court of Canada on healthcare in the Chaoulli  case for concern,  The decision has been widely criticized for undermining the universal right to adequate healthcare in Canada regardless of ability to pay. 

“As a new member of the UN Human Rights Council, Canada needs to improve its own human rights record before it can criticize the human rights record of other countries with any integrity,” the NGO network said. When seeking a seat on the new Human Rights Council , Canada had pledged to “give serious consideration to the recommendations of UN treaty bodies.” Yet the Committee noted that, “most of its 1993 and 1998 recommendations have not been implemented,” and strongly reiterated its call for more effective follow-up to the recommendations in this report.

The network of Canadian non-governmental organizations are calling on the parliamentary Standing Committees on Human Resources and Social Development and the Justice and Human Rights Committee to review the Concluding Observations and get answers from the government on how they plan to implement the recommendations of this UN Committee.

The full text of Concluding Observations from the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights can be found on the UN High Commission for Human Rights web site at: http://www.ohchr.org/english/bodies/cescr/docs/E.C.12.CAN.CO.5.pdf

We Can Make Child Poverty History in Canada
By Dennis Howlett

On November 24, 1989, Canada’s House of Commons unanimously passed a resolution stating that: “This House seeks to achieve the goal of eliminating poverty among Canadian children by the year 2000.”

More than fifteen years later, and five years after the deadline of 2000, what has happened?

• One in six Canadian children is poor.
• Canada’s child poverty rate of 15 percent is three times as high as the rates of Sweden, Norway or Finland.
• Every month, 770,000 people in Canada use food banks. Forty percent of those relying on food banks are children.

These statistics point to a betrayal of Canada’s children. What makes the persistence of child poverty all the more disturbing is that Canada is a rich country, a country that ranked fourth in the world on the 2004 UN Human Development Index.

But in the midst of wealth, almost 5 million Canadians live in poverty. Poverty is increasing for youth, workers, young families and immigrant and visible minority groups. Poverty among Aboriginal groups remains appallingly high both on and off reserve. In fact, if the statistics for Canadian Aboriginal people were viewed separately from those of the rest of the country, Canada’s Aboriginal people would slip to 78 th on the UN Human Development Index – the ranking currently held by Kazakhstan.

Canada needs to support the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals for poverty reduction globally, but if we are to have any integrity we also need to work at achieving poverty reduction goals at home. The national platform of the Make Poverty History campaign in Canada puts forward achievable demands that would make a significant contribution to “making poverty history” – globally and in Canada.

What needs to be done

We can achieve the elimination of child poverty in Canada within five years if we:

1) expand affordable housing;

2) build a universally accessible child care system;

3) raise minimum wages and increase the availability of good jobs at living wages; and

4) increase the Child Tax Benefit to $4,900 per child, per year and ensure that all low-income children receive the full benefit of this program. More...

Tax cuts "for the poor" could end up going mostly to the rich warns NAPO

November 17, 2004

“Tax cuts being considered supposedly to help the poor could end up going mostly to middle and upper income families, ” warned Dennis Howlett, Executive Director of the National Anti-Poverty Organization in an appearance before the Parliamentary Finance Committee on November 17, 2004.

NAPO tabled a paper prepared for them by Andrew Mitchell and Richard Shillington, which shows that increasing the personal credit to $12,000 would result in only 3.5% of the share of the benefit going to low-income families. The paper also shows that when provincial taxes are also included, the poorest people are paying 35% of their income in taxes, the same rate as those with incomes over $100,000 are paying. This is largely because the poor pay more as a percentage of their income in GST and provincial sales taxes than the rich.

“Canada no longer has a progressive tax system.” Howlett claimed. “But some of the tax cut options being considered would do little to make it more progressive,” he warned. “The best way to deliver tax cuts for poor families is through changes to the GST, either restoring the real value of the GST credit for low-income families and improving on it or through reducing the GST rate,” NAPO told the Committee.

“Debt reduction and tax cuts which have been the focus of the last several budgets have succeeded in increasing the rate and depth of poverty,” said NAPO President, Robert Arnold. He said it is time that priority be given to the needs of poor Canadians. NAPO called for increased spending on social housing, raising the Child Tax Benefit to $4900 a year per child and implementation of a national childcare program.

For more information see:

NAPO Discussion Discussion Paper: Federal relief for low income people

NAPO Submission to the Standing Committee on Finance, Pre-Budget Consultations, Nov. 2004

Minority Government Creates Opportunities for Action on Poverty September 2004

by Dennis Howlett, NAPO Executive Director

The election of a minority Liberal government creates some new opportunities for action on poverty issues in Canada. And NAPO will be working hard with other anti-poverty groups to ensure promises made during the election campaign become reality.

Social housing is one issue where we can expect some progress. The Liberals promised an additional $1.5 billion for social housing and both the NDP and Bloc called for $2 billion to build 30,000 social housing units a year. There should be sufficient agreement among these parties for some concrete action to take place. Indeed, it is a hopeful sign that Prime Minister Martin has appointed Joe Fontana as Minister for Labour and Housing. This is the first time in a long time that housing related issues have received full ministry status, and Mr. Fontana has some background on housing issues having co-authored, with Paul Martin, a report on housing for the Liberal party. More...

Time for Governments to Raise Social Assistance Rates and End Punitive Regulations July 9, 2004

It's time governments across the country raised welfare rates so people can get out and stay out of poverty, says the National Anti-Poverty Organization in response to the release of the National Council of Welfare Report entitled Welfare Incomes 2003. This recently released report showed that welfare rates continue to be well below what is required to obtain even basic necessities like food and shelter.

"This report lets politicians know just how bad things are for those who are trying to live on social assistance," says Robert Arnold, President of NAPO. "It shows that current social assistance rates help keep people in poverty. They don't help them overcome it."

While the extent of poverty has not changed a great deal, the depth of poverty has grown dramatically with social assistance rates in many provinces set at less than half the poverty line.

Over the last 10 years, provinces and territories have cut social assistance rates and introduced punitive regulations that have limited people's ability to find work and affordable housing, pay bills and purchase basic necessities. In 1996, the Ontario Conservatives under Mike Harris cut provincial rates by 21.6% and more recently (in 2002) British Columbia eliminated all earnings exemptions for people receiving assistance and placed time limits on how long a person can receive benefits.

"These restrictions and practices are not acceptable. It's time for governments to address the facts about poverty and low benefits, and start raising rates," says Arnold. "They have an obligation and a responsibility to take immediate action on this issue."

Ontario recently raised assistance benefits by 3% but this only adds $15 to a cheque for a single person receiving $520. The increase still leaves families and single people well below the poverty line. It was the first increase in Ontario rates in 11 years.

The National Anti-Poverty Organization is a non-profit group representing people in poverty.