Question Period Note: Child poverty in Canada

• Our Government is committed to building a strong and vibrant middle class so all Canadians have a real and fair chance to succeed, including those living in poverty.
• To fulfill this commitment, our Government released Canada’s first-ever Poverty Reduction Strategy and passed the Poverty Reduction Act. Central to this Strategy and legislation is a vision of a Canada without poverty.
• And our plan is working. Since 2015, our investments in growing the middle class have helped 825,000 Canadians exit poverty, including nearly 300,000 children.
• We will continue to invest in Canadians. That is why we have committed to increase the Canada Child Benefit (CCB) by up to $1,000 each year for children under the age of one, and we will once again increase the CCB to keep pace with the cost of living.
• These are important steps to growing a strong middle class.

CTV News Article on Campaign 2000 Report on Child Poverty

• On January 14, 2020, a CTV News article noted that one in five children in Canada live in poverty. The article summarizes the release, on the same day, of Campaign 2000’s annual Report Card on Child and Family Poverty for 2019 entitled, “2020: Setting the Stage for a Poverty-Free Canada.” The Report assesses the reach and effectiveness of Government of Canada programs in the area of poverty reduction.

• Campaign 2000 is a national advocacy organization that was created in 1991 to increase public awareness and monitor progress on the 1989 unanimous House of Commons resolution to end child poverty in Canada by the year 2000. Campaign 2000 is a non-partisan, national network of 120 local, regional, and national organizations interested in child and family issues, committed to eradicating child poverty in Canada.

• Overall, Campaign 2000’s Report is critical of government action on poverty reduction arguing that recent measures have not gone far enough to reduce poverty. The report does note, however, that the Canada Child Benefit (CCB) has had a positive impact on reducing child poverty.

Child Poverty Statistics
• Campaign 2000 does not use Canada’s Official Poverty Line to measure poverty. Instead, they use the Low Income Measure-After Tax.
• Canada’s Official Poverty Line, which is based on the Market Basket Measure, sets a poverty line based on the cost of a basket of goods services that individuals need to meet their basic needs and achieve a modest standard of living in communities across Canada.
• The Low Income Measure-After Tax is a relative measure of low income which sets a low-income line that is 50% of the median national income.
• Due to these methodological differences, these measures yield different results. Both measures, however, show a recent reduction in child poverty.
• According to Canada’s Official Poverty Line, 3.4 million (9.5%) Canadians lived in poverty in 2017 (the latest available data).
• 9% of Canadian children (or 622,000 children) lived in poverty.
• Between 2015 and 2017, child poverty decreased by 278,000 children (13.3% to 9%).
• According to the Low Income Measure-After Tax, 4.6 million (12.7%) Canadians lived in low income in 2017.
• 12.1% of Canadian children (or 835,000 children) were in low income.
• Between 2015 and 2017, the number of children living in low income decreased by 197,000 children (15.2% to 12.1%).

Government of Canada Poverty Reduction Strategy
• On August 21, 2018, the Government of Canada released Opportunity for All: Canada’s First Poverty Reduction Strategy.
• Opportunity for All lays out a bold vision of a Canada without poverty and will use Canada’s Official Poverty Line to measure progress.
• The Strategy sets two targets for poverty reduction: reduce the rate of poverty by 20% by 2020; and by 50% by 2030. Meeting these targets will mark a significant reduction of poverty in Canada, reaching an historic low. The Strategy also announced the Poverty Reduction Act. The Act, which received Royal Assent in June 2019, entrenches the poverty reduction targets, Canada’s Official Poverty Line, and a National Advisory Council on Poverty into law.
• The Strategy brings together new investments of $22 billion that the Government has made since 2015. This funding supports key poverty reduction initiatives such as the Canada Child Benefit, the increase to the Guaranteed Income Supplement, and the National Housing Strategy. In addition, in Budget 2018, recognizing the importance of poverty data in evidence-based decision-making by all levels of government, the federal government announced an investment of $12.1 million over five years, and $1.5 million per year thereafter, to address key gaps in poverty measurement in Canada.
• Based on the 2017 Canadian Income Survey data released on February 26, 2019, Canada has reached its 2020 target to reduce poverty by 20% based on 2015 levels, a full three years ahead of schedule. This represents approximately 825,000 fewer individuals living in poverty than in 2017 relative to 2015.

Canada Child Benefit
• The Canada Child Benefit (CCB) was introduced in 2016 and provides a monthly payment to eligible families to help them with the cost of raising children under 18 years of age.
• The CCB replaced three different previous benefits—the Canada Child Tax Benefit including the National Child Benefit Supplement, and the Universal Child Care Benefit—with one simplified and tax-free child benefit that provides increased support to low- and middle-income families with children.
• To ensure that the CCB continues to help Canadian families over the long term, Budget 2018 confirmed that the CCB benefits will be indexed, starting in July 2018, to keep pace with the cost of living.
• With indexation the maximum annual benefit increased to $6,639 per child under 6 years and to $5,602 per child aged 6 through 17 for the 2019-2020 benefit year.
• Families with less than $31,120 in adjusted family net income receive the maximum benefit. Both the maximum benefits and the income thresholds will be indexed in future years.
• Indexing of the CCB provides an additional $5.6 billion in support to Canadian families over the 2018-19 to 2022-23 period.
• To ensure that all eligible families are able to access the CCB, and other federal benefits, Budget 2018 provided $17.3 million over three years, starting in 2018–19, to expand outreach efforts to Indigenous communities, and to conduct pilot outreach activities for urban Indigenous communities. The purpose of these investments is to increase take-up of the CCB among indigenous families, which is lower than for the CCB as a whole.

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