According to Campaign 2000, Budget 2017 makes inroads in some areas core to reducing child and family poverty, including addressing gender inequities and multi-year funding commitments to affordable housing and childcare and early learning. But the roll-out of funding is slow in the face of need for urgent and bold action against poverty.

Over 1.3 million children live in poverty in Canada today: nearly 1 in 5 children overall, rising to 60% of status First Nations Children on reserve. Serious action and commitment are required to immediately end poverty. The glaring absence of funding to equalize spending for child welfare and social services for Indigenous children on reserve is unacceptable in light of the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal (CHRT) rulings. More immediate funding measures will be needed to ensure Canada’s upcoming Poverty Reduction Strategy can effectively address the realities of families and children living in poverty across the country.

Read the full response in English and French.

State-of-the-art estimates of the cost of raising children are the missing link for social policies and programs meant to support low income and middle class families, says Campaign 2000. Released today, Campaign 2000’s new report, “Estimating the Cost of Raising Children: Setting the Agenda for Canada,” outlines the need for official estimates to guide public policy and assist parents across Canada with planning. Read the full report in English or French and check out the infographic summary.

Media releases are also available in French or English.

In “Estimating the Cost of Raising Children: Setting the Agenda for Canada,” authors Dr. Dana Bazarkulova, Dr. Karen Duncan and Dr. Sid Frankel provide a comprehensive overview of the importance and history of the topic and present the advantages and disadvantages of various methods used to calculate the costs. Accurate estimates of the cost of raising children are dependent on comprehensive measurement of the costs families face. Further, costs can differ based on ethno-cultural practices, geographic location, disability and health status of children and such variation requires recognition. The report highlights that different types of estimates are best used for different purposes.

“Right now, we don’t have official estimates of what it costs to raise children,” says Anita Khanna, Campaign 2000 national coordinator. “Calculating the real cost of raising children is central to crafting evidence-based child poverty reduction policies that support the healthy development of children. With federal consultations for the Canadian Poverty Reduction Strategy underway for the first time in Canada’s history, it is time to fill this gap in public knowledge. We must ensure the realities of families’ real-time expenses, such as food, housing, childcare, transit, schools fees and even saving for post-secondary education, inform policy directions and to help level the uneven playing field for families.”

In the News:
Toronto Star: Canada urged to calculate how much it costs to raise children
Globe and Mail: Study says no firm estimate on costs to raise a family a problem for government

Campaign 2000 welcomes today’s announcement of the consultation process for the development of the Canadian-Poverty Reduction Strategy (C-PRS). Government commitments to a broad public consultation and to appoint a Ministerial advisory committee are important steps forward in the battle against poverty in Canada.

“Today, the Minister outlined the importance of a federal vision to guide poverty reduction work. With nearly one in five children living in poverty, federal vision is essential to activate the policies and programs urgently needed to eradicate poverty in Canada,” says Anita Khanna, National Coordinator of Campaign 2000. “We welcome the opportunity to inform the development of the strategy and ensure it is guided by targets and timelines that improve the lives of children, families and all people who live in poverty.”

Read Campaign 2000 media release.

Campaign 2000 releases its 2016 annual Report Card on Child and Family Poverty in Canada on Thursday, November 24 in Ottawa. This date marks 27 years since the unanimous House of Commons resolution to end child poverty in Canada and seven years after the entire House of Commons voted “to develop an immediate plan to end poverty for all in Canada.

The 2016 national report card, A Road Map to Eradicate Child & Family Poverty, highlights the compelling reasons why the federal government needs to adopt a child and family poverty reduction lens on all policy, program and spending decisions. It provides a snapshot of child and family poverty today, outlines how poverty stalls children’s progress and potential and proposes policy solutions as a road map to guide eradication.

Campaign 2000 recognizes the significant poverty reduction potential of the commitments from the federal government. Our national media release notes, “Canada has a chronic child poverty problem that the federal government can solve, but it must get to the roots of the issues plaguing families.” Please read our full media releases, in English or French.

The national report card release corresponds with several Campaign 2000 partners releasing provincial report cards on child and family poverty in Vancouver, British Columbia; Regina, Saskatoon; Winnipeg, Manitoba; Toronto, Ontario; Halifax, Nova Scotia; Saint John, New Brunswick; and Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island.

Click on the following links to read and download the new report cards and other materials:

Campaign 2000 National Report Card on Child and Family Poverty, 2016 in English and French

National Campaign 2000 sharable infographic, 2016

BC Report Card on Child & Family Poverty, 2016

Saskatchewan Report Card on Child and Family Poverty, 2016

Manitoba Report Card on Child and Family Poverty, 2016

Ontario Report Card on Child and Family Poverty, 2016, in English and French

Nova Scotia Report Card on Child and Family Poverty, 2016

New Brunswich Report Card on Child and Family Poverty  2016

Prince Edward Island Report Card on Child and Family Poverty, 2016

In addition, please check out our twitter messages @Campaign2000; and our Facebook page at facebook.com/Campaign2000/

It is with profound sadness that we announce the tragic news that Marvyn Novick passed away suddenly on Tuesday, June 21, 2016. Marvyn was our dear friend, co-founder of Campaign 2000 and a great, forward-thinking policy thinker/social activist who spent decades working to end child poverty. Marvyn was a true visionary and pioneer. His sudden passing is a great loss to all of us, especially to those of us who knew him well and worked with him closely over the years. His sudden passing is a big loss to our movement.

Marvyn dedicated his knowledge, his thinking and his efforts to develop the Campaign 2000 network and to work with Campaign 2000 partners across Canada. As the lead author of several Campaign 2000 policy discussion papers, he put forward many sound and truly remarkable policy proposals for Canada’s children and families, including the child benefit system that is one of the key pillars of social policy in Canada’s fight against child poverty. His endless work alongside Campaign 2000 and many other partners has influenced and shaped the newly integrated and redesigned national child benefit that is to be unveiled by the federal government in the coming days – July 1, 2016.

We send our heart-felt condolences to Marvyns family. We’re thinking of you, Marvyn. May you rest in peace with the knowledge that you made life better for millions of children and their families. Your commitment to social justice remains an inspiration to all of us.

Campaign 2000 sees Budget 2016 as a historic step forward in Canada’s battle against child poverty. Investments targeting children and families in poverty lay the ground work to turn the tide against Canada’s child poverty epidemic which plagues nearly 1 in 5 children overall and over 40% of Indigenous children.

Budget 2016 boosts incomes through the Canada Child Benefit, which is projected to lift 300,000 children out of poverty. Other positive first steps include investments in First Nations child welfare, education, housing and clean water on reserve; improvements to Employment Insurance; funding for affordable housing and a commitment to developing a National Housing Strategy.

Unfortunately, the budget delays indexation of the Child Benefit to Inflation until 2020, as well as much needed funding for childcare until 2017-18. It also fails to allocate funds for the development of the promised Canadian Poverty Reduction Strategy and the implementation of the 94 Calls to Action from Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

The new Canada Child Benefit (CCB) will be delivered to low and moderate income families starting in July. “It is very positive that the needs of the over 1.34 million children living in poverty in Canada were not eclipsed by recent, fevered discussions of reducing the deficit. Investing in families and children in low and modest income makes smart economic sense. Boosting local economies while building more equitable futures for children is a win-win, says Anita Khanna, Campaign 2000’s National Coordinator. “We are now looking for the Federal Government to initiate agreements with the provinces and territories to ensure no portion of the CCB is deducted or clawed back from families on social assistance, who live on some of the lowest incomes in the country.

This can be achieved through adding a condition to the Canada Social Transfer that prohibits claw backs. Government should also plan for long term increases in the CCB to such a level that it reduces child poverty by 50% in 5 years as part of a strong Canadian Poverty Reduction Strategy.

Read our press release: English and French

End Child and Family Poverty in Canada will focus on how the Speech from the Throne addresses the urgent need for immediate action to eradicate child and family poverty in Canada. “We recognize the significant poverty reduction potential of the commitments from the new federal government and we are focused on how and when these commitments will be put into action to create meaningful change for children and families in poverty, says Anita Khanna, National Coordinator for Campaign 2000.

Speech from the Throne must Prioritize Children & Families in Poverty – Media Release

The 2015 report card, entitled Let’s Do This: Let’s End Child Poverty for Good outlines the once in a generation opportunity before Canada to eradicate child and family poverty. With the federal government committed to collaboratively developing a national poverty reduction strategy, Canada must seize the opportunity to finally end the child poverty crisis for good.

The report card offers practical policy recommendations to all political parties to redress the persistence of child poverty in Canada.

Let’s End Child Poverty for Good – Media Release

No riding in Canada is immune from child poverty, according to the latest research from Campaign 2000: End Child and Family Poverty in Canada.

A striking new series of maps demonstrates that child and family poverty persists in every riding nation wide. With over 1.3 million children living in poverty in Canada, the issue affects all Canadians and must be addressed by all parties before election day on October 19th. This is the first time that child poverty rates have been mapped by riding from coast to coast to coast.

Child Poverty by Federal Riding
La pauvreté des enfants par circonscription électorale fédérale

Touted as family-friendly, the 2015 federal budget misses its target by providing costly tax cuts to the wealthy at the expense of the pressing needs of the majority of Canada’s children and families, including those in poverty.

“This budget is out of step with the realities of the majority of families in Canada who struggle to afford child care and housing on virtually stagnant incomes from coast to coast to coast. Over 19% of children in Canada, 1.3 million, live in poverty, yet this budget will not address their struggles,” said Anita Khanna, National Coordinator of Campaign 2000. “Low and moderate income families are left out of the vision for Canada outlined in this budget. Targeting tax relief to those in the highest income brackets through income splitting and increasing the limit on Tax Free Savings Accounts, while increasing the Universal Child Care Benefit, is expensive, inefficient and a sure path to greater income inequality.”

Missing the Target: Children and Families in Poverty Left Out of Budget 2015
Cible ratée : les enfants et les familles pauvres oublies dans le Budget 2015