{"id":292309,"date":"2015-09-17T16:36:05","date_gmt":"2015-09-17T20:36:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/policyoptions.irpp.org\/2015\/09\/who-cares-about-poverty\/"},"modified":"2025-08-28T15:22:57","modified_gmt":"2025-08-28T19:22:57","slug":"who-cares-about-poverty","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/policyoptions.irpp.org\/fr\/2015\/09\/who-cares-about-poverty\/","title":{"rendered":"Who cares about poverty?"},"content":{"rendered":"

One of my top election issues has always been poverty. Why? My bias shines through \u2013 I grew up very poor (in the bottom 5% somewhere), and it sucked. It’s that simple. (Now an economics professor living somewhere in the top 10-15% or so, I think I\u2019m among the few Canadians who have never identified with the middle class.) So I pay attention to what each party has to offer our poorest citizens \u2013 especially those who don\u2019t have a dime to donate to the party, and probably won\u2019t even vote.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s an overview of what I\u2019ve noticed, and my honest impressions.<\/p>\n

The NDP<\/strong><\/p>\n

The NDP has been\u00a0my go-to party when it came to poverty. On September 16, the NDP released its fiscal plan<\/a>, outlining their spending plans up to 2019-20. There was an unfortunate lack of detail. For 2016-17, they allocated $572 million to a line item titled \u201chelp where it\u2019s needed most.\u201d In earlier announcements, there was a commitment to spend an additional $400 million on the Guaranteed Income Supplement that is included in that line item (which I discussed here<\/a>). What exactly they will do with the money allocated to GIS has not been announced. Funds in this category will also go to \u201cpoverty reduction, housing support, and other measures to help children and families.\u201d\u00a0I’ve heard the NDP plans an expansion of the Working Income Tax Benefits – effectively a wage subsidy to lower income workers with great potential – and an expansion of the NCBS – a supplement to the lowest income families with kids. \u00a0I have not seen details.<\/p>\n

Overall, I think its clear the NDP cares about issues of poverty. I am, however, bothered by a lack of clarity and detail in their plans.<\/p>\n

The Conservative Party of Canada<\/strong><\/p>\n

For the Conservatives, I haven\u2019t seen any great proposals this election season. In the past they have made some good moves for seniors \u2013 expanding the GIS slightly and raising the GIS exemption for earnings in 2008. While the Universal Child Care Benefit will help low-income families, I don\u2019t tend to think of this as a poverty strategy since those cheques are sent to all families, including mine (and like I said, I\u2019m not even middle class).<\/p>\n

When I last visited the party website, I couldn\u2019t find anything even mentioning poverty. Notably, the recently announced tax expenditures for single seniors<\/a> exclude low-income seniors.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The Green Party<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Greens clearly care about poverty. Their platform includes clear commitments to \u201celiminate poverty and challenge inequality.\u201d Among other things, they propose a Guaranteed Livable Income<\/a> \u2013 which sets an income floor for all individuals, with lower benefits offered to those with higher income. Such programs can be incredibly costly, but the Green Party plans to roll in all other federal transfers, reducing the incremental cost slightly.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m not sure this plan is realistic, but I like the focus.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The Liberal Party of Canada<\/strong><\/p>\n

There have been two major policies announced by the Liberals\u00a0that affect poverty. First is the CCB \u2013 Canada Child Benefit<\/a> \u2013 which is really an expansion of the existing Canada Child Tax Benefit and National Child Benefit Supplement. The program offers the highest benefits to the lowest-income families with kids and is gradually phased out as income rises. The program is in part paid for by eliminating spending on kids in high income families. Projections for taking more than 300,000 kids out of poverty are realistic and easily backed up.<\/p>\n

The more recent announcement is an expansion of GIS benefits for single seniors<\/a>. I\u2019ve made the case before that there is an obvious gap here<\/a> \u2013 while seniors benefits for our married seniors are enough to bring them up to poverty lines, unmarried seniors are\u00a0left far behind. So, good plan.<\/p>\n

These are both very good policies \u2013 with detailed plans – that can accomplish a lot when it comes to reducing poverty rates.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s missing?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I don\u2019t recall seeing a lot\u00a0to help poor singles with no kids, and I suspect the average Canadian does not have this on their radar. An expansion of the Working Income Tax Benefit (which the NDP has talked about)\u00a0could gain popular support.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

One of my top election issues has always been poverty. Why? My bias shines through \u2013 I grew up very poor (in the bottom 5% somewhere), and it sucked. It’s that simple. 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