Working-age singles are more likely than most to be living in deep poverty, with incomes that fall well short of what’s required to meet basic needs. So why are they so often overlooked in our poverty reduction plans? And what does this diverse group of Canadians require to support them in moving out of poverty?

Today on the podcast, we cover all that and more as we discuss a recent IRPP report: Canada’s Forgotten Poor? Putting Singles Living in Deep Poverty on the Policy Radar. We’re joined first by Colin Busby,  a research director at the IRPP. He walks us through this inaugural report from his new program on The Social Safety Net for Working-Age Adults.

On the second half of the podcast, Sherri Torjman joins us to share some policy recommendations from her commentary on that report. Sherri is a social policy consultant and policy associate with the Maytree Foundation. She’s vice-chair of the Disability Advisory Committee, which provides advice to the Minister of National Revenue. She was vice-president of the Caledon Institute of Social Policy from 1992 to 2017.

Download for free. New episodes every other Wednesday. Tweet your questions and comments to @IRPP or @jbugiel.

Photo: Shutterstock.com, by Sam Wordley.

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Colin Busby
Colin Busby is director of policy and outreach at HEC Montréal's Retirement and Savings Institute. He was previously a research director at the Institute for Research on Public Policy. Before joining the IRPP, he was the associate director of research at the C.D. Howe Institute, and has also worked at Industry Canada and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization. LinkedIn and Twitter @cbusby_eco.
Sherri Torjman
Sherri Torjman is a social policy consultant, former vice-president of the Caledon Institute and former vice-chair of the disability advisory committee on tax measures reporting to the minister of National Revenue. Sherri has written several books on disability and a primer on the Canada Disability Benefit for the Institute for Research and Development on Inclusion and Society (IRIS).
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