OTTAWA – An anti-poverty coalition says Ottawa should funnel its predicted multi-billion-dollar budget surplus into helping Canadians who are struggling to make ends meet.
A new report by Campaign 2000 says while there has been a slight drop in the country’s child poverty rate since the recession, 967,000 children and their families are still unable to fulfill their basic needs.
READ MORE: Youth advocacy group to release annual report on child poverty in B.C.
The group says the federal government “can afford to spend” on programs that would help prevent children from depending on food banks and homeless shelters.
Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said this month he expects a surplus of $3.7 billion in 2015-16, and Campaign 2000 says that shows “there’s room to spend wisely.”
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The coalition recommends drafting a national poverty-reduction plan, building a public child care system and expanding access to employment insurance, among other things.
It is also repeating its call for an enhanced child benefit for low-income families that would replace some cash payments and child tax benefits and credits offered to Canadian parents.
“In this time of slow and slowing economic growth, raising the incomes of those at the bottom improves purchasing power, benefits businesses and strengthens the economy,” the group’s national co-ordinator, Laurel Rothman, said in a news release.
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