Nova Scotia had third-highest rate of child poverty in 2014: report

Nova Scotia has the highest rate of child poverty in Atlantic Canada and the third-highest rate nationally at 22.5 per cent, according to 2014 data from a report released on Thursday.

“We didn’t give a grade, although I’d say it would be a failing grade if we did put a grade on it,” said Christine Saulnier, the Nova Scotia director of Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, the group that produced the report.

According to the 2016 Report Card on Child and Family Poverty in Nova Scotia, authored by Lesley Frank, 37,450 children lived in poverty two years ago.

Joanne Bernard, the province’s minister of community services, said she didn’t think the report portrayed the today’s situation accurately because the data is outdated.

She said the federal government’s changes to the child tax benefit, the province’s “significant investments in affordable housing through rent supplements” and income assistance increase are a few ways governments have changed things since then.

“We know that there’s movement, we certainly know there’s been movement in the last two years. I look forward to the statistics that come out from this think tank in the next couple of years to see where we are as a measurement. Always more to be done.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "We know that there's movement, we certainly know there's been movement in the last two years. I look forward to the statistics that come out from this think tank in the next couple of years to see where we are as a measurement. Always more to be done."

Saulnier estimated the aforementioned tax benefit would decrease the number of children living in poverty by about 30 per cent.

READ MORE: Here’s how much the new Canada Child Benefit will give you each month

“The message really should be: here is the opportunity. Our opportunity should be: let’s invest now, and let’s really see what can happen when we have a federal government investing and we have a provincial government investing, we can actually end poverty,” she added.

According to the report, the communities with the highest and lowest child poverty rates in Nova Scotia were Eskasoni at 75.6 per cent and Hammonds Plains at five per cent.

“We need to be looking at issues around single families, so who are those families? We know 82 per cent of them are women, so we need to be asking questions around gender inequality. Eskasoni having the highest poverty rate tells us that we need to be addressing First Nations issues,” said Saulnier.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "We need to be looking at issues around single families, so who are those families? We know 82 per cent of them are women, so we need to be asking questions around gender inequality. Eskasoni having the highest poverty rate tells us that we need to be addressing First Nations issues," said Saulnier.

Dartmouth and Halifax had child poverty rates of 22.2 per cent and 28.2 per cent, respectively.

“We need to have a plan, we need to have targets, we need to be measuring our progress,” said Sheri Lecker, executive director of Adsum for Women & Children.

Lisa Tramley, an occupational therapy assistant for the same group, said she has lived in poverty as an unemployed, single parent.

She said finding affordable housing and childcare while living on income assistance, and paying for an education to get a better job to get out of poverty made the experience extremely challenging.

READ MORE: Canada Child Benefit should increase with inflation, anti-poverty group says

While there are some services available to help people living in poverty, part of the problem is that not everyone knows how to access them, Tramley added.

“For the first time in several years, I can provide for my son at Christmas without any community resources, and that’s a pretty great feeling,” she said.