Do they know it’s Christmas?
New reports say poverty and hunger are still huge problems in Manitoba
Marlo Campbell

Amid the festivities of the holiday season, two new reports have focused on a decidedly less jolly topic.

The Manitoba Child and Family Report Card and HungerCount 2006, released within days of each other, highlight the issues facing people who live in poverty, both in this province and across the country.

At first glance, both reports seem to bring good tidings, especially with regards to the situation in Manitoba.

The latest statistics show a drop in our province’s child-poverty rate — in 2004, 19.2 per cent of Manitoban children were living below the ‘low-income cut-off,’ down from 22.3 per cent in 2003.

In the absence of one officially recognized measure of poverty in Canada, the low-income cut-off is used to identify the income level below which a family starts spending a disproportionately higher share of its total income on necessities such as food and shelter. In Winnipeg, a family of four making less than $37,791 before taxes is considered to be living below the poverty line.

The number of Manitobans using food banks has also decreased. In March 2006, 44,461 people used a food bank — 1,700 fewer than in March 2005, or a drop of almost four per cent.

Still, those actively working on the issue point out that the fight against poverty is far from over.

Winnipeg’s child-poverty rate is the second highest among all major cities in Canada, and Manitoba has the highest number of children using food banks.

The Manitoba Child and Family Report Card is presented each year by the Social Planning Council of Winnipeg (SPCW), a local organization that provides research, analysis and information on social policies. SPCW is part of a national initiative called Campaign 2000, which was developed by over 70 organizations across the country shortly after 1989 — the year the federal government unanimously resolved to eliminate child poverty in Canada by the year 2000.

It was a lofty goal. Seventeen years later, Manitoba’s child-poverty rate is still only three percentage points below 1989’s rate.

Former MLA and recent mayoral candidate Marianne Cerilli chairs the poverty advisory committee of the SPCW. While poverty rates are decreasing, Cerilli says the depth of poverty is on the rise, as is the income gap between families. In other words, the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer.

Cerilli also notes that due to the method with which poverty statistics are gathered, Manitoba’s child-poverty rate does not include children living in First Nations communities.

“When you add that in, it paints a really different picture,” she says.

For those living in poverty, food banks are one way to help make ends meet.

HungerCount is an annual survey of food-bank use in Canada, facilitated by the Canadian Association of Food Banks. In 2006, 638 food banks across the country took part. In Manitoba, 47 food banks are registered with the CAFB. Of these, Winnipeg Harvest is the largest and is responsible for distributing food to over 300 agencies, such as daycares, youth drop-in centres and other local programs.

David Northcott, executive director of Winnipeg Harvest, says there has been a rise in the number of food-bank clients who are “working poor” — people who have jobs but who don’t receive enough hours or earn a wage on which they can support their families.

In order to pay rent and bills or afford things such as clothing and school supplies, Northcott says poor families often dip into their food money. He also stresses the proven link between poverty and health, especially when it comes to children.

“The No. 1 determinant of health is socio-economic status... If you’re eating well and eating healthy, then your chances of living a strong and healthy life are very good,” Northcott says. “If children don’t get certain nutrients at certain times of their early lives, the damage is unrepairable.”

Cerilli agrees, adding that poverty also has a huge impact on people’s mental and emotional well-being. Struggling on a low income is extremely stressful, she says, and can result in addictions, suicide or crime. Domestic violence also plays a role, because many women fleeing abuse are forced into poverty.

Both reports identify critical poverty issues, including a lack of affordable housing, a minimum wage that is too low and a dire need for affordable child care.

The next step is for all levels of government to develop policies that will change Manitoba’s situation for the better.

It’s a challenge, but Northcott says he’s optimistic.

“If you walk a journey and all you look at are systemic issues, then there’s no hope,” he says. “It’s mind-numbing. It’s awful. But if you walk the one-to-one journey, where you connect with people daily, there’s hope every day... My sense for the next 10 years is one of great, great hope.”