The Sixth Estate

Several important institutions were put on the chopping block in Budget 2012, and some of those had important catalogues of publications on topics of national importance which I am concerned will vanish down the memory hole, as George Orwell once put it, in the coming months, as their respective organizations wind down operations and vanish into history.

This week’s victim was the National Council of Welfare. It’s not surprising if you’ve never heard much of this agency before this year. Think tanks set up by and for some large corporations, like the Conference Board of Canada or the C.D. Howe Institute, have no difficulty getting attention from the media published by other large corporations, like the Globe & Mail and the National Post. A think tank devoted to studying poverty and welfare, by contrast, is likely to toil in obscurity, much like the people it’s intended to advocate for.

Today, Sixth Estate is pleased to announce that I am making available online the backlog of Council publications which were formally accessible via its website, dating back to the 1970s. Some of these are already listed at Publications.gc.ca; the rest, I would hate to let disappear into the ether simply because of the callousness and capriciousness of the government in power. Links go to documents which were published under Crown copyright; I am not making them available for commercial purposes, and as I understand the relevant law, you may not do so either. Not that you were thinking of doing so. These reports are a legacy to a goal our government apparently feels is no longer worth pursuing: the eradication of poverty.

The Council was a creation of the Tories, by which I mean the Progressive Conservative Party that, sadly, no longer exists in federal politics. It was created by Diefenbaker in 1969, spun out into quasi-NGO status by Trudeau, and has been producing reports and publishing statistics ever since then. The Council website was located at http://www.ncw.gc.ca/.

Interestingly, since (and including) the mid-Trudeau era, only the Chretien government managed to achieve a lasting decrease in poverty across Canada:

Another table regularly publicized was that of welfare rates. Here you can see that, in constant dollar terms (i.e. accounting for inflation), welfare rates are more or less what they were 30 years ago. Which kind of makes you wonder why we could afford them (and even balance our budgets) even just a decade ago, but now they’ve suddenly become the egregiously unaffordable excesses of socialism, no?

Research Reports

The Dollars and Sense of Solving Poverty (2011) — The report shows the high dollar cost we are currently paying for the consequences of poverty. It examines why investments to end poverty make better economic sense, and it shows how ending poverty would save money and improve wellbeing for everyone. It concludes with recommendations for the way forward.

Solving Poverty Roundtable (2008) – The roundtable on Solving Poverty convened November 29, 2007, at a time when John Rook, Chair of the National Council of Welfare (NCW), declared that “poverty is out of the closet.” With federal political parties making “policies and commitments on how to deal with the issue,” participants considered the four strategic cornerstones in the NCW’s report, Solving Poverty: a long-term vision with measurable targets and timelines; a plan of action and budget; a government accountability structure to ensure results; and a set of agreed poverty indicators.

Time to Act: First Nations, Metis and Inuti Children and Youth (2007) — The report, developed by the NCW in cooperation with Aboriginal individuals and organizations, provides a portrait of Aboriginal peoples from the perspective of the communities and the social connections upon which children and youth depend. It combines statistics with the voices of influential Aboriginal people the Council interviewed, to give true meaning to the numbers.

Solving Poverty: Fourn Cornerstones of a Workable National Strategy for Canada (2007) — The report highlights that Canada in general is out of step with important developments in preventing and reducing poverty. Many other countries, and Canadian provinces, have had the same debates about the same issues, including how to measure poverty, but they have found ways – remarkably similar ways – to move on to action and to achieve measurable progress.

Report on the Poverty and Income Security Questionnaire (2006) — The National Council of Welfare ran an on-line questionnaire in late 2006 to find out what Canadians think about solutions to poverty and income security in Canada. The questionnaire asked nine core questions. The first five related to strategy, specifically to the role of governments in fighting poverty, and the other four sought direction on programs and policy. The respondents had the option to choose from one of two formats: the “individual” version and the “organization” version.

Income for Living? (2004) — This is the first report in which the Council looked at the new Market Basket Measure (MBM) poverty line. It compares four different income types: welfare, minimum wage, low wage, and average wage. The research showed that some Canadians working full-time lived in poverty and could not afford average housing and child care costs.

Welfare to Work Roundtable (2003) – The welfare-to-work roundtable was organized to add to the Council’s knowledge about current programs and their potential for the future, to build a deeper awareness of what it is like to live in poverty in Canada and to ultimately be able to provide more effective advice to the Minister.

The Cost of Poverty (2002) – This report was developed to draw the attention of the public and policy-makers to how expensive poverty really is and how all Canadians, not just those living in poverty, pay the price. The cost of poverty is one that Canada can ill afford. This publication challenges our assumptions and illustrates how we could improve our quality of life, in economic and human terms, by investing differently.

Justice and the Poor (2000) — The report notes the huge gap between the realities and public perceptions of crime, and it calls on governments and politicians to stop using crime as a political weapon. Canada is one of the safest countries in the world, but it has a very poor record when it comes to the huge number of people it sends to jail, often for very minor offences or non-payment of fines. The report contains 21 recommendations for improving the criminal justice system.

Children First (1999) – This report describes the items the National Council of Welfare believes should be part of the budget that is expected to come down at the end of February 2000. It is based largely on the work done by the Council since 1989 - the very year that the House of Commons passed a unanimous resolution to eliminate child poverty 2000. The proposal are outlined in the main part of the report and are restated in the 29 recommendations in the final chapter. The report is organized around the six main themes put forward in the discussion paper on the National Children’s Agenda.

Preschool Children: Promises to Keep (1999) — The report reviews the status of children in Canada and the programs in place across the country. We recommend a range of policies that can be pulled together in an integrated, national family policy that makes sense. We recommend one program in particular, and that is child care. This report looks at the value and the costs of creating a flexible and integrated system of early childhood care and education that provides child care for those families with parents in the work force and early childhood education programming for all families who choose it – whether parents are in the paid work force or not. We then propose a way to put such a system in place.

A New Poverty Line: Yes, No, or Maybe? (1999) — A discussion paper about different ways of measuring poverty in Canada. The paper compares the low income cut-offs of Statistics Canada with other poverty lines that are based on the cost of a “market basket” of goods and services.

Child Benefits: Kids Are Still Hungry (1998) — A further critique of the Canada Child Tax Benefit and the clawback of benefits from families on welfare. The report estimates that only 17 percent of poor single-parent families and 59 percent of poor two-parent families with children are better off financially because of the new federal benefit. The rest of the families have the increase in benefits clawed back by provincial or territorial governments.

Talk is Cheap: Banking and Poor People (1998) — The report discusses the problems poor people have in getting access to banking services. It recommends legislation to require financial institutions to publish detailed data about their business and personal lending activities. It also urges the federal government to be absolutely certain the public interest is protected before approving any bank mergers. The report contains 18 recommendations.

Profiles of Welfare: Myths and Realities (1998) — The report is a gold mine of statistical information about welfare in Canada in the 1990s which has never appeared in print before. The report presents the data by family type, reasons for assistance, length of current spell on welfare, age, level of education, other sources of income and housing arrangements.

Another Look at Welfare Reform (1997) – An update of Welfare in Canada: The Tangled Safety Net and Welfare Reform. The report focuses on changes in provincial and territorial welfare policies from 1992 through mid-1997.

Healthy Parents, Healthy Babies (1997) — The first of a planned series of reports on issues of concern at different stages of childhood. The first report deals with prenatal care and the first year of life and focuses on different kinds of “interventions” that have proved to be successful.

Child Benefits: A Small Step Forward (1997) – The report describes what is known about the proposed new system of child benefits, what lies ahead to put the new system into effect, and issues of concern to members of the National Council of Welfare. The final chapter puts forth recommendations to governments as they prepare to put the finishing touches on a child benefits package. The appendix describes the transitional arrangements proposed in the budget speech that would be in place between July 1, 1997 and the time the new system comes into being.

Gambling in Canada (1996) – An analysis of the latest Canadian research on gambling, including information on gambling frequency and problems related to gambling. The report contains ten recommendations, including an outright ban on video lottery terminals outside of casinos or casino-like settings.

Improving the Canada Pension Plan (1996) — This report outlines our hopes for the Canada Pension Plan. It begins with a review of some of the myths and misconceptions about the Canada Pension Plan that have become an impediment to intelligent debate about the plan.

The 1995 Budget and Block Funding (1995) – This report describes welfare in Canada prior to the birth of the Canada Assistance Plan and the huge advances that came about because of CAP. It analyzes the 1995 budget proposals and the disastrous impact they would have on real people with real needs. It outlines a better alternative for funding welfare and social services. And it concludes with an appeal for openness and flexibility rather than secrecy and rigidity in the making of public policy.

Legal Aid and the Poor (1995) – An exhaustive analysis of the extent and quality of legal services available to low-income Canadians in each province and territory. The report concludes that the current system does not meet the needs of the poor and recommends sweeping changes.

A Blueprint for Social Security Reform (1994) — On October 5, 1994, the Minister of Human Resources Development Canada, Lloyd Axworthy, tabled in Parliament a discussion paper entitled “Improving Social Security in Canada”. The paper put forward a number of options for reforming social programs for Canadians under the age of 65 and invited comments to help the federal government decide how to proceed. This is the Council’s official response.

Incentives and Disincentives to Work (1993) — The core of the report is an analysis of the labour market realities facing recipients of welfare and unemployment insurance and detailed calculations of the financial incentives and disincentives to work for recipients of both programs. The report also discusses other incentives or disincentives that are built into provincial welfare systems and reviews some of the programs that were aimed specifically at helping welfare recipients into paying jobs.

The 1992 Budget and Child Benefits (1992) — In the budget speech of February 25, 1992, the federal government proposed a sweeping revision of child benefits that would take effect in 1993. This report looks at the government’s proposals on child benefits and related proposals on child care expenses, analyzes their impact and recommends improvements.

Welfare Reform (1992) — This report describes the welfare reforms instituted by provincial and territorial governments during the last several years. Some of the reforms are modest, while others reflect fundamental shifts in direction. Whether large or small, most of the changes were made within the welfare system and left larger issues unresolved.

Danger Looming: Funding Health and Higher Education (1991) — Our continuing hope is equality of opportunity for all. Our continuing fear is that poor people in all parts of Canada and Canadians generally in poorer regions of our country will be denied equality of opportunity if the federal government backs away from the leading role it has played for so many years.

No Time for Cuts: The Canada Assistance Plan (1991) — The report begins with a description of the Canada Assistance Plan – the way it operates, the support it provides, and the people it helps. It then turns to the 1990 federal budget proposal to trim funds for CAP programs in Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia for the sole purpose of reducing the federal deficit.

Health, Health Care and Medicare (1990) — Why do poor people live shorter and less healthy lives than rich people? What are the obstacles that stand in the way of better health for aboriginal people? Can we convince governments that many of the things done outside Health Departments have a significant impact on the health of Canadians?

Women and Poverty Revisited (1990) — An update of the 1979 report Women and Poverty. It includes detailed poverty statistics for women in 1987 and numerous comparisons with earlier years. Also included are 35 recommendations to improve the status of women.

Fighting Child Poverty (1990) — A brief by the National Council of Welfare presented to the Sub-committee on Poverty of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Health and Welfare, Social Affairs, Seniors and the Status of Women.

Pension Reform (1990) — The National Council of Welfare described Canada’s retirement income system and its major deficiencies in a report entitled Pension Primer that was published in September 1989. This report goes one step further and proposes specific recommendations to correct those deficiences.

The GST and the Poor (1990) — The proposed Goods and Services Tax (GST) seeks to ease the burden of increased taxes on the poor by enlarging the refundable sales tax credit and extending it higher up the income ladder. These improvements to the refundable sales tax credit are welcome. However, they will not adequately protect low-income Canadians from the added burden of the GST. The fatal flaw in the GST credit is its lack of full protection against inflation. This failing means that the only Canadians who will face automatic sales tax increases are those least able to bear them – the poor.

Help Wanted: Tax Relief for Canada’s Poor (1989) — Although it has sparked widespread criticism, the proposed Goods and Services Tax does attempt to ease the burden of increased taxes on the poor by increasing the existing sales tax credit and extending it higher up the income ladder. These improvements in the refundable sales tax credit are welcome. However, they still will not adequately protect low-income Canadians from the added burden of the planned new sales tax.

The 1989 Budget and Social Policy (1989) — The primary  purpose of this report is to explain the changes to family allowances and old age pensions announced in the April 1989 federal budget. The ‘clawback’ on child and elderly benefits is the most significant change in federal social policy in a generation because it marks the end of universality, a fundamental and long-standing principle of Canada’s system of social benefits. I do not have this report.

Social Spending and the Next Budget (1989) — Is there a fair way to fight the deficit? The particular tax increases and social spending cuts that the government imposed during its first term in office have not been fair. They have hit the working poor and middle-income families harder than the well-off.

Child Care: A Better Alternative (1988) — This report outlines existing arrangements for child care, with emphasis on low-income families; assesses the strengths and weaknesses of the new federal strategy; and proposes an alternative approach that we believe would be better for children and parents alike.

The Tangled Safety Net: Welfare in Canada (1987) – the first comprehensive national analysis of social assistance programs operated by the provincial, territorial and municipal governments with financial assistance from Ottawa. These programs function as the safety net for Canadians and are better known by their everyday name ‘welfare’.

Tax Facts (1987) — A series of nine papers on the 1987 Tax Reform White Paper, discussing tax reform, trends in tax revenue, indexation, surtaxes, federal tax reduction, child benefits, consumption taxes, and tax credits. I do not have this series.

Progress Against Poverty (1986) – The recession-driven rise in poverty in the first half of the ‘eighties appears to have ended. Two factors help account for the decline in the poverty numbers. One involves an improvement in social program benefits; the other, a reduction in unemployment.

The Impact of the 1985 and 1986 Budgets on Disposable Income (1986) – This background paper analyzes the effect of the 1985 and 1986 Budgets on disposable income of Canadians at different income levels, with emphasis on those below the poverty line.

Giving and Taking: The May 1985 Budget and the Poor (1985) – This report explains the effects of the May 1985 federal Budget’s proposed changes to elderly and child benefits and to sales and income taxes on low, middle and upper-income families and individuals.

Poverty on the Increase (1985) – Poverty in Canada declined substantially during the ‘seventies. However poverty is on the increase in the ‘eighties. The recession of recent years has clearly taken its toll.

Opportunity for Reform (1985) – A response by the National Council of Welfare to the Consultation Paper on Child and Elderly Benefits.

Better Pensions for Homemakers (1984) – The report criticizes and offers an alternative to the proposal for a homemaker pension from the Canada and Quebec Pension Plans.

Pension Reform (1984) — The report reviews the three major routes to pension reform; discusses the package of pension proposals contained in the February 1984 federal budget; and offers the National Council of Welfare’s recommendations for long-term reform of the retirement income system.

Sixty-Five and Older (1984) — This report attempts to present a balanced view of Canada’s aged. It compares elderly families with unattached individuals and women with men. It looks at income and poverty statistics, and takes into account non-money sources of income – subsidies and services for the aged provided mainly by government – as well as the fact that many elderly Canadians own mortgage-free homes. We also examine trends in demographic, poverty and income statistics, and compare the aged with the population as a whole. One conclusion stands out from all the facts and figures:  Poverty in old age is largely a woman’s problem, and is becoming more so every year. I do not have this report.

Family Allowances For All? (1983)– The purpose of this report is to respond to the Minister of Finance’s call for a “rational discussion and careful examination of the issues” involved in the family allowance debate. The first part gives the facts which Canadians need to understand family allowances and the other federal child benefit programs. The second chapter presents the arguments for and against universal family allowances. The report ends with a proposal to reform the child benefits system.

Financing the Canada Pension Plan (1982) — The report looks at the financing of the Canada Pension Plan. It describes how the financing system works and tries to correct some of the most common misconceptions. It also looks at the issues which the federal and provincial governments will be addressing over the next couple of years about the future financing of the CPP. Finally, it suggests certain principles which should guide governments in their deliberations. I do not have this report.

The June 1982 Budget and Social Policy (1982) — In a recent statement (“Social Policy Aspects of the Budget”, June 29, 1982), the Minister of National Health and Welfare claimed that the June 28 budget “fully protects the lowest-income Canadians and the working poor”. Only persons “who are not in need” will be asked “to share in the serious sacrifices which are required to bring our country out of the economic crisis”. We disagree. The June budget’s social policy aspects will adversely affect thousands of low-income Canadians.

Medicare: The Public Good and Private Practice (1982) — This report begins by reminding Canadians why they chose the path of public health insurance. The second chapter explains why medicare is so vital to low-income families and individuals, while the following chapters criticize user fees and health premiums. The report concludes that privatization is a false and dangerous economy which will weaken medicare and hurt the poor. Instead, medicare must be strengthened and expanded.

The Working Poor: People and Programs (1981) — A statistical profile prepared by the National Council of Welfare. I do not have this report.

In the Best Interests of the Child (1979) — “With better income security programs, income would no longer decide the fate of a family in distress. Instead of a beleaguered system reserved largely for kids from low-income homes, children’s social services could become a comprehensive, first-class system of support available to all Canadian families. We could, at last, act in the best interests of our children – all our children.”

Women and Poverty (1979) – The objectives of this report are to describe poor women, to examine why they are poor, and to recommend ways of improving their situation. By presenting new statistical information on low income women, it will show how they differ from other Canadians. By following women through the various stages of their lives, it will demonstrate that the majority of Canadian women, whatever their backgrounds, are very vulnerable to becoming poor overnight.

The Hidden Welfare System Revisited (1979) — The purpose of this paper is to investigate some of the causes and distributional effects of tax expenditure increases. We begin by examining the concept of a tax expenditure which the National Council of Welfare first explored in its 1976 report The Hidden Welfare System. Then we will look at various tax expenditure provisions in the personal income tax system during the three-year period from 1974 to 1976. Our intent is to identify by how much tax spending increased, why it increased, and which income groups benefitted. I do not have this paper.

Working Together (1978) – In spite of the complexity of the unemployment problem facing the poor, solutions are possible. Indeed, citizens in different parts of the country, working together with the unemployed, have already taken the initiative  to develop their own answers and put them into effect. The purpose of this report is to describe three of these efforts: Guysborough Community Employment Strategy Association, Weathercheck, and New Dawn Enterprises. I do not have this paper.

Bearing the Burden, Sharing the Benefits (1978) — The purpose of this report is twofold. First, it will look at some of the non-income taxes (such as federal and provincial sales taxes, corporate income taxes, property taxes, provincial health insurance premiums, contributions to Canada/Quebec Pension Plan and premiums for Unemployment Insurance) and examine their income effects. Second, it will look at ways in which the tax system can be used to reduce, rather than broaden, income disparities in Canada.

The Federal Government and Social Services (1978) – This paper presents the basic information required to understand the block-funding proposal. The discussion consists of three parts. The first looks at the existing cost-sharing arrangement under the Canada Assistance Plan. This is followed by a description of the federal-provincial consultations on social services which began in the social security review and led first to Bill C-57, the Social Services Act, and then to the block-funding proposal. The last section presents the essential features of the block-funding proposal itself. I do not have this paper.

The Working Poor (1977) — The purpose of this report is to present some basic statistics on the working poor – where they live, their age, education and family characteristics, how they earn their income. It compares the working poor, as a group, both with the poor who do not work and with Canadians who are not poor.

Jobs and Poverty (1977) — The reason for the situation of the working poor may seem simple and obvious: their earnings are too low to meet their basic needs. While this readily describes their problem, it doesn’t explain why it exists. Although it is tempting to seek an explanation in terms of the deficiencies of individual workers – their low educational achievement or their lack of skills – the answer doesn’t lie here. Instead we must examine the labour market itself, how it is structured and how it operates. Only then can we identify the forces which confine the working poor to over half a million jobs that fail in every respect to provide the rewards and benefits that most Canadians consider fundamental rights of employment.

The Hidden Welfare System (1976) — “If there is ever to be a reasoned debate on government expenditures – and, more importantly for Canada’s poor, if there is ever to be an effective effort to free them from the poverty which now marks their lives – the extent and the nature of this tax spending must become well and broadly known. We must look at who this spending benefits and how much it benefits them. We must analyze how much it is costing Canadians. Ultimately we must ask if this money – enough to eliminate all poverty in this country many times over – could not be better spent.” There is also an Appendix on tax subsidies.

One in a World of Two’s (1976) — “As a single parent, you find out only too well how inadequate are our child care services. You learn all about isolation and too much about frustration. And if you’re a woman, you meet discrimination in the labour market which leaves you with only two choices: a low-paying, dead-end job or a marginal existence on welfare.”

Support/Supplementation: Who Will Benefit? (1976) — What we have tried to do is to pull together the available statistical material and paint a general picture of the possible recipients of support and supplementation. The support program, it should be remembered, is the plan designed for those who are not expected to work (such as the blind, the disabled and single-parent families with young children) or for whom work cannot be found. The supplementation program is the plan intended to supplement the income of those who are working but at wages insufficient for their families’ needs.

Guide to the Guaranteed Income (1976) — This is the question which this guide will try to answer. It will present, in non-technical terms, the basic information that the ordinary citizen must have if he or she is to understand what the guaranteed income is about, and what progress towards a guaranteed income has been made by the social security review.

Poor Kids (1975) — “This report is about the world of poor kids today and the prospects of it being different tomorrow. In it we will look not only at the present situation of Canada’s poor kids – who they are , where they are and how they are – but also at recent developments in Canada’s social security system – the November proposals of the federal – provincial conference of welfare ministers and those of the federal budget two days earlier.”

Organizing for Social Action: Three Canadian Experiences (1975) — This report is about three successful exercises in participation by those who had neither wealth nor social power on their side, three instances in which those who were to be affected by social policy decisions successfully organized the public support for their position necessary to win its acceptance by government: Winnipeg family allowance, Quebec foster care, and Saskatchewan legal aid.

People’s Need to Grow: Beyond Services and Beyond Jobs (1974) — “Isolation is an effect of poverty that becomes a cause of subsequent social problems; participation in community activities (including service activities, but also cultural, recreational and other activities) can result in the avoidance of these problems.”

Prices and the Poor (1974) — “Among the most commonly heard, most paternalistic, and most irrelevant suggestions for dealing with the problems of the poor as consumers is that they should budget their money more efficiently. In effect, the suggestion is that, by doing their sums differently, two and two could be made to add up to five. The fact is that not only can two and two never be made equal to more than four, but that the poor haven’t even the opportunities of the more affluent to stretch their money as far as it might otherwise go.”

Incomes and Opportunities (1973) — The Working Paper sets out 14 propositions. Some will be discussed individually, but for the most part, we will try to assess them collectively in terms of the twin objectives discussed in our earlier papers – guaranteed employment opportunities and guaranteed income adequacy for all Canadians.

The Press and the Poor (1973) — A report by the National Council of Welfare on how Canada’s newspapers cover poverty. Does the press shape public attitudes about the extent and nature of poverty in Canada by what it prints and doesn’t print or does it simply reflect these attitudes? In short, how does the press in Canada cover poverty and with what results?

One Child, One Chance (1973) — “It is therefore the principal recommendation of this report that the most important single step toward ensuring nutritional adequacy in the diets of all Canadians is the provision of a guaranteed annual income adequate to meet the basic needs of all Canadians. While this is our principal recommendation it is not our only one. Even in the absence of a guaranteed income there are things which can be done to improve the nutritional health of poor Canadians; and, in addition to guaranteeing adequate incomes, there are things which should be done to improve the nutritional health of all Canadians.”

Poor People’s Groups (1973) — In October 1972, the National Council of Welfare sponsored a four-day seminar to examine “self-help problem solving by low income communities”. The seminar was in response to the need which had been expressed by many groups across Canada for an opportunity to share and evaluate their experiences with other groups. The report is a summary of the conclusions which were reached by the participants at the seminar.

Guaranteed Incomes and Guaranteed Jobs (1972) — “Clearly we must provide opportunities for every member of our society to contribute his or her skills to this society. Equally clearly, we must ensure each member an income adequate to enable his or her full participation in all aspects of our societal life.”

Legal Services Controversy: An Examination of the Evidence (1971) — “Clearly we must provide opportunities for every member of our society to contribute his or her skills to this society. Equally clearly, we must ensure each member an income adequate to enable his or her full participation in all aspects of our societal life.”

Statement on Income Security (1971) — We point out that the traditional notion on which the White Paper is premised – that economic growth would somehow reduce and even end poverty – ignored entirely the facts of who were poor in Canada. I have this paper only in French.

 

Welfare Incomes

Beginning in 1986, the Council surveys eligibily requirements for welfare in Canada. It then examines the situation of four family types on welfare: a single parent with a child, a couple with 2 children, a single disabled person, and a single person deemed employable.

• Welfare Incomes 2009
• Welfare Incomes 2006 and 2007
• Welfare Incomes 2005
• Welfare Incomes 2004
• Welfare Incomes 2003
• Welfare Incomes 2002
• Welfare Incomes 2000 and 2001
• Welfare Incomes 1999
• Welfare Incomes 1998
• Welfare Incomes 1996 — Most people living on welfare were even poorer in 1996 than the people living on welfare in 1986. People on welfare are invariably poor, but the depth of poverty is getting worse. Single employable people on welfare fared the worst in 1996, with incomes as low as one-fifth of the poverty line.
• Welfare Incomes 1995 — Welfare incomes in all parts of Canada fall well below the poverty line. And yet, with very few exceptions, welfare benefits were frozen or decreased during 1995 for all household types covered in this report throughout Canada.
• Welfare Incomes 1994 — Many welfare recipients saw their incomes slump in 1994 as governments faced continuing pressures to cut spending.
• Welfare Incomes 1993 — welfare rates in a number of provinces and Yukon failed to keep pace with increases in the cost of living between 1992 and 1993, and rates actually went down in two provinces.
• Welfare Incomes 1992
• Welfare Incomes 1991
• Welfare Incomes 1990
• Welfare Incomes 1989

 

Poverty Profile

An annual series which includes both national and provincial statistics on poverty by family type, sex, age, education and a host of other variables. It has data on the depth of poverty. There is information about the average incomes of poor people and their main sources of income, etc.

 

• Poverty Profile 2004 (data tables only)
• Poverty Profile 2002 and 2003
• Poverty Profile 2001
• Poverty Profile 1999 — Poverty rates generally continued a 3-year downward trend. But Canada was still not doing as well as it was a decade earlier, despite eight consecutive years of solid economic growth. The overall improvement of 0.7 percent in poverty rates between 1998 and 1999 came nowhere close to matching the impressive economic growth rate of nearly 5 percent during that period. The Council considers this stagnation, at best, rather than progress. Our economic prosperity should have helped many more Canadians escape or avert poverty, including senior women living alone, whose already high poverty rate actually worsened in 1999.
• Child Poverty Profile 1998
• Poverty Profile 1998
• Poverty Profile 1997
• Poverty Profile 1996
• Poverty Profile 1995
• Poverty Profile 1994
• Poverty Profile 1993
• Poverty Profile 1992
• Poverty Profile 1991 Update
• Poverty Profile 1980-1990
• Poverty Lines 1989
• Poverty Profile 1988 and Poverty Lines 1988
• Poverty Lines 1987
• Poverty Lines 1986
• Poverty Profile 1985 and Poverty Lines 1985
• Poverty Lines 1984
• Poverty Lines 1983
• Poverty Lines 1982 — I do not have this report.
• Measuring Poverty: Poverty Lines 1982
• Measuring Poverty: 1981 Poverty Lines (1981) — There is no poverty line for all of Canada. Three different definitions of poverty provide three methods for calculating poverty lines. Moreover each approach varies its poverty lines according to family size, so in fact there are three sets of poverty lines from which to choose low-income cut-offs, Canadian Council on Social Development poverty lines, and Senate Committee poverty lines.
• Poverty in Canada: 1980 Preliminary Statistics (1980) — In 1980 an estimated 639,000 Canadian families were poor. In percentage terms this represents 10.4% of all families (639,000 out of a total 6,122,000). In otherwords one in every ten families lived in poverty.

 

Guidebooks

A Pension Primer (1999) — A description and critique of Canada’s complex retirement income system. The report covers federal and provincial income security programs for seniors, the Canada and Quebec Pension Plans, occupational pension plans, Registered Retirement Savings Plans and income tax provisions which encourage saving for retirement and reduce the tax burden on the elderly. The study is geared to the lay reader with no specialised knowledge of the pension system.

A Guide to the Proposed Seniors Benefit (1996) — The proposals as a package are complex, and their combined impact on seniors in different financial circumstances is not always obvious. The first half of this report explains in detail the gains and losses seniors can expect if the proposals become law. The second half of the report explores questions and concerns about the budget proposals.

A Pension Primer (1996) — a guide for people with no special expertise in pensions. It is an update of reports published by the National Council of Welfare in 1984 and 1989 and incorporates a number of changes in retirement income plans that were enacted by governments in recent years. It also highlights major shortcomings that have still not been addressed.

Social Security Backgrounders (1994) – How do our social safety nets work? Who are the people receiving welfare? Have work-for-welfare programs in the United States been successful? This series of five background papers discusses Unemployment Insurance, welfare, income assistance, work-for-welfare, and other income support programs.

A Pension Primer (1989) — a guide for people with no special expertise in pensions. It is an update of a report published in April 1984 by the National Council of Welfare and incorporates a number of changes in retirement income plans that were enacted by governments since that time. It also highlights major shortcomings that still have not been addressed.

A Pension Primer (1984) — A layman’s guide to Canada’s retirement income system. This paper is available only in French.

The Refundable Child Nax Credit (1978) — The purpose of this background paper is to summarize the essential features of the restructured programs. It consists of two parts. The first discusses the general concept of a refundable tax credit and examines specifically the new Child Tax Credit. The second part looks at the combined effect of the Child Tax Credit and other changes for families at various income levels. I do not have this paper.

Bookkeeping Handbook for Low-Income Citizen Groups (1973) — We have sought to develop a handbook which would be of general assistance to organizations of low-income citizens in establishing bookkeeping systems that would serve their own internal needs as well as meeting the requirements of granting bodies.

Directory of Low-Income Citizen Groups in Canada (1973) — The more than 1000 groups listed in this directory reflects the spectacular expansion in organization among Canada’s low income citizens, who, only five years ago, were described by the Economic Council of Canada as “collectively inarticulate … having few spokesmen and groups to represent them and give voice to their needs.” It is hoped that this list will be of assistance to those who want to communicate with low income organizations and to low income organizations who want to communicate with each other. Part 1 and Part 2.

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