“B.C. POVERTY ALARMING” By DOROTHY LIPOVENKO More than one million Canadian children — one in five youngsters — are living in poverty, a federal report shows. Including adults and children, 4.1 million Canadians, or 17 per cent of the population, live below the poverty line — an increase of 660,000 Canadians in just over two years, the National Council of Welfare revealed in its report. One in seven families in Canada is consi- dered poor and this almost rivals the situa- tion in 1969, when one family in five was living in poverty. “Families with children face a rising risk of poverty. The recession of recent years clearly has taken its toll,” the council warned in its 1985 submission to the federal Government, a copy of which was given to The Globe and Mail yesterday. (The council was established in 1969 as the federal Government’s advisory body on social policy). The poverty level determined by the council varies according to family size and the population of the area in which the people live. For example, a family of four in a city the size of Montreal or Metro Toronto is living below the poverty line if their income is $20,800 or less, but that same family in rural Saskatchewan would be considered poor only if they lived on an income of $15,300 or less. An elderly widow or widower living in a city the size of Winnipeg would be living in poverty with an income of $9,700 but in Owen Sound, Ont., they would not be con- sidered poor with an income of more than $8,400. While the incidence of poverty decreased one-third between 1969 and 1983, the reces- sion of the early 1980s has reversed the over-all decline, the report found. Ken Battle, the council’s executive direc- tor, said yesterday the rising number of Canadians living in poverty “‘is not an artificial increase but the result of more unemployment and layoffs.” The poverty line has not been moved up, becauseitis tied to inflation, Mr. Battle said, and inflation has been low in recent years. Western provinces were hardest hit by the resurgence in poverty, as were “unatt- ached” people such as widows or single mothers. THE RISE IN LOW-INCOME FAMI- LIES IN B.C. “IS ALARMING,” THE RE- PORT NOTED. THEIR NUMBERS “BAL- LOONED” TO 157,000 IN 1983 FROM 65,000 IN 1980. (emphasis added) The ranks of the prairie poor swelled to 157,000 by 1983 — up from about 118,000 in 1980. The low-income population is increasing faster than the population as a whole, the council’s report said. Ontario led the other provinces with the greatest increase in poverty among the unattached. (More women with young children are going on welfare in Ontario because more men are defaulting on spousal and child-support payments.) The total number of poor people grew by almost one-fifth between 1980 and 1983 — more than triple the 5.6 per cent increase in the population of Canada. In 1981, 3.4 million Canadians — less than 15 per cent of the population — were living in poverty. Other highlights of the report include: e The risk of poverty is increasing for families relying on income from self- employment, while the poverty rate has declined for families depending on govern- ment assistance. e About half the women who are single rents raise their children on an income Jow the poverty line, compared with 20 per cent of single fathers. e The risk of poverty dropped signifi- cantly in families with more than one wage earner. e A rise in the poverty rate for families headed by workers in the service industry — most of whom are women. e Farming, fishing and service industry jobs had “above average risks” of poverty. Average annual wage increases nego- tiated in major Canadian Collective Agree- ments hit a record low of 3.6% in 1984. ——_————— Bad enough, God knows, but there are worse places than Canada. According to the Business Council of B.C., the average negotiated wage increase in this province was 1.1%, or a reduction in real wages of 3.5%. This is one of the very few Socred policies that works as it is supposed to. SOCRED POLICIES DON’T WORK — From Colin Gabelmann’s Report Socred policies don’t work. They don’t create jobs. They don’t create a climate conducive to investment or consumer spending. The policies of this government have created unprecedented poverty, unemployment, and insecurity for thousands of British Columbians. If more than 1.4 million eligible wage earners in B.C., more than 226,000 are unable to find work. With an additional 20,000 entering the work force every year, 20,000 new jobs must be created this year alone to maintain existing unemployment levels. © 1 in 4 of our province’s youth are unable to find work. Our youth, our future, are becoming disillusioned with their prospects and yet this government has failed to make a firm commitment to job creation for youth. © 14% of B.C.’s families live in poverty. 1 in3 single people live in poverty. Last year thousands of people received food from food banks and soup kitchens. e The minimum wage in B.C., THE LOWEST IN CANADA, is entirely insufficient. A single person earning $3.65 per hour, 40 hours per week, 50 weeks per year earns $7,300 and is responsible for payroll deductions and medicare premiums. The poverty level for a single person is $9,056 per year. e Today 226,000 people in B.C. receive unemployment insurance. If B.C. had an unemploy- men rate similar to Ontario, for example, $1 billion a year would be saved by the taxpayers of e When we say B.C. has an unemployment rate of 16%, we include only those eligible for and receiving unemployment insurance benefits. We exclude all those who have exhausted their benefits, who survive on income assistance, who have returned to family homes to live, women who no longer seek employment. IF WE HAD 100% PARTICIPATION RATE OF THOSE CAPABLE OF WORK, OUR UNEMPLOYMENT RATE WOULD EXCEED 30%. e In B.C. $36 billion is invested in savings. People who are fearful of their future don’t spend their disposable income, they save it. The only way to tap into that resource is to provide security and confidence in the work force. e When people feel threatened, insecure, when unemployment rates are high, education is cut, peel programmes reduced, and human rights are virtually non-existent, racism and intolerance results. e The Economic Council of Canada predicts a national unemployment rate of 8.5% to 10.7% until 1987. THERE IS NO INDICATION IN THE 1985 BUDGET THAT B.C. HAS SET ANY GOALS TO REDUCE UNEMPLOYMENT. B.C. Unemployed Feb. 1985 Jan. 1985 Seasonally Adjusted 215,000 15.0% 212,000 14.9% Actual 226,000 16.0% 228,000 16.4% 15-24 YEARS OF AGE Actual 68,000 23.3% 71,000 24.4% WOMEN (Actual) 92,000 15.2% 88,000 14.9% REGIONAL RATES: Vancouver 106,000 14.8% 105,000 14.9% Victoria 17,000 14.6% 18,000 16.1% East Kootenays 4,000 12.8% 4,000 14.7% West Kootenays 9,000 22.6% 11,000 26.7% Okanagan 23,000 20.5% 18,000 16.1% Southern Interior 10,000 18.3% 12,000 20.3% Lower Coast & Lower Mainland 116,000 14.7% 118,000 15.2% Vancouver Island 38,000 16.2% 39,000 17.1% Central Interior 17,000 18.1% 16,000 17.2% Peace River & Northwest 10,000 16.5% 17.71% Canada Unemployed Seasonally Adjusted 11.0% 11.2% Actual 11.9% 12.2% Provincial Unemployed Actual Newfoundland 23.4% 26.2% PEL 15.71% 16.5% Nova Scotia 15.2% 15.3% New Brunswick 17.0% 16.7% Quebec 12.7% 13.0% Ontario 9.4% 9.9% Manitoba 9.4% 9.5% Saskatchewan 9:3% 9.7% Alberta 12.3% 11.9% British Columbia 16.0% 16.4% e ONE MORE PERSON BECAME UNEMPLOYED EVERY 39 MINUTES IN THE PROVINCE BETWEEN 1975 AND 1984 ... THATS THE AVERAGE FOR THIS GOVERNMENT. e BETWEEN JULY OF 1981 AND JULY OF 1984 A NEW PERSON WENT ON WELFARE EVERY 16 MINUTES IN B.C. | ce: Lumber Worker/April, 1985/3