(The Canadian Press)

By Nigel Maxwell

Poverty

Child poverty rate in Saskatchewan third highest in country, says new report

Nov 24, 2021 | 5:00 PM

Saskatchewan’s child poverty rate is well above the Canadian average, and greater than all other provinces and territories except Manitoba and Nunavut, according to research done by the University of Regina’s Faculty of Social Work.

The 2021 Saskatchewan Child and Poverty Report Card is based on data from 2019, and notes the overall provincial child poverty rate is 26.1 per cent. This is essentially on par with last year’s report, which looked at numbers from 2017.

“We are concerned about the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the current and future poverty level and the inadequate amount of money being made available to families and children is making the situation worse,” noted the report’s author Dr. Miguel Sanchez.

Amongst the province’s ten largest cities, Estevan, Weyburn, Swift Current and Lloydminster fluctuated between 10.1 per cent and 13.2 per cent. In contrast, North Battleford and Prince Albert had the highest overall poverty rates of 19.9 to 24.9 per cent, as well as the highest child poverty rates of 28.1 and 35.8 per cent.

For the area comprising the rural population; the small towns and cities; and the northern part of the province, the overall poverty rate in 2019 was 22.6 per cent and the child poverty rate was 32.1 per cent. That means outside the ten cities, one in five persons was poor and one in three children was poor.

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Sanchez wrote the data collected in his report does not consider the already visible adverse health and economic effects the COVID 19 pandemic has brought to the entire population, especially those living in poverty throughout the world.

“The future does not bode well for low-income residents of the province – it seems likely that when data about the province’s poverty rate for 2020 become available, there will be a significant increase in poverty,” he wrote.

Who are the poor?

According to Sanchez, the most pronounced poverty rate was found among children living in single parent families.

In Saskatchewan in 2019, almost one half of children in lone-parent families experienced low income (49.1 per cent).

(Statistics Canada 2019)

What can be done?

Among the key recommendations in the report is to increase government transfers (child tax and social assistance) to the provinces, claiming they have proven to be a very effective way to reduce poverty.

“Their inadequacy is in the amount of money made available to families and children. The depth of poverty rates indicates how inadequate the present benefits levels are,” Sanchez said.

Response from front line staff

Kim Scruby, Executive Director of the Prince Albert Food Bank, told paNOW the numbers in the report fall in line with what he and his staff are seeing.

“I know often Food Banks Canada will cite cross country that 40 per cent of all food bank users are kids. We’ve always been around 50 to 52,” he said.

With respect to possible answers, Scruby said he is not sure if increasing the money given to families alone is the answer.

“I often wonder if going back to things like rent control might actually make it a lot easer for low income earners to make it to the end ot the month,” he said.

Going forward, Scruby agreed with Sanchez that the numbers will likely increase, as the effects of the pandemic are felt.

“Just the inflationary impact households are seeing right now is pretty significant. Grocery costs I’ve seen cited around six to seven per cent, but when it actually seems a lot higher when you go into the grocery store,” he said.

Janet Carriere, Executive Director of the Indian Metis Friendship Centre in Prince Albert, said it used to be the case where poverty in the city was isolated to one or two areas, but now it’s everywhere. One of the goals of her list is to create an affordable grocery store for low income families.

“I really believe it would make a huge difference here in our community,” she said.

Noting big projects like this do cost a lot of money, Carriere explained the store would be exclusively for low income families, who would have access by way of a free membership card.

“My dream is to provide affordable food to families but also to work out ways children can have milk and fruit and all those things we take for granted all month long; not just when child tax comes,” she said.

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nigel.maxwell@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @nigelmaxwell