Eradication of Family and Child Poverty in Canada - Research Paper Example

Download file to see previous pages... Absolute poverty refers to the condition of life degraded by disease, illiteracy, malnutrition and squalor as to deny its victims of basic human necessities like food, clothing, shelter, safe drinking water, sanitation facilities and health, information and education (CDC, 2012). In the UN human development index, Canada is ranked fourth, but the measure of the marginalized aborigines would place Canada at 78th. The concept of poverty focuses on the low absolute income received by households, even though, its objective definition is hard to formulate. The fact that poverty is not just a matter of absolute income also implies something about relative income. According to Gordon (2006), relative poverty can only be defined by comparing one group of people with another. The challenge arises when the measure of comparing populations depends on a whole range of assumptions. Therefore, relative poverty is a process of encroaching deprivation by which people slip out of the mainstream of social life without being the stereotype pauper in rags and tatters (Gordon, 2006).
One out of ten children in Canada is poor and the child poverty rate is ranked at fifteen percent (CSR, 2011). There is also the use of food banks by its citizens with forty percent of those relying on food banks being children. October 17 marks the international day for poverty eradication and this year’s theme focuses on ending food insecurity for which the organizers developed the slogan the slogan ‘chew on this!’ The commemoration of this day promotes awareness in the fight to eradicate poverty in all nations and more so in the developing countries. Furthermore, the website advocates for child care that are of at most quality that is needs assessed and affordable and goes on to inform parents of what parameters in forms quality. In addition, the youth has been involved and they serve as volunteers for example the witness to poverty project provide the youth with platforms to learn and reflect on issues pertaining to poverty and more so come up with art works for media displays. It is noteworthy that the federal budget of 2013 does not include the children and instead deficit reductions are placed superior to the development of the human development index. In addition, Canada is a super power specifically a G8, it lacks national plans for housing and homelessness. This is so as there are insufficient resources and its coordination. Sadly, over one million people are unable to retain their housing (“End Child Poverty Now”, 2000). Reasons Why Poverty Is Persistent The poor always struggle against the following five interlocking disadvantages that are: poverty itself, physical weakness, isolation, vulnerability and powerlessness ( World Fact Book, 2008). They therefore, are trapped in the vicious cycle of poverty, in which people struggle to earn income that goes directly into food costs, making them string enough just to continue working for another meal. First, the household is poor characterized by poor social amenities, it has long or short term debts, their labor has low productivity, food and cash flows are low, unreliable, seasonal and inadequate. Secondly, the household is physically weak; there are high rates of dependants to able-bodied adults, who include the ...Download file to see next pagesRead More