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Poverty In Developing Countries
Speech on poverty in canada
Poverty In Developing Countries
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We all know Canada as a caring and generous nation. It is one of the wealthiest nations in the world and has a very high standard of living (the fourth highest in the world). Unfortunately, there is a side of Canada that is hidden from the majority of the world, and it is scar for those who know about it.
In the fall of 1989, the House of Commons passed a resolution stating that “This House seeks to achieve the goal of eliminating poverty among Canadian children by the year 2000.” It is now 2009, more than two decades after the plan was proposed, and almost a decade after the 2000 deadline. However, this problem has only been getting worse. According to the 2008 National Report Card on Child and Family Poverty in Canada, one out of every eight children in the country are living in poverty. Child Poverty is in the double digits in all provinces except Alberta, Quebec, and Prince Edward Island. In 2007, 345 000 kids in Ontario alone were living in poverty. Canada has a child poverty rate of 15 percent, this is triple the amount of other first-world countries such as Norway, Finland and Sweden. Over the past two decades, our economic status has improved, but this situation has been getting worse.
Often, we don’t realize how privileged we are, and forget those living among us who are much less fortunate. Five million Canadians are living in poverty and there is an increasing amount of youth, young families, workers and Aboriginals in this demographic. A 2008 study by Statistics Canada shows that half of all Aboriginal children live in low income families. Additionally, children with disabilities or recent immigrants and lone-parent families face a greater chance of growing up poor. Moreover, the Canadian Association of Food Banks ...
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...post-secondary education. If they don’t go to university or college, they will most likely get a lower wage when they start working. Every child should have the same access to a better education. Right now, tuition fees are increasing in 6 provinces. Financial aid should have a priority list, of people from low-income families.
Finally, we need to put more of an emphasis on this problem. We already have the public’s support, and with some effort from the political parties, we can definitely improve this situation. We are not saying that our party can change everything by ourselves, but if we are elected, we will work with other parties to try to solve this situation. This is something we can overcome as a country. Like NDP MP, Olivia Chow (Trinity-Spadina) said, ““We have to decide as a country which comes first – corporate tax cuts or defeating child poverty.”
Toronto: Pearson Prentice Hall. The Justice System and Aboriginal People: Child Welfare. n.d. - n.d. - n.d. The Aboriginal Justice Implementation Commission. Retrieved December 12, 2013, from http://www.ajic.mb.ca/volumel/chapter14.html.
The over-representation of Aboriginal children in the Canadian Child Welfare system is a growing and multifaceted issue rooted in a pervasive history of racism and colonization in Canada. Residential schools were established with the intent to force assimilation of Aboriginal people in Canada into European-Canadian society (Reimer, 2010, p. 22). Many Aboriginal children’s lives have been changed adversely by the development of residential schools, even for those who did not attend them. It is estimated that Aboriginal children “are 6-8 times more likely to be placed in foster care than non-Aboriginal children (Saskatchewan Child Welfare Review Panel, 2010, p. 2).” Reports have also indicated that First Nations registered Indian children make up the largest proportion of Aboriginal children entering child welfare care across Canada (Saskatchewan Child Welfare Review Panel, p. 2). Consequently, this has negatively impacted Aboriginal communities experience of and relationship with child welfare services across the country. It is visible that the over-representation of Aboriginal children in the child welfare system in Canada lies in the impact of the Canadian policy for Indian residential schools, which will be described throughout this paper.
Canada has undergone a wealth of changes in the past fifty years, many of which have progressed this country from loyal soldiers of Britain to prominent world bankers. Through the evolution of legislature, economic policy, and the actions of the Canadian Forces, Canada’s global image has developed since the end of World War II. Canada’s current global image, an amalgamation of actions in the past fifty years, demonstrates Canada to be an independent entity of substantial belief in people’s well-being and equality, strong economic policy that is widely regarded, and a military that is equal parts peacekeeping and combatant forces.
Why am I Poor? First Nations Child Poverty in Ontario. Canada: Best Start Resource Center,
In recent years, the number of children whose families fall under the line of poverty has risen at an alarming rate. Crosson-Tower (2013) postulated a reason for this increase when she said, “The recent weakening economy, a higher unemployment rate, unprecedented numbers of home foreclosures and a decline in the safety net for children and their families have resulted in a gradual continuing increase in children living in extreme poverty” (p. 57). Apparently, nearly every aspect of the United States’ crumbling economy affects a family’s ability to meet basic needs. The rise in single parent, mother headed families has not helped poverty statistics because of the lower earning potential of women. A major reason so many children liv...
There is a vast inequality between the education of an aboriginal and that of a non-aboriginal person. “Only 31 percent – about half the Canadian average – of the Aboriginal on-reserve population has a high school education” (Center for Social Justice, 2011). This is a staggering number when we stop to consider how hard it is in our society to become successful in life when one does not have at least a high school education. In the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms every citizen of Canada is guaranteed an education and yet the students on these reserves...
Today, Canada is among the most free and secure countries in the world. Although Canada has gone through some rough patches, like every country is bound to do, it is safe to say that all Canadians should be proud of the country that Canada is today. When faced with the question, “Is Canada a country to be proud of?”, the answer is simple, yes. The justification for this response is explained through many reasons, however a few stand out. These outstanding reasons are, one being Canada’s participation in peacekeeping missions, another being the Canadian charter of human rights, and lastly Canada’s participation in war. All of these three essential reasons substantiate that Canada is truly one of the finest countries in
Poverty is difficult to describe and a major factor in determining poverty relies on where in globe you are choosing to focus, the culture that is being examined and the overall wealth of the country. For the sake of this paper I am choosing to discuss poverty in Canada, which by definition does not exist according to Canadian Counsel of Social Development (2004). Furthermore; I will discuss the Low Income Cut off Lines (LICO) which is commonly known as the ‘poverty line’ to help determine the poverty rate for Canadian women. “The situation of poverty among women in Canada is well established. More than half of all Canadians living in poverty are women. In total, approximately 19 percent of women in Canada live below the poverty line. Fifty-six percent of lone parent families headed by women are poor, compared with 24 percent of those headed by men. Almost half (49 percent) of single, wid...
The needs of Aboriginal youth are not being met in mainstream systems. Undoubtedly, with the high dropout rate of “7 out of 10 first nation youth drop out of school” (Donovan, 128), the school system is failing them. Across Canada only “23 percent of the Aboriginal population has their high school diploma” (Donovan, 129). Aboriginal people make up the youngest and fastest growing segment of our population, and yet many still have significantly less education than the general population.
Poverty is quite an issue not only in third world countries but also here in the United States. Interviews were conducted with 74 families with school-age children, including 44 families living at or below 150% of the federal poverty level and 30 families living above 150% of poverty (Heymann 5). Over 14 million U.S. children lived in poverty in 1997 (Sherman and Sandfort 555).
While efforts are made to recognize aboriginals in the present day such as National Aboriginal Day (June 21) and gaining the right to vote, it can never erase the permanent scars Canadian society has caused to aboriginals. Most of the First Nations people today are living in poverty and are suffering from bad health. "Why do you allow the first people of this land to endure and live in Third World conditions?" a indigenous, female student from Saskatoon asked Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Mr. Trudeau answered, "Quite frankly ... this is a stain and a scar upon, not just our sense of who we are and our morality as Canadians, but on the kind of country we need to be building," (Justin
Poverty is a serious issue in Canada needs to be addressed promptly. Poverty is not simply about the lack of money an individual has; it is much more than that. The World Bank Organization defines poverty by stating that, “Poverty is hunger. Poverty is lack of shelter. Poverty is being sick and not being able to see a doctor. Poverty is not having access to school and not knowing how to read. Poverty is not having a job, is fear for the future, living one day at a time”. In Canada, 14.9 percent of Canada’s population has low income as Statistics Canada reports, which is roughly about two million of Canadians in poverty or on the verge of poverty. In addition, according to an UNICEF survey, 13.3 percent of Canadian children live in poverty. If the government had started to provide efficient support to help decrease the rates of poverty, this would not have been such a significant issue in Canada. Even though the issue of poverty has always been affecting countries regardless of the efforts being made to fight against it, the government of Canada still needs to take charge and try to bring the percentage of poverty down to ensure that Canada is a suitable place to live. Therefore, due to the lack of support and social assistance from the government, poverty has drastically increased in Canada.
Poverty is the state for the majority of people in this world. In Canada there are over 4.5 million people living in poverty. Poverty is not only an issue in canada but an issue that needs to be focused on all over the world. About 14% of canada is living under the yearly income threshold which means they are living in poverty.
Ideological, social, political, and economic factors of a given period play key roles in developing and maintaining any social welfare policies in which the area of child welfare is not an exception. Throughout the history of child welfare legislation in Canada, Acts have been passed and modified according to the changing concept of childhood and to the varying degree of societal atmosphere of each period.
Child poverty is a major and complex issue that New Zealand faces today. The degree is far more severe than the public's perception and it is a problem that we cannot afford to ignore. A combination of factors contributes to child poverty, from individual causes at the micro level to the macro collective government involvement. This occurs partly due to social construction and it is potentially avoidable. The consequences can impact on both individual and to a great extent affect significantly on the country as a whole. If the issue is not resolved, the inequality will continue, if not worsen and becomes an ongoing intergeneration cycle. 'The poor get poorer and poorer', children can easily fall into the poverty trap where it becomes nearly impossible to reach an end to this issue. The consequences of the disparity have a major outcome on the societal level.