Geranda Notten, L’Université d’Ottawa/University of Ottawa
Canada’s official poverty measure only focuses on income and ignores other important factors, meaning there are millions of Canadians living in poverty that are ignored by the measure.
An estimated 540,000 Australians didn’t have paid work ahead of lockdown, so missed out on COVID-19 support this year. They’ve been left to live on $44 a day — well below the poverty line.
JobKeeper and the COVID Supplement to JobSeeker benefits will be gone in a week. The combined effect will be to halve some recipients’ incomes and the rent they can afford.
Canadians should invest in affordable housing. It’s a commitment to lifting the most vulnerable members of our society from the ground up — and lifting our entire country up in the process.
A new ANU computer algorithm can provide near instant answers about how to get the best bang for welfare dollars. It says we should boost Newstart and cut either pensions or family benefits.
We increasingly celebrate entrepreneurial self-reliance, but for disadvantaged people, the certainty of an adequate income is a fundamental foundation. It may not be sufficient, but it is necessary.
Last week I joined 8,500 Australians on the charity challenge to live below the extreme poverty line, spending just $2 a day on food for five days. It was tough and my diet was far from complete.