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Women
and Poverty
Women, Poverty and Social Assistance
 Social
assistance (welfare) is a system created to protect people
from poverty. But how successful is this government service?
Though
Canada does not have an official poverty line, Statistics
Canada Low-Income Cut-Off (LICO) is frequently used to define
poverty. In Manitoba, Winnipeg Harvest and the Social Planning
Council of Winnipeg developed a more realistic measure of
poverty using data and situations from the lives of real people.
Their measure is called the Acceptable Living Levels (ALL)
and considers such things as nutritional needs and the place
of the person within the community. It challenges the discrepancy
between what a person should be able to afford and what she
can afford.
According to both the LICO and the ALL, social assistance
rates in Manitoba fall well below the poverty-line.
| |
Before
Tax Low-Income Cut Off (urban) |
Basic Social
Assistance Rates - with shelter (Winnipeg) |
Acceptable
Living Level (pre-tax) in Winnipeg |
| Family
of 1 |
$21,666 |
$3,491 |
$15,430 |
Family
of 2
(1 adult, 1 child) |
$26,972 |
$5,148 |
n/a |
Family
of 3
(1 adult, 2 children) |
$33,159 |
$6,319 |
$33,471 |
Family
of 4
(2 adults, 2 children) |
$40,259 |
$7,927 |
$36,996 |
Family
of 4
(1 adult, 3 children) |
$40,259 |
$8,273 |
n/a |
Source: Statistics Canada Before Tax Low Income Cut-Offs 2007.
Acceptable Living Level(ALL) prepared by the Social Planning
Council of Winnipeg 2003. Social assistance rates current
as of 2009.
- According
to LICO, a single person on social assistance falls 84%
below the poverty line. According to the ALL, a single person
on social assistance falls 78% below the poverty line.
- According
to LICO, a family of 2 (1 adult, 1 child) on social assistance,
falls 81% below the poverty-line.
- According
to the LICO, a family of 4 (2 adults, 2 children) on social
assistance, falls 80% below the poverty-line. According
to ALL, the same family falls 81% below the poverty-line.
45%
of social assistance recipients are single parents.
The
provincial government announced a small increase of about
$20/month to the social assistance rates in April 2003.
This was the first increase in 10 years.
There has not been an increase since.
To read what two single mothers have
to say about living on social assistance visit:
They
don't give it to you because they think you deserve it
(Melody's story)
Trying
to get off welfare is as hard as trying to get on (Anonymous
story)
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What
are the Causes?
The Wage
Gap
Women and Poverty
What can
governments do?
If You
Need Help
Planning
Ahead
Poverty
in Canada Quiz
Global
Poverty Quiz
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