General Information about
Poverty
Sounding the Alarm: Poverty in Canada is a
report tabled in the Senate in the spring of 1997 by the
Honourable Erminie Joy Cohen, New Brunswick Senator and honorary
chair of the Atlantic Poor People's Conference in 1995. For free
copies of this concise and comprehensive book on poverty contact
Senator Cohen's office at 1-800-267-7362.
Acceptable Living Level (September 1997) This
new report from the Social Planning Council of Winnipeg &
Winnipeg Harvest Food Bank explains how they researched and
calculated an acceptable basic cost of living and compares this
real cost with the low income cut-offs and with other proposed
ways of measuring poverty. To obtain contact either the Social
Planning Council at tel:204-943-2561/fax:942-3221 or Winnipeg
Harvest at tel:204-982-3663/fax:775-4180.
Left Poor by the Market: The Changing Profile of
Low-Income Canadians is the second in an important
series on the changing nature of work. The first study looked at
temporary employment. Future studies will look at low-wage and
part-time work. Available from Canadian Council on Social
Development, 441 MacLaren, 4th Floor, Ottawa ON K2P 2H3,
tel:613-236-8977/fax:236-2750 ($18.50 each).
Dispatches from the Poverty Line Author Pat
Capponi describes life at the edge of a society that is quickly
unravelling its social safety net. The author tells her own story
and the stories of others in present day Ontario. Available in
bookstores for $19.99. Publisher is Penguin Books.
A Child is Not a Toy: Voices of Children in Poverty
The third book by author and activist Sheila Baxter. The
others are Under the Viaduct: Homeless in Beautiful B.C. and No
Way to Live: Poor Women Speak Out. In each book Sheila brings us
the voices of the poor and of those who work with them, as she
searches for causes and realistic solutions with the help of the
poor. Available through bookstores or from her publisher New Star
Books, 2504 York Avenue, Vancouver BC V6K 1E3. Prices are about
$13-$15.
On the Edge: A Journey into the Heart of Canada
Author Lindalee Tracey gives us the human face of poverty
from her own life and the lives of the poor whom she visited with
across the country. She honours their warmth and fairness and
strength of community, and rages against the struggle imposed
upon them to meet basic human needs. Available through bookstores
or directly from the publisher Douglas & McIntyre
(1-800-667-6902 for Vancouver warehouse or 1-800-565-9523 for
Toronto warehouse)($16.95 before GST and shipping charges).
Child Poverty in Canada: Campaign 2000 Report Card 1997
-- available through NAPO or from Campaign 2000. Also Crossroads
for Canada: A Time to Invest in Our Children: Campaign 2000
Discussion Paper (November 1996) ($15) A detailed proposal
for an investment fund for Canada's poor children and their
families to eradicate child poverty. Also a new newsletter
Perspectives on a National Agenda for Canada's Children to keep
us up-to-date on policies and proposals for resolving child and
family poverty. Available from Campaign 2000, c/o Family Service
Association, 355 Church Street, Toronto ON M5B 1Z8,
tel:416-595-9230,ext.244/fax:595-0242.
Promises to Keep, Miles to Go (1996) An
examination of Canada's record in the International Year for the
Eradication of Poverty from the Ecumenical Coalition for Economic
Justice, 77 Charles Street West, Suite 402, Toronto ON M5S 1K5,
tel:416-921-4615/fax:922-1419 ($12.95).
Poverty Profile 1995 The latest annual profile
from the National Council of Welfare describes clearly the extent
of poverty in Canada and offers recommendations on how to combat
poverty. (2nd Floor, 1010 Somerset St.W., Ottawa ON K1A 0J9,
tel:613-957-2961/fax:957-0680)
Welfare Incomes 1995 The latest annual
comparison of welfare incomes across the country from the
National Council of Welfare.
The Canadian Fact Book on Poverty (1994) ($20)
includes information about the changing face of poverty in
Canada, and comparisons with poverty in other countries. Also A
Statistical Profile of Urban Poverty (1996) ($12)
provides a comparative demographic profile of poverty in Canada's
25 largest urban areas, using 1991 Census data. Also contains
poverty profiles for each province. Both by the Canadian Council
on Social Development, 441 MacLaren Street, 4th floor, Ottawa ON
K2P 2H3, tel:613-236-8977/fax:236-2750.
Basic Departmental Data: 1996 and 1991 Census
Highlights on Registered Indians: Annotated Tables
includes figures for Aboriginal people not included in the
annual income survey. Available from Statistical Inquiries,
Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, K1A 0H4,
tel:819-953-9999/fax:953-6010.
The Poverty Game is presented as a simulation that
helps professional and lay people become aware of the realities
of poverty and the welfare system. Using game boards and play
money, participants, in a workshop setting, pretend to spend two
months in the shoes of someone on welfare. The game is based on
real events and real people. Six single mothers from Dawson
Creek, B.C. developed the rules based on their own life
experiences. Created in 1983, this well tested and proven
learning tool about the welfare system has just completed its
fourth printing. The game includes 4 boards and enough supplies
for 24 workshop participants for a cost of $210. The game can be
borrowed or rented from anti-poverty groups in some communities.
These groups can often provide facilitators to ensure the best
use of this simulation tool. Can be purchased from Branching Out,
2-956 Cornwall Crescent, Dawson Creek BC V1G 1N9,
tel:604-782-5642.
Think Again: Challenging Attitudes on Poverty
NAPO's training kit for service providers and others, takes
participants through a process of learning and self-examination
on issues related to poverty and the poor. Challenging their own,
institutional and society's attitudes, workers in the
"helping professions" can improve the ways in which
they provide services. The kit includes an introductory video and
a binder of information handouts, teaching exercises, and
recommended resources from various perspectives: historical,
rural, feminist, multi-cultural, Aboriginal. ($50) Can be
borrowed from NAPO by low-income groups.
Them That's Not: Single Mothers and the Welfare System
This National Film Board video puts a human face to
statistics about women and poverty. We share through their
experience what it feels like to be poor and to raise children
under the scrutiny of an unsympathetic welfare system. Latest in
a series on the feminization of poverty. (1994) (length: 55
minutes) May be available from your local public library or can
be bought (about $30) from the National Film Board by calling
1-800-267-7710.
Voices from the Shadows A video about Canada's
complex, often punitive welfare system, seen through the lives of
three very different families and individuals living on
assistance in different parts of the country. The film documents
their day-to-day struggles, being forced into work programs,
surviving basic food needs through food banks, moving through a
maze of provincial and local welfare policies. (1992)(length: 73
minutes) Available through your public library or from the
National Film Board (about $38).
Northumberland Voices A video to show how
social and economic issues impact everyday people in
Northumberland County of Ontario and beyond and how some of these
people with the help of the local labour council responded by
setting up The Help Centre and a Community Legal Centre to serve
individual needs and contribute to community economic
development. The video combines individual stories, ideas about
community organizing and imaginative theatrical segments to
underscore the loss of the social safety net. It would be
relevant to grassroots organizing in any part of Canada. To order
call The Help Centre at 905-372-2646 (cost about $15)(length: 25
minutes).
Organizing Section of the Poverty Action Kit
from the west coast anti-poverty coalition End Legislated
Poverty (ELP). Contact ELP at #211-456 Broadway, Vancouver BC V5Y
1R3 tel:604-879-1209.
Notes on People's Organizations from a workshop at
NAPO's Poor People's Conference in 1993. Available from NAPO.
Fighting for Hope: Organizing to Realize Our Dreams
The author Joan Newman Kuyek has spent most of her life
trying to find ways to build the capacity of poor and
marginalized people to act on their own behalf. Her book includes
sections on building groups, creating visions, raising money and
choosing strategies. (1990) (Black Rose Books, Montreal, about
$15)
Toolbox for Justice and Stewardship The
Citizens for Public Justice group has produced a very useful
folder of information for political action -- brief, complete and
clearly presented. Order from CPJ at 1-800-667-8046 ($4).
ActionLink Tool Kit Council of Canadians has
produced a set of practical ideas for citizen action either as an
individual or as a group. The basic tool kit costs $7.54. There
are also information materials on various issues, and new modules
and updates to add. Please check for other costs with the Council
of Canadians, 904 - 251 Laurier Ave.W., Ottawa ON K1P 5J6,
tel:613-233-2773/fax:233-6776.
The 1997 Alternative Federal Budget Available
from NAPO in summary form. National groups have already begun
work on an alternative 1998 federal budget and workshops are
being held to expand the process to provincial and municipal
levels. The idea of alternative budgets began with the Winnipeg
social justice coalition CHO!CES, now working on this in
partnership with the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.
CCPA Monitor A monthly newsletter of invaluable
facts from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, #804 -
251 Laurier Ave. W., Ottawa ON K1P 5J6,
tel:613-563-1341/fax:233-1458. Annual subscription rate is $107.
Available at a reduced rate of $25 for students, seniors and low
income individuals.
Who's Counting? Marilyn Waring on Sex, Lies & Global
Economics After she was elected to the New Zealand
Parliament, Waring discovered that national accounting systems
(such as Gross Domestic Product) do not count many things --
notably the work of women and environmental damage -- and that ,
in political terms, "What isn't counted, doesn't
count." Waring demystifies economics and maps out an
alternative vision that would change the way we live on our
planet. A 1995 video from the National Film Board. (length: 94
minutes) Available from your local public library or from the NFB
for about $38 (to order: 1-800-267-7710).
Counting Ourselves In: A Women's Community Economic
Development Handbook and Women Get Credit: An
Introductory Kit on Alternative Financing Useful information
from WomenFutures and SPARC (Social Planning & Research
Council of B.C.). Order from WomenFutures, Community Economic
Development Society, 217-1956 West Broadway, Vancouver BC V6J
1Z2, tel:604-737-1338 ($15 and $13).
"This is our Place": Alternative Resources for
Low-Income Families (Revised Edition - 1996) An inventory of
more than 350 examples of alternative organizations and practices
springing from the resourcefulness of low-income families and
communities across Canada. Available from the School of Social
Work at the University of Ottawa, 43 Templeton Street, Ottawa ON
K1N 6N5, tel:613-562-5494 /fax:562-5495 ($15 -- cheque made out
to the University of Ottawa -- a complimentary copy can be
provided to low-income groups on request).
Beyond Poverty and Affluence: Towards a Canadian Economy
of Care (1994) argues for economic alternatives to solve the
problems of poverty, unemployment and destruction of the
environment. The creation of wealth has neither alleviated
poverty nor given us more time and funds for "care"
activities. The authors, economists Bob Goudzwaard and Harry de
Lange, propose the development of an economy which places care
needs first. Available from Citizens for Public Justice at
1-800-667-8046 ($18).
There are Alternatives ($10) and Media Action
Resource (bundle of 25 for $6) Education and action guides
for community and global alternatives. Available from Ten Days
for Global Justice, 77 Charles St. W., Suite 401, Toronto ON M5S
1K5, tel:416-922-0591/fax:922-1419.
On A Variety of Other
Subjects
The Street Speaks: A Survey Of, By, and For Low Income and
Homeless Calgarians on Homelessness. This survey is
particularly informed by those who know the issues best. Don't
miss the excellent questionnaire. The report is available from
CHOOSE: The Fellowship, tel:403-265-6920/fax:234-9532.
Rights of the Homeless: An Exploration of Canadian
Municipal By-Laws, Police Enforcement and Alternative Strategies
(1996) Available from the Vancouver Island Human Rights
Coalition, 418-610 View Street, Victoria BC V8W 1J6,
tel:250-382-3012 ($3.50).
Report of the Alternative Task Force on Panhandling (June
1996) Results of a survey of panhandlers, with good analysis of
the problem and progressive recommendations. Available from the
Victoria Street Community Association at 203 - 620 View Street,
Victoria BC V8W 1J6, tel:250-386-2347.
A Room of Our Own A video about discrimination and other
problems of finding affordable housing in the Toronto area, from
the Fort York Anti-Poverty Organization, 530 Lakeshore Blvd.W.,
Toronto ON M5V 1A5, tel:416-203-0050/fax: 203-0049 ($10).
HungerCount '97 The results of a survey of food banks
across the country, revealing that the number of people turning
to food banks for help has doubled since the last national
HungerCount was conducted in 1989. Available from the Canadian
Association of Food Banks, 530 Lakeshore Blvd. W., Toronto ON M5V
1A5, tel:416-203-9241/fax:203-9244.
First World Hunger: Food Security and Welfare Politics
(1996) Examines the hunger crisis and the politics and practice
of food security and welfare reform in Australia, Canada, New
Zealand, the UK and the USA. Alternative policies and strategies
directed at the abolition of hunger are explored. Edited by
Graham Riches; published by Garamond Press ($24.95).
The Waste of a Nation: Poor People Speak out about Charity
Interview responses about charities from the people who use
them, reveals the shortcomings of the charity model. Available
from End Legislated Poverty, #211-456 Broadway, Vancouver BC V5Y
1R3, tel:604-879-1209 (donation to cover copying and mailing
always welcome).
Workfare: Ideology for the New Under-Class (1997) This book
explores the myths and realities of workfare, examining programs
in four provinces and comparing with the experience in the US.
Available from bookstores (Garamond Press -- $21.95).
Women's Work: A Report from the Canadian Labour
Congress about the impact of economic restructuring on the work
and lives of women and what is needed to meet these challenges.
Available from the CLC, 2841 Riverside Drive, Ottawa ON K1V 8X7,
tel:613-521-3400, ext 259 or 262/fax:521-3113.
A Short Guide to Survival for the Unemployed explains
the latest changes to the Employment Insurance Act in text that
is easy to understand. It is available in English, French or
Spanish from Comité Chômage sud-ouest de Montréal, 4190 rue
Notre-Dame ouest, Montréal QC H4C 1J4 ($10 -- shipping
included).
A Pension Primer, A Guide to the Proposed Seniors Benefit,
and Improving the Canada Pension Plan (all three in
1996) Very clear explanations from the National Council of
Welfare, 2nd Floor, 1010 Somerset St.W., Ottawa ON K1A 0J9,
tel:613-957-2961/fax:957-0680.
The Highs and Lows of Access to Banking Services in Canada
(1996) An earlier study finding financial institutions
discriminate against low-income consumers in Quebec is extended
to reveal that the problems are even greater in Ontario, B.C. and
Nova Scotia. The report is available from ACEF, 2120 Sherbrooke
Street East, Suite 604, Montreal QC H2K 1C3,
tel:514-598-7288/fax:598-8511 ($25)( for groups on limited
budgets please call as discounts are available).
Some U.S. Sources
Comprehensive subscription package from the Centre on Budget and
Policy Priorities provides the Center's publications on poverty,
income distribution, the federal budget, plus reports on hunger
and welfare to keep the subscriber up-to-date on U.S.
information. Available from the Center at 777 North Capital
Street NE, Suite 705, Washington, DC 20002,
tel:202-408-1080/fax:408-1056 ($45/year in U.S. dollars).
The Good Society: The Humane Agenda (1996) Pre-eminent
economist John Kenneth Galbraith presents the blueprint for a
society that is compassionate to the less fortunate and
economically feasible for all. (Houghton Mifflin publisher --
$32.95 in Canada)
America: What Went Wrong? and America: Who Really
Pays the Taxes from Pulitzer prize-winning reporters of the
Philadelphia Inquirer Donald L. Barlett and James B. Steele. The
first book describes how the rulemakers in Washington and the
dealmakers on Wall Street have changed the rules of the game to
favor the privileged and the powerful at the expense of everyone
else. (Andrews and McMeel publisher -- cost $9.95 in Canada). The
second is an exposé of what's wrong with the American tax system
and how to fix it. Originally designed to spread the cost of
government fairly, the tax code has turned into a gold mine of
loopholes and giveaways manipulated by the influential and
wealthy for their own benefit. (Simon and Schuster publisher --
$13 in Canada)
The War Against the Poor by Herbert J. Gans (1995) is
in hard cover and expensive but may be available at a university
or public library near you.
Copyright © 1997 The National Anti-Poverty Organization (NAPO)