Resolution Adopted by the Canadian Public Health Association
Reducing Poverty and Its Negative Effects on Health
at the CPHA Annual Meeting in Ottawa, October 25, 2000
CPHA 1-613-725-3769
WHEREAS 20% of Canadian children, 15% of Canadians in
families, and more than one-third (36%) of unattached
Canadians all lived in poverty* in 1997 (the most recent year
for which data are available)1 despite economic growth,
declining unemployment rates, and Canada's number one human
development ranking among all countries in the world since the
early 1990s,1-3
WHEREAS poverty, whether conceptualized and measured as
absolute or relative in nature,4 negatively affects the
health of individuals, communities, and society as a
whole,5-12
WHEREAS the most effective way to reduce the negative health
consequences of poverty is, first and foremost, to reduce the
rate and depth of poverty in Canada,13 and also to reduce
economic burden and barriers to health experienced by people
in poverty,
WHEREAS poverty is a complex phenomenon that is rooted in a
network of social, economic, and political factors and
conditions, some of which include changing labour market
conditions14 as well as social assistance benefits and minimum
wages that are insufficient to meet basic needs and allow
meaningful participation in society,4
WHEREAS it is highly improbable that poverty and the economic
burden and barriers to health experienced by people in poverty
will decline in the absence of social and economic policies
and programs that specifically aim to reduce the rate and
depth of poverty and aim to reduce the economic burden and
barriers to health experienced by people in poverty,
WHEREAS the federal, provincial, and territorial governments
in Canada have implemented some policies and programs that aim
to reduce the negative health consequences of poverty (e.g.,
pre and post-natal and early intervention programs)15-18 and
aim to reduce the economic burden (e.g., child tax benefit)
and barriers to health (e.g., comprehensive health benefits
for children in working poor families) experienced by some
people in poverty,19 Canada does not have a comprehensive
coordinated network of social and economic policies and
programs, the specific purposes of which are to reduce the
rate and depth of poverty and to reduce the economic burden
and barriers to health experienced by people in poverty, and
WHEREAS the Canadian Public Health Association (CPHA) has gone
on record acknowledging the negative health consequences of
social and economic inequities such as poverty,20-22
acknowledging its commitment to reducing such inequities,
23-26 and purporting the responsibility of public health
professionals to the reduction of health inequities,26
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT the CPHA reconfirm its
commitment to the reduction of social and economic inequities
by working in partnership with health, social, and
anti-poverty organizations and coalitions (e.g., Canadian
Council on Social Development, Canadian Centre for Policy
Alternatives, Canadian Nurses Association, National
Anti-Poverty Organization, Campaign 2000, Child and Family
Canada) to influence the federal, provincial, and territorial
governments to develop and implement a comprehensive
coordinated network of policies and programs that aim to
reduce the rate and depth of poverty and aim to reduce
economic burden and barriers to health experienced by people
in poverty,
AND FURTHER BE IT RESOLVED that CPHA develop and implement a
social marketing campaign to educate and promote dialogue with
the public about the persistence of poverty in the midst of
economic growth and declining unemployment rates; the negative
effects that poverty has on the health of individuals,
families, communities, and society as a whole; and
solutions/strategies for reducing poverty and its negative
health consequences.
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*Poverty is defined here as the relative deprivation of income
that is necessary to meet basic needs and a standard of living
that is consistent with the norms of the society within which
one lives.4, 27
References
1.National Council of Welfare. Poverty Profile 1997. Ottawa:
Minister of Public Works and Government Services Canada, 1999.
2. Statistics Canada. Economic Indicators Canada. (On line:
http://www.statcan.ca).
3. United Nations Development Program. Human Development
Report 1999. (On line: http://www.undp.org).
4. Williamson DL, Reutter L. Defining and measuring poverty:
Implications for the health of Canadians. Health Promotion
International 1999; 14(4): 355-364.
5. Shaw M, Dorling D, Davey Smith G. Poverty, social
exclusion, and minorities. In: Marmot J. & Wilkinson RG (Ed.),
Social Determinants of Health. New York: Oxford University
Press, 1999; 211-239.
6. Reutter L. Socioeconomic determinants of health. In Stewart
MJ (Ed.), Community Nursing: Promoting Canadians' Health, 2nd
edition, Toronto: W.B. Saunders. 2000; 174-193.
7. Kaplan GA, Pamuk E, Lynch JW, Cohen RD, Balfour JL. Income
inequality and mortality in the United States. British Medical
Journal 1996; 312: 999-1003.
8. Kennedy BP, Kawachi I, Prothrow-Stith D. Income
distribution and mortality: Cross-sectional study of the Robin
Hood Index in the United States. British Medical Journal 1996;
312: 1004-1007.
9. Kennedy BP, Kawachi I, Glass R, Prothrow-Stith D. Income
distribution, socioeconomic status, and self rated health in
the United States: multilevel analysis. British Medical
Journal 1998; 317: 917-921.
10. Lynch JW., Kaplan GA, Pamuk ER, Cohen RD, Heck KE,
Balfour, JL, Yen IH. Income inequality and mortality in
metropolitan areas of the United States. American Journal of
Public Health 1998: 88: 1074-1080.
11. Wilkinson R. Unhealthy Societies. London: Routledge, 1996.
12. Wolfson MC, Kaplan G, Lynch J, Ross NA, Backlund E. The
relationship between income inequality and mortality is not a
statistical artefact: An empirical assessment. British Medical
Journal 1999; 319: 953-957.
13. Link BG, Phelan J. Social conditions as fundamental causes
of disease. Journal of Health and Social Behavior 1995; Extra
issue: 80-94.
14. Jackson A, Robinson D. Falling Behind: The State of
Working Canada 2000. Ottawa: Canadian Centre for Policy
Alternatives, 2000.
15. Health Canada. Canada Prenatal Nutrition Program. (On
line: http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hppb/childhood-youth/cbp/cpnp)
16. Health Canada. Community Action Program for Children
(CAPC). (On line:
http://www.hc-sc.ca/hppb/childhood-youth/cbp/capc)
17. Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care. Healthy
Babies, Health Children Program. (On line:
http://www.gov.on.ca/health/english/program/child/child).
18. Manitoba Children and Youth Secretariat. Manitoba Children
and Youth Status Report. Winnipeg: Author, 1999.
19. Government of Canada. National Child Benefit Progress
Report 1999. (On line: http://socialunion.gc.ca/ncb).
20. Canadian Public Health Association. Health Impacts of
Social and Economic Conditions: Implications for Public
Policy. Ottawa: Author, 1997.
21. Canadian Public Health Association. Reducing Inequities in
Health CPHA Position Paper II. Ottawa: Author, 1993.
22. Canadian Public Health Association. 1997 Position Paper on
Homelessness and Health. Ottawa: Author, 1997.
23. Canadian Public Health Association. 1993 Resolution No. 12
Position Paper on Reducing Inequities in Health. Ottawa:
Author, 1993.
24. Canadian Public Health Association. 1993 Resolution No. 13
Association Actions on Reducing Inequities. Ottawa: Author,
1993.
25. Canadian Public Health Association. 1989 Resolution #1
Healthy Public Policy: A Framework. Ottawa: Author, 1989.
26. Canadian Public Health Association. Action Statement for
Health Promotion in Canada. Ottawa: Author, 1996.
27. Reitsma-Street M, Townsend P. Peter Townsend: An
international scholar of poverty. Canadian Review of Sociology
1996; 38: 101-106.
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