http://tinyurl.com/z94xn

Editorial: Failing the poorest
May 24, 2006. 01:00 AM

Any lingering doubt that Canada is neglecting its poorest citizens has been
dispelled by two major reports released in the last week.

The first was an internal audit of the inadequacies of Canada's social
programs by a Toronto-based task force comprised of business, union and
special interest group leaders.

That was followed by an external audit released this week by the United
Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.

Like the task force, the UN committee condemns an Employment Insurance
system that provides coverage to so few Canadians.

And like the domestic task force, it reproves "minimum wages in all
provinces and territories (that) are insufficient to enable workers and
their families to enjoy a decent standard of living."

But where the Canadian task force focused primarily on the needs of urban,
working-age adults, the United Nations' panel ventures further afield,
extending its critique to policies that fail to address the deplorable
living conditions of aboriginal Canadians and institutionalize
discrimination against many First Nations women and their children.

It denounces social assistance benefits that are lower than a decade ago,
and which are insufficient to meet basic needs for food, clothing and
shelter. It also criticizes "the discriminatory impact of the National
Child Benefit `clawback system' on the poorest families in Canada."

The committee rebukes Canadian policymakers for their failure to address
the shortage of affordable housing, widespread homelessness and the heavy
reliance on food banks by 2.3 million people.

But the committee's most stinging indictment deals not with all this
evidence of neglect, but with Canada's failure to act when there is in fact
nothing standing in our way.

In the polite language of diplomacy, it notes, "the absence of any factors
or difficulties preventing the effective implementation of the
(international) Covenant (on economic, social and cultural rights) in
Canada."

In its report, the committee notes that it has raised many of the same
concerns repeatedly in previous reviews of Canada, but to little effect.

This time, Ottawa and the provinces should pay attention.

-------------------
Problems/Questions? Send it to Listserv owner: [log in to unmask]


To unsubscribe, send the following message in the text section -- NOT the subject header --  to [log in to unmask]
SIGNOFF SDOH

DO NOT SEND IT BY HITTING THE REPLY BUTTON. THIS SENDS THE MESSAGE TO THE ENTIRE LISTSERV AND STILL DOES NOT REMOVE YOU.

To subscribe to the SDOH list, send the following message to [log in to unmask] in the text section, NOT in the subject header.
SUBSCRIBE SDOH yourfirstname yourlastname

To post a message to all 1000+ subscribers, send it to [log in to unmask]
Include in the Subject, its content, and location and date, if relevant.

For a list of SDOH members, send a request to [log in to unmask]

To receive messages only once a day, send the following message to [log in to unmask]
SET SDOH DIGEST

To view the SDOH archives, go to: https://listserv.yorku.ca/archives/sdoh.html