NLIS 22
March 21, 2005
(Human Resources, Labour and Employment)
Building pathways to
poverty reduction
Joan Burke, Minister of Human
Resources, Labour and Employment, said today that several Budget
2005 measures help lessen poverty in Newfoundland and Labrador,
including funding for the development of a strategic plan on
addressing the issue of poverty.
"Community advocates and those who work on the front-lines of
delivering social programming recognize that poverty is an extremely
complex issue and cannot be viewed as simply the result of a lack of
financial resources," said Minister Burke. "To transform
Newfoundland and Labrador from a province with the most poverty to
one with the least will require an in-depth understanding of both
the people at risk of poverty as well as the social and economic
factors that keep them in poverty."
"I am very pleased to announce that government is taking an
integrated approach to the issue of poverty that will engage
community partners," said Minister Burke. "As a first step,
government will invest $200,000 towards the development of this
strategy. This is being done in conjunction with other significant
initiatives to address barriers for those most often affected by the
impacts of poverty, including children, single parents, women and
persons with disabilities."
Key commitments include:
- $1.8 million to increase income
support rates for couples and single clients without children by
one per cent effective July 1, 2005 and one per cent effective
January 1, 2006;
- $350,000 for an improved
earnings exemption for working income support clients that will
allow them to keep an additional 10 per cent of their earnings
beyond the current level;
- An additional $411,000 under the
Labour Market Development Agreement for Persons with
Disabilities;
- $250,000 to increase the 1st
child benefit of the Newfoundland and Labrador Child Benefit;
and,
- $180,000 to implement a second
pilot to assist single parents in receipt of income support
prepare for, find and keep employment.
Other initiatives announced in Budget
2005, such as funding for the creation of a High School Completion
Incentive and a greater focus on youth at risk, will also help
alleviate and reduce poverty. "These are all examples of sound
social programming that will ensure our clients continue to receive
appropriate support," said Minister Burke. "However, such measures
alone are not enough to achieve long-term poverty reduction. We must
have a clear understanding of who lives in poverty and why, and we
must look at the issue from all angles including gender, education,
housing, health, tax measures and financial supports. This will all
be done as we develop a strategy on poverty reduction."
Media contact: Jacquelyn Howard, Communications, (709) 729-4062,
689-2624
BACKGROUNDER
Addressing poverty - A strategic approach
The Department of Human Resources,
Labour and Employment (HRLE) will support government’s goal to
reduce poverty in Newfoundland and Labrador by leading the
development of a strategic plan. The department will take a
consultative approach in this effort as any plan to reduce poverty
in a meaningful way must involve the work of departments at the
provincial and federal levels in addition to community involvement.
Researchers and advocacy groups have come to view poverty not simply
as a lack of financial resources, but as both the cause and
consequence of social exclusion. A lack of money prevents
individuals from fully participating in the social and economic
activities of their communities. Poverty remains a persistent
challenge for Canada and Newfoundland and Labrador. It is directly
related to poorer outcomes in health, education and employment, and
it increases women’s vulnerability to violence. These outcomes limit
people’s ability to fully participate in their communities and to
contribute to a productive and prosperous society.
It is difficult to put a dollar figure on how much poverty costs,
but there are many indicators of the human cost of poverty, such as
increased illness, more violence against women, lower labour force
participation and more family disintegration. Poverty also results
in increased costs to the health care, education and justice
systems. Groups most impacted by persistent poverty include women,
single mothers and children, persons living with disabilities and
aboriginal persons. For many, poverty is temporary and may be linked
to periods of study, job loss, divorce or flight from a violent
partner. Some people living in poverty, such as university students,
will likely move out of poverty quickly because they are developing
skills and knowledge to help them earn good incomes. On the other
hand, people living in poverty who have minimal education and great
difficulty accessing education or training are likely to suffer
prolonged periods of poverty.
For these reasons, HRLE, on behalf of government, is pursuing a
comprehensive, integrated approach that will make the connections
between poverty and gender, education, housing, employment, health,
social and financial supports, and tax measures and the link between
women’s poverty and their increased vulnerability to violence. In
addition, it is also necessary to consider how different policies
may relate to each other and impact the person they are designed to
assist. For example, supports to reduce poverty are often
income-tested. That is, the benefit reduces, as income rises. When
support programs are viewed in isolation of each other, they may
appear to be operating reasonably well. However, when considered
collectively, the phase out of benefits may actually create a
barrier to employment. Therefore, it is important that steps to
reduce poverty be made in an integrated manner, not piecemeal.
Government’s strategic plan will include a profile of those living
in poverty in the province, and will incorporate initiatives to
reduce the depth and level of poverty, alleviate its negative
effects and help break the cycle of inter-generational dependency
over the mid- and long-term. A significant gap currently exists in
the data available to build accurate profiles of poverty in the
province. The development of the strategic plan will include
research to further understand the dynamics of those living in
poverty, including geography, gender, duration, family type, and
attachment to the labour market. After tax incomes and comparisons
to the cost of living throughout the province will be considered as
part of this analysis.
The strategy to reduce poverty in the longer-term will look at the
roles of various stakeholders and such programs and areas as income
support rates, the tax system, child benefits, access to
prescription drugs, education and training supports, housing
supports, initiatives to enhance economic development in the
province and incentives to improve compliance with support
enforcement orders.
Initiatives by HRLE announced in Budget 2005 are the result of an
extensive review of all the department’s programs and services
leading to a focus on youth at risk, and enhancement of employment
and career services. All measures are inter-connected and have been
developed keeping in mind government’s goal to reduce poverty, help
our province’s most vulnerable gain long-term meaningful employment
and enable them to participate fully in their communities.
The development of a strategic plan will build on the work already
undertaken by an inter-departmental working group on poverty.
Representation included Education, Health and Community Services,
Innovation, Trade and Rural Development, Finance, Women’s Policy
Office, Rural Secretariat, the Labour Relations Agency and the
Newfoundland and Labrador Housing Corporation. The next step will be
to engage other stakeholders.
2005 03 21
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