Social Policy in Ontario

Re: “ ‘Poverty’ drops; media ignore it” (Opinion, July 23)

Columnist Andrew Coyne wonders why is it that we aren’t celebrating a recent Statistics Canada report which suggests that “fewer Canadians than ever are struggling to make ends meet.” One reason could be that there has been no improvement concerning child poverty, which is on the increase.

Mr. Coyne states that the 2011 report shows that the Low Income Cut Off fell to its lowest level ever, which is indeed good news. That said, according to newly-released figures from Statistics Canada, the child-poverty rate in British Columbia rose from 10.5 per cent in 2010 to 11.3 per cent in 2011.

In Quebec, the story is basically the same, with approximately one-in-10 Montrealers relying on social assistance for income support, including 46,500 children per month.

Chris Eustace, Pierrefonds

< http://www.montrealgazette.com/opinion/Letter+Child+poverty+increasing/8700932/story.html >