Saskatchewan child poverty rates remain among the worst in the country, report says
CBC
Saskatchewan ranks among the worst provinces and territories when it comes to child poverty, according to the latest report card from the First Call Child and Youth Advocacy Society.
In 2020, one in five children in the province lived in poverty, according to the report, which is based on tax filing data. Only Manitoba and the Yukon ranked lower.
"I think to everyone this should be a disaster," said Miguel Sanchez, co-author of Saskatchewan's report and an associate professor with the faculty of social work at the University of Regina.
Child poverty rates dropped dramatically in all provinces and territories between 2019 and 2020 because of pandemic benefits, according to the report.
Sanchez said the child poverty rate in the province decreased from 26 per cent to 20 per cent.
"I think the significant change was that the federal government, because of the pandemic, stepped in with a number of income security measures that allowed families and children to mitigate the possibility of falling into poverty as a result of their job losses."
Sanchez said it was a reversal from a 25-year trend that has seen poverty rates increase.
Without those pandemic benefits or more investments in children and families, poverty rates will likely increase again, according to the report.
"This is a blip year, but it's a lesson year," First Call's Executive Director Adrienne Montani, said on CBC's The Early Edition Tuesday morning.
"During a global pandemic, rates of child poverty in Canada were reduced by a record 40 per cent," the report said.
Nationally, child poverty fell to 13.5 per cent in 2020, down from 17.7 per cent the previous year, the report card showed.
"That is the largest year-over-year drop since the federal government promised to end child poverty in 1989, and is largely a result of temporary pandemic benefits," the report said.
More than 50 per cent of children in poverty live in a one-parent household.
"In Saskatchewan, we have 55,000 children living below the poverty line," said Sanchez, adding provincial income security programs are among the lowest in the country.