Poverty in Canada (2nd Edition)

POVERTY IN CANADA MAKES THE CASE for a simpler and, I think, far more useful definition of poverty, based on the cost of the necessities of life. Poverty is a strong word, and it evokes an image of genuine deprivation and misery. All of us are concerned about human beings in this predicament. We are interested, I should think, in determining how many Canadians are living without sufficient resources to cover their basic needs. This is the first step in discovering how poverty happens in a comparatively well-off country and what can be done to solve the problem.

Prevailing definitions of "poverty" simply fail to give us useful information about the nature or extent of poverty in Canada. Most of those who are now defined as poor using conventional measures would have been solidly middle class just a generation ago. These conventional measures, such as Statistics Canada's LICO, tell us about inequality and the lack of "social comforts," but very little about poverty in the common understanding of that word.

These issues continue to be relevant. To a large extent, the liberal media have not "got it." They continue to use high, relative lines to report the extent of poverty, yet, when referring to the standard of living of those below the line, they switch, conveniently, to a basic needs sense of deprivation. They simply cannot have it both ways.

An important message in the book is worthy of emphasis. Our compassion should not be measured by how high we set the poverty line. High relative measures simply end up exaggerating the extent of poverty and trivialize the predicament of those enduring real deprivation. This also risks undermining the genuine sense of compassion that is characteristic of Canadians.

I am pleased to provide this update for the second printing of Poverty in Canada. The major tables, more than two dozen in all, have been completely redone using the latest data available. Basic needs poverty lines have been updated to 1994 and the estimation of poverty in Canada, to 1993. All of the updated tables have the same table number and title as the original but have a U prefix in the title signifying the update. Accompanying the updated tables is a brief commentary pointing out important features and highlighting useful comparisons with the original.

Christopher A. Sarlo
Nipissing University
North Bay, Ontario
September, 1995