Warning: "continue" targeting switch is equivalent to "break". Did you mean to use "continue 2"? in /home/pauvret1/public_html/wp-content/plugins/gravityforms/common.php on line 1276

Warning: "continue" targeting switch is equivalent to "break". Did you mean to use "continue 2"? in /home/pauvret1/public_html/wp-content/plugins/gravityforms/common.php on line 1313

Warning: "continue" targeting switch is equivalent to "break". Did you mean to use "continue 2"? in /home/pauvret1/public_html/wp-content/plugins/gravityforms/common.php on line 1317

Warning: "continue" targeting switch is equivalent to "break". Did you mean to use "continue 2"? in /home/pauvret1/public_html/wp-content/plugins/gravityforms/common.php on line 1345

Warning: "continue" targeting switch is equivalent to "break". Did you mean to use "continue 2"? in /home/pauvret1/public_html/wp-content/plugins/gravityforms/common.php on line 3505

Warning: "continue" targeting switch is equivalent to "break". Did you mean to use "continue 2"? in /home/pauvret1/public_html/wp-content/plugins/gravityforms/common.php on line 3512

Warning: "continue" targeting switch is equivalent to "break". Did you mean to use "continue 2"? in /home/pauvret1/public_html/wp-content/plugins/gravityforms/common.php on line 3525
{"id":17356,"date":"2018-11-12T12:50:40","date_gmt":"2018-11-12T16:50:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.pauvrete.qc.ca\/?p=17356\/"},"modified":"2018-11-16T12:34:00","modified_gmt":"2018-11-16T16:34:00","slug":"campaign-exit-poverty","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pauvrete.qc.ca\/campaign-exit-poverty\/","title":{"rendered":"Let the government know that \u00ab\u00a0covering basic needs\u00a0\u00bb and\u00a0\u00ab\u00a0exiting poverty\u00a0\u00bb\u00a0are not the same thing!"},"content":{"rendered":"

In August, the government unveiled Canada\u2019s Poverty Reduction Strategy. We learned that the federal government is planning to use the Market Basket Measure (MBM) as Canada\u2019s official poverty line.<\/span><\/p>\n

A campaign by the <\/i>Collectif pour un Qu\u00e9bec sans pauvret\u00e9 (Collective for a Poverty-Free Quebec) <\/i>(Version fran\u00e7aise ICI<\/a>\u00a0<\/i>)<\/span><\/p>\n

Barely scraping by<\/b><\/h2>\n

The MBM is insufficient to be considered the poverty line. It\u2019s based on the premise that the cost of a basket of goods and services together represent what an individual or a family needs to respond to their basic needs. It allows someone to reach a \u201cmodest standard of living\u201d according to Statistics Canada. But the reality is that anyone living on an income equivalent to the MBM is barely scraping by. By fixing the poverty line to this floor, the Government of Canada is saying that exiting poverty is the same as having one\u2019s basic needs met. This isn\u2019t true. <\/span><\/p>\n

Meeting one\u2019s basic needs isn\u2019t the same as exiting poverty. Instead, it forces a person into a life of constant struggle in which they can barely pay for the essentials. This means that any unexpected cost beyond essentials could put them in a very difficult situation, and have repercussions on their health and wellbeing. That is why the <\/span>Collectif<\/span><\/i> believes that it is unacceptable for the MBM to become the official poverty line. <\/span><\/p>\n

Online consultation<\/b><\/h2>\n

Statistics Canada has launched an online consultation to help bring the MBM up to date. The <\/span>Collectif<\/span><\/i> invites you to answer the survey. It includes approximately 20 multiple choice questions and only takes a few minutes to complete. It\u2019s also possible to leave comments. You can reply to Statistics Canada with this: <\/span><\/p>\n

I believe that simply covering one\u2019s basic needs is not the same thing as exiting poverty. To exit poverty, one must be able to:<\/span><\/i>
\n<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n