Canadian Child Poverty

Speaking of tin pot countries, on  14 December 1960, 20 countries signed the Convention on the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Today this forum consists of 34 democracies  with market economies which cooperate to promote economic growth, prosperity, and sustainable development. In other words, these countries work together to rise above tin pot status, so to speak. According to a recent report released today by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, the OECD average child poverty rate is about 13% which is the Canadian poverty rate for children who are non-Indigenous, non-visible minority and non-immigrant. A respectable number – certainly not a tin pot figure by any means. However, the report states that children of immigrants have a child poverty rate of 32%. Visible minority children have a poverty rate of 22%, non-status First Nations 30%, Inuit 25% and Métis 23%. To our shame as Canadians, these troubling figures rise to a shocking  60% for first nation children who live on reserve (51% of all First Nations children).