No Nation Can Be Prosperous on the Poverty of Others
Friday, March 5, 2010 9:47 PM
March 5, 2010
For Immediate Release
No Nation Can Be Prosperous on the Poverty of Others
“Canada’s most vulnerable populations have been handed an empty envelope in this budget,” says Darlene MacDonald, President of the Canadian Association of Social Workers (CASW). “The glaring gap between the rich and the poor will likely widen from the federal government’s choice to give emphasis only to the business economy while ignoring social cohesion and social policy.”
The federal budget simply ignores key poverty issues facing our country and totally disregards whole segments of our population that are excluded from any of the major government stimulus initiatives. Further, the federal government has failed to follow the leadership of a number of provinces that are actively seeking to reduce poverty.
“This government has decided to concentrate on highways and concrete and the physical infrastructure of our cities, while forgetting that cities consist of people with real needs. Investments in our poor are investments in broader social capital,” says MacDonald.
Social workers across the country believe that poverty is not inevitable. They also believe that the Government of Canada has a responsibility to provide leadership by acknowledging and supporting current provincial efforts and by developing a national anti-poverty strategy. Without a long-term strategy, the number of persons at risk in every age and family category will continue to grow.
“Budget 2010 neither recognizes nor addresses the economic cost of poverty,” says the CASW President. “From the perspective of the social work profession, the budget is largely an empty envelope.”
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For more information:
Darlene MacDonald, MSW, RSW
President
Tel.: 613.729.6668
Pour la version française communiquer avec l’ACTS à casw@casw-acts.ca
