Growing Gap

Statistics Canada released 2008 income data for Canadians and finds median after-tax family incomes were flatlined and the number of families living in poverty remained virtually unchanged compared to the year before. Striking findings, considering most of 2008 represented an economic growth period for Canada -- until the worldwide recession spilled into our border in the Fall of that year. Since our national statistical agency is always two years behind in reporting Canada’s income data, the reality that has unfolded for many Canadians living in poverty since recession hit here has yet to show up in the numbers. The 2009 income data, to be released next year, will tell the story of recession's impact on Canadians. View the Statistics Canada report at this link: http://www.statcan.gc.ca/daily-quotidien/100617/dq100617c-eng.htm.

New analysis by CCPA Research Associate Sheila Block shows Ontarians from racialized backgrounds are far more likely to live in poverty, face barriers to finding a job, and receive less pay for work. Sexism and racial discrimination pack a double wallop, hampering racialized women’s earning power. To read the report, click here.

A groundbreaking new report shows the earnings gap between the rich and the rest of Quebeckers is at a 30-year high.

The report, co-published by Institut de recherche et d’informations socio-economiques (IRIS) and the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA), looks at income inequality among Quebec families raising children under the age of 18.

 It finds income inequality got worse between 1976 and 2006 – in fact, 70% of Quebec families are earning a smaller share of the income pie than a generation ago.

 Click to read the report, available in both English and French.