Inequality and poverty

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Inside this issue: Poverty comes with a high price tag by Iglika Ivanova A decade of eroding tax fairness in BC by Marc Lee, Iglika Ivanova and Seth Klein Inventory of BC’s forests incomplete and underfunded by Ben Parfitt and Anthony Britneff Transportation transformation by Marc Lee What the frack is going on in the Peace Region? by Ben Parfitt So the HST was defeated. Now what? by Iglika Ivanova
While winning 64% of the popular vote, the Saskatchewan Party gained 84.5% of the seats in the November 7th provincial election. With this result, Saskatchewan joins the list of provinces this year that have seen widely distorted electoral results due to our 'first-past-the-post' electoral system. In this SaskNotes, Don Mitchell takes a look at the prospects for electoral reform in Saskatchewan.
The “Occupy Canada” movement (with a little help from CCPA research) has raised public awareness of the unprecedented growth in income inequality and wealth concentration in Canada over the last 30 years. And recent reports from the OECD and the Conference Board confirming this trend have raised alarm bells amongst the establishment. Those who say that Canadians have no reason to protest (unlike our American counterparts) because things are so much better here are in denial.
(Halifax/Charlottetown)—According to economist, Angella MacEwen, the co-author of a new report released today, "Prince Edward Island cannot afford to allow people to live in poverty any longer. While thousands of Islanders face the daily stress and consequences of not being able to make ends meet, poverty is costing $315 million per year on PEI."
This report estimates that the direct cost of poverty for the PEI government is just under 100 million dollars per year — and that these costs account for 6.7% of the 2009/10 PEI government budget. When the costs to government are added to the broader costs to the economy, the total cost of poverty for the province is $315 million dollars, which is equivalent to 7.6% of Prince Edward Island’s GDP. This corresponds to $2,700 per person, per year.
HALIFAX, NS – Twenty-two years ago (in 1989), the government of Canada promised to end child poverty by the year 2000. However, as Lesley Frank, author of a report released today by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives –Nova Scotia, says, "analysis of the latest available data -for 2009- tells us that progress on reducing child poverty appears stalled. For the first time since 2003, the child poverty rate increased and now stands at 8.2% of all children under the age of 18 in Nova Scotia, which translates to 14,000 children living in poverty."
Since 1999, Nova Scotia Child Poverty Report Cards have recorded changes in child poverty rates to track progress on the government of Canada’s 1989 promise to end child poverty by the year 2000. This year’s report card examines the period 1989 to 2009, the year for which the most recent data is available.
The Nova Scotia Minimum Wage Review Committee’s report is a very valuable resource document for understanding the situation of the most vulnerable workers in this province. In this submission, CCPA's Nova Scotia Office responds to the key recommendations of the committee’s report. 
To create effective policy for reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, it is important to identify who is emitting. This study finds that household carbon footprints increase with income and concludes that GHG reduction policies must take inequality into consideration. The authors note that the richest 20% of Canadian income earners are responsible for almost double (1.8 times) the greenhouse gas emissions of those in the lowest income group. Accordingly, the study highlights policy options for emission reductions based on fairness and equity.
"The Federal Reserve has done, and will continue to do, everything possible within the limits of its authority to assist in restoring our nation to financial stability…" —Ben Bernanke, U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman. * * *