Many Canadian government has tried to reduce poverty. The poverty levels have been consistent for years at 13%. The Liberals have said they have reduced poverty, but the stats do no show that is the case.

1. Poverty in Canada – April
2017
By: Paul Young, CPA, CGA

2. Agenda
• What is poverty?
• Household Spending
• Conservative Party of Canada – Taxation Policies
• Liberal Party of Canada – Family Benefits
• Poverty Rates
• % of low income Canadians
• Wages and employment
• Income inequality

3. What is Poverty?
• Poverty is about not having enough money to meet basic needs including food, clothing and
shelter. However, poverty is more, much more than just not having enough money.
• The World Bank Organization describes poverty in this way:
• “Poverty is hunger. Poverty is lack of shelter. Poverty is being sick and not being able to see a
doctor. Poverty is not having access to school and not knowing how to read. Poverty is not
having a job, is fear for the future, living one day at a time.
• Poverty has many faces, changing from place to place and across time, and has been
described in many ways. Most often, poverty is a situation people want to escape. So
poverty is a call to action -- for the poor and the wealthy alike -- a call to change the world
so that many more may have enough to eat, adequate shelter, access to education and
health, protection from violence, and a voice in what happens in their communities.”
Source:
http://www2.gnb.ca/content/gnb/en/departments/esic/overview/content/what_is_poverty.ht
ml

4. What is household spending?
Source:
http://www.economicsonline.co.uk/Managing_the_economy/Household_spending.
html

5. Household Spending / Canada
Source - Stats Canada

6. Household spending – by income
Source – Stats Canada
Comments
• Shelter is biggest costs for low income Canadians. 1/3 spending is tied to shelter. Shelter includes Rent and
utilities
• Food is 3rd largest. Food budgets will be impacted by key policies like hydro rates and carbon tax

7. Conservative Party of Canada
• Tax cuts – Over the past 8+ years the government has gave back $30B to Canadians: http://globalnews.ca/news/1356467/tax-cuts-since-2005-
net-canadians-30b-pbo/.
• You have provinces like Ontario that have introduced health premium tax: http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/E/pbg/tf/5006-c/5006-c-13e.pdf. People
making from 50K to 72K are paying from $450 to $600 more in taxes. So, how is the health premium tax helping the middle class or low income
Canadians
• Cost of Living – Ontario has increase the price of hydro rates: http://www.thebarrieexaminer.com/2014/11/27/common-sense-reality-check-
needed or http://news.nationalpost.com/full-comment/andrew-coyne-forget-the-liberal-mythology-canadas-middle-class-is-not-struggling
• Income inequality – Income inequality has been going on for the better part of 40 years. The Liberal in the 1990s did nothing on income
inequality: https://www.policyalternatives.ca/newsroom/news-releases/martins-economic-record-marked-increased-income-inequality-no-real-
wage-gains Here is what is said on income tax splitting: http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/2014/11/05/andrew-coyne-conservatives-tax-
package-with-income-splitting-corrects-inequality/. Justin says he would take the $2B income tax splitting and put it into infrastructure!
• Ontario has introduced the HST. HST now applies to many items that were exempt from PST: http://www.taxtips.ca/salestaxes/sales-tax-rates-
2014.htm. So, how is HST helping the middle class? Additional Links: http://www.bdo.ca/en/Library/Services/Tax/pages/Tax-Factors/2014-
01/Canadian-sales-tax-implications-of-selling-goods-over-the-internet.aspx
• All level governments are looking for more money as such property taxes have increases as well as the potential for new taxes/user fees:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/economy/economy-lab/kathleen-wynne-left-with-few-options-to-fix-ontarios-revenue-
problem/article19813010

8. Liberal Party of Canada
Source – Liberal Party of Canada and Conference Board
How have the
Liberals reduced
poverty?
• Stats are
showing poverty
is still a big
issue in Canada

9. Liberal Policy – Poverty
Source -
https://www.pressprogress.ca/liberal_government_decides_low_income_children_will_receive_500_less
_than_originally_promised

10. Canada Poverty Rates
Source – Stats Canada

11. Summary
• Employment has improved, but many jobs are either part-time or job
churning
• Wage growth has hit 20 year low
• New refugees from Syria have had struggles finding jobs
• Housing costs continue to grow at rates faster than GDP, Wages and
inflation
• Inflation is above 2%
• Government has removed tax credits as well as introduced carbon
taxation and hikes to EI and CPP
• Hydro rates are forcing people to choose between food and heat.
• Source – Stats Canada

12. Labour and Wages for Canada by key Sector
Source – Stats Canada
Average wages
are about
$955/Week

13. What is income inequality

14. How is income inequality fix
• Distribution of wealth
• Funding to Healthcare
• Funding to Education
• Funding to other social Programs
• Strong Middle Class/Job Creation

15. Ed Broadbent

16. LPC – Income inequality

17. Broadbent
• Broadbent – speech to the Finance Committee in 2013:
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KsUlt0bP2yU
•
• Fact 1 – Harper has increased program spending either via the transfers or direct program spending. It is
not Harper’s fault if various provincial governments waste money -
http://www.slideshare.net/paulyoungcga/provincial-transfers-and-program-spending. You do not have to
take my word as you can watch this video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqLDHQ-iJU8.
• Fact 2 – Harper has done very good on job creation area despite lower world-wide growth. You do not have
to take my word as you can review the Stats Canada results in areas like wage (reported), jobs by industry
(reported), Exports (reported), etc. http://www.slideshare.net/paulyoungcga/economy-lpc-impact or
http://mb.cme-mec.ca/?action=show&lid=XE8MT-GCZX2-KAD9G&comaction=show&cid=3CWP8-FKASM-
JYNFE
• Fact 3 – Where is the discussion on private –vs- public sector? http://www.cfib-
fcei.ca/english/article/7107-wage-watch-2015.html
• Fact 4 – Broadbent supports more moneys for daycare, right? We all know how well the PQ model has work,
right? http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=5a5e1555-093f-4959-9395-028c36daadc7&p=2

18. Broadbent
• Fact 5 – Broadbent gives credit to the working class benefit. http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/bnfts/wtb/menu-eng.html.
So, how come this benefit is not mentioned by either NDP or LPC?
• Fact 6 – Broadbent talks about GIS increases which are now proposed by Mulcair. The issue that Broadbent does not
discuss is other programs like pension splitting. The article also is dated so it does not deal with RRIF or how many
seniors are using TFSA - http://www.carp.ca/2015/04/21/carp-members-welcome-government-action-in-budget-
2015/ FYI – Harper is planning to increase GIS - http://servingbrant.ca/node/48
• Fact 7 – Broadbent wants a new welfare program. It seems to me that Broadbent does not get the purpose of
welfare. Welfare is not design to make people rich, but to help those that most need the support. Ontario has wasted
moneys on gas plants, eHealth, etc. and that money could have went to helping the most vulnerable in Ontario.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/ehealth-scandal-a-1b-waste-auditor-1.808640
• Fact 8 – Broadbent is all over the stock options issues. Broadbent again does not get it about how small startup use
stock options to as part of luring talent to their organization - http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-09-
24/ndp-plan-to-boost-tax-on-stock-options-seen-stunting-canada-tech
• Fact 9 – Tax avoidance was discussed and again since this is dated it does not deal with Harper and his government
going after tax avoidance areas as part of taxation enforce, i.e. tax treaties, transfer pricing, OECD work, etc.
• Fact 10 – increasing the taxes to top 1% never brings in the revenue windfall due to how rich have accountants,
lawyers, etc. that know how to work within the framework of the various countries’ ITA
• Summary:
• I am not surprised by Broadbent as it is all about taxing the rich. It should be noted the information in Broadbent’s
statement are part of the NDP platform. This should tell you that the Broadbent Institute was directly involved with
NDP platform.

19. Summary
• You fixed poverty several ways
• Strong economy that creates jobs
• Government stop hiking taxes and/or introducing new taxes
• Government looks at better ways to deliver program spending
• Government policies related to hydro rates
• Too much focus on minimum wage hikes. Minimum wage jobs were never
design to be a career.
• Education pushing people to careers that have job openings