MEDIA ADVISORY – Campaign Launch – Poverty is a Political Choice
K’JIPUKTUK (HALIFAX, NS)
On October 17th, 2022 (the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty) the Nova Scotia Action Coalition for Community Well-Being will launch its new campaign Poverty is a Political Choice, which aims to build momentum towards the eradication of poverty. The launch of the campaign will feature health and social service providers, first voice participants and policy researchers who will demonstrate that poverty has been legislated into existence through chosen policy approaches to social welfare followed by a refusal to fix social programs we know are inadequate to bring families and people above the poverty line. The launch event will demonstrate that ending poverty in this province would have a considerable return on investment and improve all areas of services that Nova Scotians count on.
The launch event will take place both online through zoom and in person. Media representatives who attend in person will have the opportunity to interview panelists afterward. Media can registrar for the online event here (https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/poverty-is-a-political-choice-tickets-422449898017_)
WHO:
- Dr. Christine Saulnier – Provincial Director of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives
- Dr. Martha Paynter RN, PhD
- Dr. Monika Dutt, MD
- Ben Sichel – Educators for Social Justice
- Lana McClean MSW, RSW – Clinical Social Worker
- Jackie Barkley MSW, RSW – Clinical Social Worker for Child Protection Clients
- Morgan Manzer – Staff Lawyer for Nova Scotia Legal Aid
- Amy Moonshadow – first voice participant
WHEN: Monday, October 17th, 2022, 6: 30pm.
WHERE: Paul O’Regan Hall – Halifax Central Library -5440 Spring Garden Road Halifax, NS B3J 1E9
Or online Via-Zoom.
WHY: The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives – Nova Scotia writes that between 1989 and 2019, child poverty rates decreased in every province and territory. However, Nova Scotia has performed the worst in reducing child poverty from 1989 levels. Nova Scotia has the highest rate in Atlantic Canada and the third-highest provincial child poverty rate in Canada, a consistent ranking over the last several years. The rising costs of living and lack of government action are making this worse.
- Nova Scotia’s child poverty rate in 2019 was 24.3%, down from 24.6% in 2018 (a 1.2% decrease). 41,230 children are living in poverty in Nova Scotia
- Almost 1 in 4 children in Nova Scotia live in poverty.
- 24.4% was the child poverty rate in 1989, when the promise was made to eradicate child poverty by the year 2000, which means poverty has only been reduced by 0.1 of a percentage point in Nova Scotia over 30 years.
- 27.8% was the child poverty rate in Nova Scotia in the year 2000 when it was supposed to be eradicated.
Behind these numbers are real people: parents choosing between paying rent, buying groceries, and heating homes; precarious employment that puts stress on families; the inability to engage in community life through opportunities that make life worthwhile.
About us: the Nova Scotia Action Coalition for Community Well-Being is a coalition of community members dedicated to working strategically and collaboratively toward community well-being and a better quality of life for everyone.
For more information and media inquiries contact:
Alec Stratford MSW, RSW
Chair of NSACCW
Alec.Stratford@NSCSW.org
902-410-2420
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