Three Means to Solve Poverty Crisis in Canada

It is shocking that 4.9 million people in Canada live in poverty, according to statistics collected in 2016. The fact that one in seven Canadians lack enough food and shelter to sustain basic living is heartbreaking to me. Although we tend to think of our Canada as a relatively wealthy and privileged nation, we still need to face this unbelievable truth. So far, we have done a marvellous job of supporting people in need in other developing countries. However, we also need to solve the issues at our home right now. It is entirely understandable that people have their different difficulties and worries in life. It is hard sometimes to spare our efforts to help others. Nevertheless, I believe that we should try our best to aid the destitute because of two main reasons.

Firstly, as Catholics, we need to follow God's call and obey the theme "option for the poor and vulnerable" of Catholic social teachings. In the light of Pope John Paul II, and the accumulated wisdom of centuries, societies are judged by how their most vulnerable and destitute members live. In other words, how we treat our weakest members of the community reflects how ethic we are. Individual's wealth does not reveal the quality of the whole society. God has revealed this significant message to us through His Son Jesus Christ. Jesus in the story of the Last Judgment (Matthew 25:31-46) instructs us to put the needs of the poor and vulnerable first. That is precisely how the Catholic Church anticipates us to act. Moreover, we grow up in an environment that values love, compassion, and generosity. It is unethical for us to see others suffer without giving a helping hand. As children of God, we are expected to clothe our brothers and sisters as ourselves. Hence, there is no reason for us to turn a blind eye to the suffering the destitute endure.

Secondly, helping the poor and the vulnerable is the same as helping ourselves. This idea may sound strange at first. However, it would ultimately make sense if we carefully examine some data. The research conducted by economists for the Ontario Association of Food Banks discovered that poverty costs the government about $30 billion a year. Much of the money is for health care expenses because being poor generally means reduced health. Also, consider the homeless. It usually costs three or four times more to keep someone shelterless than to provide a residence for him. If a homeless person can acquire a safe habitat, then he will very likely be grateful for the society and will work hard as a reaction to people's kindness. In contrast, if he does not receive any help, then he probably will not able to find a way out since no one can guide him. As time accumulates, he will be full of negativity and may get into trouble. As a result, the government needs to pay way more expenses to cover his fees for jail or hospital. It is not good news for us because the money comes from our pockets as taxes. Thus, poverty costs us all, every one of us. So, it is fair to say that saving the poor is for the sake of helping ourselves as well.

Therefore, we need to solve the issue of poverty starting now. Reformation of policies certainly needs to happen for any change to take place. In my opinion, we can begin with three main directions: education, housing, and child-care.

First and foremost, education is the key determinant to prevent our future generation from poverty. The wretched adults now are pitiful because they have already missed the golden opportunity to acquire adequate knowledge to contribute to the society in a highly effective way. They can improve their lives through other approaches. However, we can help the impoverished children dramatically by providing them with a better education. For instance, the aboriginal high school dropout rate is four times higher than the national average. It corresponds to the statistics that in First Nations communities, one in every four children lives in poverty. Those children have to quit school at an early age to earn a living. But, with their limited education level, they will not likely lead a wealthy life in the future. If things go on like that, the adverse cycle will repeat over generations and the family is going to be always miserable. Hence, it is essential for the underprivileged children to receive a high level of education now. Our government can help them by depositing more funding to relieve their financial burden so that they can pursue advanced education.

Additionally, we can help the homeless by increasing the supply of affordable housing. Having access to suitable residence provides stability and security required to proceed other pursuits, such as employment. People can only fully concentrate on their career and other ambitions when they have a home. Thus, no wonder that affordable housing and rent supports are effective poverty alleviation approaches. What is more, providing shelter is crucial for children's growth and development. Having a child live on the street deprives his right to enjoy his childhood happily as his peers do, which is extremely cruel. I suppose it is tremendously detrimental to the child's self-cognition and mental development. So, I suggest that impoverished families with children should be listed as the priority when it comes to arranging the housing.

Last but not least, affordable child care service is vital to decrease poverty amongst low income working families. It is undeniable that we have pretty good child care systems with kind and professional workers. And there are numerous daycare institutions. However, the price of the service has been skyrocketed, reaching unbelievable numbers. For example, some parents are paying nearly $1,650 a month to have their kids looked after in Toronto. It is almost unbearable for ordinary families, let alone starving families with severe poverty issues. If families in need of the child care service can not afford to use it, the system then loses its purposes. But the thing is, it is clear that destitute families need someone to care for their children since they have to work to sustain their living, which creates a dilemma in today's society. So, I believe that the best solution is to modify the child care system. The government can raise the child care subsidies considerably as a measure to reduce a family’s daycare payments, enabling them to retain more of their income for living costs and future investments, such as education. In this way, their children can be taken good care of without consuming a substantial amount of money.

Therefore, we need to take prompt actions to solve this poverty crisis in Canada. As far as I am concerned, there are three principal means. The government needs to deposit more funding for impoverished students to pursue advanced education. Also, we need to increase the supply of affordable housing to provide families with stable homes. Furthermore, our child care system needs to be modified so that children can be taken good care of with a lower cost. As long as we make efforts to solve this issue, we are unquestionably going to improve the situation.