People who are poor don’t have as strong a voice as businesspeople and those who believe tax cuts will solve all our economic problems. So argues Randy Hatfield, Executive-Director of the Saint John Human Development Council which has released its Child Poverty Report Card.
Saint John has the highest rate of child poverty at more than 30 per cent but Fredericton isn’t that far behind at 25.2 per cent followed by Moncton at 22.6 per cent.
The report is calling for concrete action including a comprehensive national housing strategy, an early childhood education and care programme, enhanced child benefit for low income families and an increase in the minimum wage.
Hatfield maintains poverty is as much a moral issue as it is an economic or social one.
