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ERIC Number: ED516755
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2009
Pages: 7
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Supporting Education... Building Canada: Child Poverty and Schools. Background Material for Parliamentarians and Staff. CTF Hill Day 2009
Canadian Teachers' Federation (NJ1)
The Canadian Teachers' Federation (CTF) is an active member of various coalitions and networks working to enhance the well-being of Canadian children and youth, including the National Alliance for Children and Youth and Campaign 2000. Among CTF's priorities is to support teachers and teachers' organizations as strong advocates for social justice, with a particular focus on issues related to child poverty. Child poverty is a tragic and shameful fact of life in a nation as wealthy as Canada. The child poverty rate remains at 1989 levels, the year of the all-party House of Commons resolution to end child poverty in Canada by the year 2000. According to Campaign 2000's 2008 report card on child and family poverty, "Canada has enjoyed more than a decade of strong economic growth yet child poverty is essentially the same, based on the latest data available, as it was in 1989... As Canada heads into a period of economic uncertainty, the most strategic decision the federal government could make would be to lower the poverty rate." The Canadian Teachers' Federation joins the call for political commitment to a national poverty reduction strategy for Canada. Parents should be able to provide an adequate living standard for their children--working together, governments can ensure that is possible. Strategies and policy recommendations that could have a positive impact on inequitable educational opportunities linked to family socio-economic status include: (1) political commitment to a national poverty reduction strategy for Canada; (2) an increased minimum wage; (3) an expansion of eligibility for Employment Insurance; (4) a major investment in social housing; (5) improved accessibility and affordability of post-secondary education and training; (6) the inclusion of child and youth services as part of federal/provincial/territorial agreements concerning immigrants and refugees; and (7) adequate funding for First Nation's child welfare agencies to deliver in-home support and prevention services to First Nation's children and their families. Specific strategies for ensuring all children are better provided for include: (1) a universal child care system providing dedicated funding for high quality care and early intervention and school-readiness initiatives for all children; (2) restrictions on the growth of for-profit corporate child care; and (3) support for school boards and relevant community agencies in their attempts to coordinate health, recreation, and social services at school sites. A list of sources and further reading is included.
Canadian Teachers' Federation. 2490 Don Reid Drive, Ottawa, ON K1H 1E1, Canada. Tel: 866-283-1505; Tel: 613-232-1505; Fax: 613-232-1886; Web site: http://www.ctf-fce.ca
Publication Type: Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Elementary Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: Canadian Teachers' Federation
Identifiers - Location: Canada
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A