Community: Cost of Poverty
Canadians want an end to poverty, but even those most committed to the solutions can still wonder if we can afford to. We know there is a correlation between poverty and other areas of spending like health, education and justice, but just how much is poverty costing us? And what results are we getting if poverty persists? If the methods used over the past 40 years haven't worked, isn't it time to try something else; to rethink our investments and spend more wisely to get better results? We think so.
The National Council of Welfare first examined the costs of poverty almost a decade ago. What we learned was that poverty had high costs for all Canadians, not just for those living in poverty.
Many Canadians are concerned that reducing poverty means more spending on people living in poverty, leaving others worse off. The growing body of research and experience in the past few years tells a different story. It shows that investing to reduce poverty benefits everyone.
Research and Publications
News
- 2011-09-30: Dollars and Sense of Solving Poverty - media coverage
- 2011-09-28: Focus on strategy to end poverty could save Canada billions of dollars
- 2011-09-28: The National Council of Welfare launches its latest report, The Dollars and Sense of Solving Poverty
- 2002-02-05: Poverty is Costing All Canadians Too Much, Says The National Council of Welfare