Social Planning Council of Winnipeg
Social Planning Council releases Francophone Poverty Barometer
Posted on: Wednesday, Apr 7th, 2010
More poor elderly and less poor young children
For Immediate Release
April 7, 2010
Winnipeg, Manitoba—26 per cent of Francophones over age of 65 live in poverty (Before Tax LICO) in Winnipeg according to a new study by the Social Planning Council of Winnipeg (SPC), as compared to 20.3 per cent for the whole population of Winnipeg 65 years and older (2005 census data).
“I am surprised and dismayed that over one quarter of the elderly in our community are living in poverty,” says Louise Boily, author of the report. “I hope that this preliminary report spurs the community to form a task force to deal with the concerns raised here.”
The report released by the SPC specifically looked at poverty in the Francophone community because, according to Boily, most studies focus on the general population and don’t take into account the unique characteristics and changing demographics of the Francophone community in Winnipeg.
“Poverty is an attack against the dignity of those who are destitute. To ignore poverty is to attack human dignity,” says Gilbert Vielfaure, Executive Director of Centre Flavie-Laurent.
While poverty is a relatively greater concern for the over 65 category, the study found the under six category in the Francophone community fares better than the under six category in the general population of Winnipeg.
The study found that 14 per cent of Francophone children under six live in poverty compared to 31.7 per cent (Before Tax LICO) for the general population of Winnipeg. While the Francophone community is faring better than the general population 14 per cent of children living in poverty is still too many.
Surprisingly, the study found that over 50 per cent of Francophones don’t live in Francophone saturated neighbourhoods (for the purposes of this study, a neighbourhood was considered saturated if more than 10 per cent of the population identified as Francophone).
Low vacancy rates and more costly rent is making it difficult to find housing in Francophone neighbourhoods, making it more difficult to access services in French for those who live elsewhere.
Poor Francophone families forced to live in more affordable areas face challenges accessing services in French and face additional difficulty and added transportation costs in order to receive service in their preferred language, they often cannot afford these additional costs.
Children in Francophone families often have to travel great distances to receive an education in French, a burden that can stretch a family with limited means.
The report recommends increasing the CPP and GIS payments to address the shockingly high levels of poverty in the 65 and over demographic.
The report also recommends that the Francophone community form a task force to address the unique issues of poverty that afflict the community.
Click here for Francophone Poverty Barometer (French).
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