Image courtesy of the ESPC poverty report

By Connor Gunn

COVID-19 impacting child and family poverty in Alberta

Dec 8, 2020 | 12:48 PM

EDMONTON, AB– The Alberta College of Social Workers, the Edmonton Social Planning Council, and Public Interest Alberta have released their report on the state of child and family poverty in Alberta.

Around 160,000 children experience the effects of childhood poverty in the province, which is equivalent to one in six children.

This statistic has been dramatically impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic in a negative way.

The economic fallout during the pandemic has contributed to the lack of access to support services such as Indigenous communities, immigrants and refugees, and families in rural environments.

Data from the report details the effects of poverty on the development of children, including issues affecting mental health, educational attainment, employment, and housing throughout their lives up to adulthood.

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In the report, unemployment in Alberta hit a record high of 15.7% in June 2020.

The employment numbers have wreaked havoc on the ability of families to provide for their children in terms of food insecurity.

Food insecurity rose by 7% to 19.6% in households with children which is quite a high number outlined in the report.

Adding to food insecurity, with very little affordable food to buy, means families will likey not buy healthy food since it would cost much more, families are resorting to eating fast food for each meal.

Even though many problems have arisen because of the pandemic, Research Coordinator for the Edmonton Social Planning Council, Sandra Ngo says people are to blame as well.

“However, the state of child and family poverty is not solely due to the pandemic,” Ngo added.

“If anything, this crisis is shining a spotlight on already-existing problems. COVID-19 has exposed deficits in how our society has cared for the most vulnerable experiencing poverty.”

Joel French, Executive Director of Public Interest Alberta, has warned the cuts from the provincial government have had major impacts to family poverty.

“One of the lessons of this report is that Alberta does not raise enough revenue to properly and sustainably fund essential public services and social supports,” added French.

“If Alberta adopted the tax system of any other province, we would raise between $14.4 to $25.5 billion more per year in revenue. The provincial government needs to make some significant changes so that everyone in Alberta has the ability to not only survive but thrive.”

The full report can be viewed below.

Spotlight: Lessons on Child Poverty in a Pandemic.

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