APPROVAL OF BUDGET – BEFORE ELECTION – CRITICAL FOR CHILDREN LIVING IN POVERTY

Toronto – There are more than a million reasons to pass the federal Budget before holding a federal election – and every one of the reasons is a child who lives in poverty right here in Canada.

Crucial progress on reducing child poverty will expire with the proposed federal Budget if Canada’s Parliament rushes into a spring election. The Campaign Against Child Poverty, a national, non-partisan coalition of faith and social justice leaders, will run this message in a major Canadian newspaper on Saturday, April 23rd - the message that Canada’s children need a long-overdue childcare plan, affordable housing and increased child tax benefits before they need another election.

“There’s too much at stake for our children in the decision about whether or not to have an election. Canadians have fought long and hard to achieve progress on essential issues such as childcare, housing and income security for families – and these are finally addressed in the latest federal Budget. But if an election is called before this Budget is passed, then all of these progressive measures for Canadian children and families will be lost – and this is too huge a price to pay for an election that Canadians don’t want,” said June Callwood, Co-Chair of Campaign Against Child Poverty.

The following initiatives will be cancelled, with the Budget, in the rush to a spring election:

• $5 billion for a long overdue national childcare program that has taken years to achieve;
• $585 million for the Child Disability Benefit to help families with children with disabilities; and
• a promised increase of $1.5 billion for desperately needed affordable housing.

In addition, the continued roll-out of the $1 billion committed for housing and the extension of the $135 million/year for the National Homelessness Initiative could be in jeopardy, as could the $1.9 billion for essential increases to the Canada Child Tax Benefit.

“A premature election would miss the mark completely on the real issues that matter to Canadians, and matter to our children and our future. The real scandal in this country is that more than a million children live in poverty - despite the fact that we have the answers and the resources to do something about it. And the measures in the current Federal Budget bill are a critical step forward. The priority for all of us – and especially for our national leaders – is to pass this Budget into law before they call an election. By doing this, they will demonstrate to Canadians that taking care of children and families is more important to them than forcing an early run for political office,” stated Rabbi Arthur Bielfeld.

 The public message can be viewed in Adobe Acrobat format by clicking here.

Campaign Against Child Poverty Spokespeople:
Rabbi Arthur Bielfeld, Co-Chair, CACP. Tel. 416-222-4225
June Callwood, C.C., C. Ont. Co-Chair, CACP. Tel. 416-231-1923

Campaign Against Child Poverty is a national, non-partisan coalition of faith communities, social justice organizations, business representatives, child advocacy organizations and others concerned about the high levels of child and family poverty in Canada. Please browse the rest of our website www.childpoverty.com or call 416-595-9230 x222
For the latest figures on child poverty in Canada, see www.campaign2000.ca