New Working Income Tax Benefit Provides Some Help for Canada's Working Poor
For immediate release: - The Canadian Association of Food Banks (CAFB) welcomes yesterday's Federal budget announcement, by Minister of Finance Jim Flaherty, of a Working Income Tax Benefit (WITB) for low-income working Canadians.
New Working Income Tax Benefit Provides Some Help for Canada's Working Poor
(Toronto) March 20, 2007
Working Canadians constitute a significant proportion of food bank clients. In 2006, 13.4% of Canadian food bank users - nearly 101,000 individuals per month - reported employment as their primary source of income.
"Numerous food bank users have told us about the agonizing monthly choice between buying food or paying the rent," said Charles Seiden, Executive Director of the CAFB. "For those who are eligible, a maximum benefit of $500 a year for individuals, and $1000 a year for families, will go some way in ending this choice. However, I am concerned that the Working Income Tax Benefit does not go far enough. The best available research tells us that food bank clients need just over $200 more income per month to stop relying on their local food bank*. Judging from this benchmark, the WITB is only a small first step in meeting existing need."
To address this shortcoming, the CAFB recommends that the Working Income Tax Benefit be increased to a maximum of $2,400 per year ($200 per month).
The benefits of debt repayment and economic growth have accrued mostly to the country's middle and upper income groups. Given Canada's economic health, it is time to extend those benefits through a sustained commitment to helping those fallen on hard times to climb out of poverty. Next steps must include reversing the downward trend in Employment Insurance coverage, increasing the Canada Child Tax Benefit, adequately funding a national strategy on affordable housing, and expanding the Government's welcome investment in child care spaces.
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Contact: Charles Seiden 416-203-9241.
About the Canadian Association of Food Banks
Founded in 1985, the Canadian Association of Food Banks (CAFB) is an umbrella organization representing a national network of regional and community food banks, including provincial associations and food distribution centres.
CAFB is the voice of food banks in Canada, with members and their respective agencies serving approximately 90% of people accessing emergency food programs nation-wide. In the month of March 2006, over 753,000 different people accessed food banks; of these, 41 % were children.
In 2005, CAFB moved over 10 million pounds of food industry donations to its members through the National Food Sharing System with voluntary transportation. In addition to food received from the CAFB, community-run food banks rely primarily on volunteers to collect and distribute an estimated 150 million pounds of food per year.
While CAFB provides food daily for people in need, its ultimate goal is a hunger-free Canada.
About the HungerCount Survey
Initiated in 1989, HungerCount is the only national survey of emergency food programs in Canada. This annual survey documents the struggle of food banks to keep up with ever increasing demand. The information the survey provides is invaluable, forming the basis of many CAFB activities throughout the year. Among many benefits, HungerCount allows CAFB to operate the National Food Sharing System on a "fair share" basis, present accurate, timely information to donors and media, and represent members' key concerns at a variety of public forums. Food bank use has more than doubled since the CAFB first conducted the HungerCount in 1989, increasing from 378,000 people in March of 1989 to 753,458 in March of 2006. For a complete version of HungerCount 2006, please go to: http://www.cafb-acba.ca/english/EducationandResearch-ResearchStudies.html
*Daily Bread Food Bank (2006). Key statistics from Daily Bread's survey of people who rely on food banks. Available:http://www.dailybread.ca/get_informed/upload/WHStats%202006.pdf.
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