Forum

Inflation by Income: Differential Spending Patterns and Low-income Disadvantage

Recent increases in the rate of inflation have caused concern about the financial resilience of Canadian households. Of particular concern are significant increases in the cost of basic necessities such as food, shelter and transportation. The impact of price increases in these goods and services, however, will affect households differently depending on the share of the household budget allocated to those items.

This report examines the impact of inflation on different income groups based on their differential household spending patterns. Based on this analysis, the lowest income households in Canada experienced a 5.8% rate of inflation in 2022 compared to a rate of only 3.7% among the highest income households. This differential will exacerbate existing trends of economic and social inequality.

Read the full report here.

The Longest Night of the Year

December 21st was not only the longest but also the coldest night of the year. Despite this, people experiencing homelessness continued to be removed from places of shelter such as transit vehicles and stations into the cold. Granted, such places are not intended or equipped to serve as homeless shelters. At the same time, the response of simply removing people from what is perhaps their only place of refuge during extreme weather is equally untenable and morally wrong.

As a matter of principle and in fulfillment of Calgary and Canada’s human rights obligations, if during life threatening situations, people are taking refuge in places not designed for shelter, there should be an obligation to ensure that they are transferred responsibly to appropriate alternate places of shelter, or allow them to remain until such transfer can be arranged. We call on The City of Calgary to adopt such a policy and process immediately.

Read our call to The City of Calgary here.

Opinion: Poverty, power and the skyrocketing cost of utilities

When Mary (not her real name) opened her February utility bill, she was shocked. What was normally less than $200 had risen to over $600. A single mom and careful budgeter, Mary was used to making tough choices around where her money went each month. But this meant that even tougher choices were in front of her ...

Read our Editorial in the Calgary Herald on the growing issue of Energy Poverty in Alberta. An initiative of the Energy Poverty Roundtable.

Break the Bias

March 8, 2022 is International Women’s Day, and it is themed #breakthebias! International Women’s Day is set aside each year to draw attention to women’s challenges in both the private and public domain, take stock of the progress achieved and reflect on the work still to be done. Read the reflection by CPI Senior Researcher Dr. Rita Yembilah on the connection between gender and poverty. Read here.

Building Forward: Charting a Path to Resilience

A reflection on the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty.

Every year on October 17th, the United Nations encourages the world to pause and reflect on the ongoing reality of poverty across the globe. This year, the theme for the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty is “Building Forward Together: Ending Persistent Poverty, Respecting all People and our Planet”.

Read more: www.povertyinstitute.ca/buildingforward

Fall 2021 Edition of Spero

The Fall 2021 issue of Spero, the newsletter of the Canadian Poverty Institute, is now available. In this issue read about:

·       Towards Climate Justice: Assessing the Risks to Marginalized Communities

·       Building Cultural Capital for Anti-Racism Among Racialized Youth

·       “Back to Normal”: Understanding the Impact of Covid19 on Newly Vulnerable Households

·       The latest publications, resources and events from the CPI

Spero is available for download here.