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‡ Introduction
‡ The global-local context ± income inequality and
generalized condition of precariousness
‡ Defining Poverty ± a product of structural inequalities
‡ Differential experiences of poverty
‡ The racialization of poverty
‡ Defining the racialization of poverty
‡ Spatial dimensions of poverty
‡ Poverty and social exclusion
 j
 




± ÿccording to the Canadian Centre for Policy ÿlternatives, report titled:

The Rich and The Rest of Us²The changing face of Canada¶s
growing gap
± [


 
    

  
± ‰ut that stellar performance, measured by GDP growth, was
accompanied with growing economic and income inequality
± The report concludes:
that the income gap between rich and poor is at a 30-year high,
there is greater polarization as the rich are getting richer,
the bottom half are shut out of economic gains,
people are working longer to maintain their earnings.
     j

„
 

‡ From a broader political-economic context, economic
inequality is accentuated by the emergence of neo-
liberalism as the dominant ideology of our time.
‡ Neo-liberalism speaks to how the economy is organized
with a focus on economic efficiency through free markets
‡ This includes:
± a smaller role for governments in the economy and in the
distribution of society¶s resources
± Emphasizes deregulation and consumer sovereignty
± trade liberalization and a borderless world for capital investments
± intensifies the vulnerabilities of the subjects of racialized or
gendered hierarchies
 K
 


‡ In the early C21st, most people are adversely affected by
the &# &     
', #  and the loss
of meaningful social and economic opportunities, in the
midst of supposed plenty.
‡ ÿ key contributor is the rise of 
 '
' -
part-time, temporary, contract, piece work at home and
self-employment
‡ This means that more people are job-insecure, and
vulnerable to being #( &
‡ It represents a generalized condition of precariousness
‡ ÿ disproportionate number of those affected are racialized
and ÿboriginal people, women and youth
 
  
 
 
) 
‡ 
today is linked to the changes in
the economy that have led to the
concentration of wealth and economic
power in the hands of a few, while
generating growing inequality in incomes in
Canada.

‡ Poverty is a  
 ' due to

institutional arrangements to distribute
society¶s wealth and resources unequally.
V  &  Defining Poverty
‡ Poverty is a '  '    ',
encompassing the inability:
± to satisfy basic needs,
± inadequate control over access to resources,
± lack of education and skills,
± lack of shelter,
± poor health, malnutrition, poor access to water and sanitation,
± vulnerability to shocks, violence and crime,
± lack of political freedom and voice in society.
‡ To better understand poverty, we consider both quantitative and qualitative
indicators.
‡ There are three general measures generally used to quantify exposure to
poverty: the Low Income Cut Off (LICO); Low Income Measure (LIM); the
Market ‰asket Measure (M‰M) as measures of income deficiency
V  &  Defining Poverty
‡ 
is an experience driven by processes of social, political and
economic deprivation whose outcomes lead to social exclusion.
‡ There are certain key factors that contribute to the # (  
    and the insecurity related to the experience of poverty
‡ These include persistent 
 &  
 that have
historically determined access to resources and opportunities in society
‡ Incorporating an anti-racism analysis into our approaches to
understanding poverty as a  
 ' is essential
‡ It is also an important starting point for effective anti-poverty
strategies, policies and programs.
V  &  Defining Poverty
‡ We use some quantitative social indicators such as earned income,
utilization of housing, health status, infant mortality, etc.
‡ While we are more familiar with the quantitative measures and
routinely use of the poverty line as a measure of poverty, we need to
pay close attention to all the factors that contribute to the weakness in
the livelihood base of poor people and their security related concerns.
‡ We also look at a number of key qualitative indicators that show the
constraints poor people face in access to life chances, quality of life
and dignity within the context of their own societies.
‡ ÿmong these are such experiences as feminization and racialization,
which act to structure access to society¶s resources, benefits and
burdens.
 ( ' 
 

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‡ Low income experience - income inadequacy
‡ Employment income inequity
‡ Housing inadequacy - suitability and affordability
‡ Differential neighbourhood selection
‡ Health disparities
‡ Differential contact with Criminal Justice system
‡ Other forms of social marginalization
 (  % 



‡ Key socio-demographic groups among working-age adults

identified as being disproportionately at risk of
experiencing persistent low income include:
± lone parents with at least one child under age 18
± persons with work-limiting physical or mental
disabilities
± persons immigrating to Canada within the past 10 years
± ÿboriginal peoples - living on and off-reserve.
± Members of racialized groups
± Women - particularly those whose status intersects with
the above
 
  * :
|


   
‡ The |
  
refers to the
persistent disproportionate exposure to low
income experienced by racialized group and
ÿboriginal people in Canada.
‡ It points to the significance of racialization as a
key structural determinant of poverty in Canada
and the   % 
 of poverty
‡ Racialized groups and ÿboriginal people are #
 times more likely to be poor that other
members of the community
 |
  
‡ Represents a process of social construction in
which race is used to create a hierarchy based on
superficial physical attributes or religious
characteristics that, over time become
institutionalized or systematized leading to social
and economic inequities, and disadvantages in
power relationships experienced by those that are
marked as racialized.
ÿ
  |
  


‡ Theoretical roots in work on the Feminization of poverty

(Pierce, 1978) and ‰lack Urban Poverty in the United
States (Wilson, 1987)
‡ Disproportionate and persistent experienced of poverty
measured by:
± Disproportionate number of racialized groups
members among the poor ± over-representation in the
population of the poor
± Disproportionate levels of poverty among racialized
group members ± proportion of racialized who are poor
 ÿ
+
 
%  #


1) The proportion of low income families (or

individuals) that are racialized

2) The levels of poverty among racialized

groups
 |  
 
‡ Research increasingly shows that racialized groups, recent immigrants
and ÿboriginal peoples are more likely to live in low income
neighbourhoods in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver - Canada¶s three
largest metropolitan areas (Hou & Picot, 2003; Hou & Myles, 2005;
Ornstein, 2006; Skerritt, 2007).
‡ In Calgary, the racialized population represented 40% of the City¶s
poor in 2006, up from 30% in 1996. Over that 10 year period poverty
among the racialized population grew 84% compared to 19.4% in the
rest of the population (Pruegger, at al, 2009)
‡ ÿccording to Campaign 2000, in 2007, child poverty among racialized
communities was 34% (49% among recent immigrants) compared to
18% for the Canadian population
‡ ÿbout 1/3 of ÿboriginal households live in poverty and one in two
children live in poverty (‰ennett & ‰lackstock, 2007)
 |       
  

 

 
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ÿboriginal Racialized White/Other Total

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Under age 15 0.9% 11.7% 10.5% 23.1%

ÿge 15-24 0.5% 7.3% 8.9% 16.7%
ÿge 25-44 0.7% 12.9% 14.8% 28.4%
ÿge 45-64 0.5% 6.8% 13.9% 21.2%
ÿge 65+ 0.1% 2.5% 7.9%
10.5%
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Statistics Canada, 2006 Census, ‰efore Tax LICO, Community Social Data Strategy (D. Patychuk,
ÿccess ÿlliance, Feb 2010)
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Total Canadian population 15% 38% 18%

ÿfrican Community 39% 56% 47%

ÿrab community 36% 52% 40%
Caribbean community 26% 44% 33%
Chinese community 26% 55% 27%
Filipino community 16% 48% 18%
Jamaican community 26% 41% 34%
Haitian community 39% 61% 47%
Japanese community 18% 48% 16%
Korean community 43% 72% 48%
Latin ÿmerican community 28% 53% 32%
South ÿsian community 23% 49% 28%
Vietnamese community 27% 49% 35%
West ÿsian community 37% 56% 43%
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ÿll children 18%
With Disability 27.7%
ÿboriginal 40%
Racialized 34%
ÿll Immigrant 41%
Recent Immigrant (since 1996) 49%
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ÿll Canadian earners 36,800 22,885 29,769

ÿfrican community 27,864 19,639 23,787

ÿrab community 32,336 19,264 26,519
Caribbean community 29,840 22,842 25,959
Chinese community 29,322 20,974 25,018
Filipino community 27,612 22,532 24,563
Jamaican community 30,087 23,575 26,412
Haitian community 21,595 18,338 19,782
Japanese community 43,644 24,556 33,178
Korean community 23,370 16,919 20,065
Latin ÿmerican community 27,257 17,930
22,463
South ÿsian community 31,396 19,511 25,629
Vietnamese community 27,849 18,560 23,190
West ÿsian community 28,719 18,014 23,841
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% change %NR
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2000 2005 2000 2005

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Total Canadian 35,619 36,301 1.9
Total Non-Racialized 36,353 37,332 2.7
Total Racialized 30,451 30,385 -0.2 84 81
Chinese 32,354 32,981 1.9 89 88
South ÿsian 31,486 31,103 -1.2 87 83
ÿfrican Canadian 28,215 28,012 -0.7 78 75
Filipino 28,542 29,393 3.0 79 79
Latin ÿmerican 26,034 26,241 0.8 72 70
Southeast ÿsia 28,958 28,880 -0.3 80 77
ÿrab 30,452 29,441 -3.3 84 79
West ÿsian 27,101 26,279 -3.0 75 70
Korean 27,149 25,892 -4.6 75 69
Japanese 42,579 42,177 -0.9 117 113
Racialized (nie) 32,841 30,666 -6.6 90 82
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Source: Statistics Canada. Census of Canada (2001 & 2006)
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ÿll [ outh persons 58.4% 13.3%
Immigrant outh 55.0% 14.8%
Racialized outh 43.7% 16.1%
Racialized youth
Can born 48.4% 15.5%
ÿrab outh 45.1% 16%
‰lack outh
Can. ‰orn 33.2% 21.4%
Chinese outh 37.1% 17%
Latin ÿmerican outh 50.9% 14%
Filipino outh 57.2% 10%
South ÿsian outh 48.5% 15%
Vietnamese outh 46% 16%
Japanese outh 44% 13%
ÿboriginal outh - 22.8%
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Source: Census of Canada. Catalogue 97F0012XC‰200102 & Profiles of Ethnic communities in
Canada: Statistics Canada
Catalogue no. 89-621-XIE
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<1986 1986-95 1996-01 Perm of Colour
Res.
 V 
  

‡ There is a historical pattern to these experiences. Residential

segregation has often shaped the residential distribution of racialized
and non-racialized people in urban centres.
‡ ÿt the turn of the last century, Montreal contained what were referred
to as µ‰lack districts¶. Winnipeg¶s µNorth End¶ was defined by its low
income ÿboriginal neighbourhoods as was Vancouver¶s µEast End¶
and Calgary¶s µEast End¶ which represent a mixture of racialized
immigrant and low income communities with high levels of single
parents who are largely women.
‡ In Montreal, Ottawa-Hull, Hamilton, Halifax and Victoria, ‰.C.
increasingly it is the inner suburbs that contain the pockets of low
income that intersect with disproportionate levels of single parent
families and racialized and immigrant neighbourhoods.
 
 
 
 K
  
 01
2

3  4
 j 
  j  

‡ The 
 ' & is holding µDialogues with
communities¶ to discuss the different experiences groups have with
poverty differently
‡ The 
 ' & seeks to develop a  
 '#( for action against poverty among racialized groups and
their allies
‡ We acknowledge that poverty is about power and its uneven
distribution and call on our allies to commit to building an inclusive
anti-poverty and social justice movement to achieve fairer distribution
of power and wealth in society
‡ We demand a comprehensive, multi-sector response to racialized
poverty with adequate policies and programs from the various levels of
government, aimed at mitigating the growing experience of poverty
among racialized groups and ending poverty in Canada
 V'  &   
 

 both state and society
‡ ÿ comprehensive   
focused on key determinants of poverty
and institutional arrangements but also integrating an anti-racism and equity
lens in the analysis, targets and timelines
‡ Income measures are vital but cannot be exclusive:
± So are housing, education, health care, good jobs, discrimination such as
employment equity and equal access to professions and trades, as well as other
factors that compounds poverty for racialized groups and families
‡ Strategies should include a mix of general approaches as well as those that will
specifically address the racialization and feminization of poverty
‡ People living in poverty must be included in defining and planning responses
to poverty
± There must be targeted outreach to reflect the demographics of those
disproportionately affected by poverty
‡ Measures or indicators for success must be disaggregated to include clear
statements on progress on racialized poverty
‡ Going forward, the data collected on poverty must be disaggregated to make
transparent the experiences of racialized groups, ÿboriginal peoples, persons
with disabilities, seniors, women, children, youth, among others