The ever-widening gap
Cariboo Press - Kootenay Western Star
June 8, 2007

Fairness, affordability, and prosperity for all. In a country like Canada, this shouldn't be too much to expect.

Yet on March 2nd, statistics were released that highlight the growing income gap between the richest families and the ordinary Canadian. It turns out that the rich are getting richer and everyone else is falling behind. According to the Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA), this prosperity gap is not only widening, it's at a 30-year high.

Increasingly, the average working family is finding it more difficult to make ends meet. Many people are only a pay check away from being able to pay their bills.

On February 20th, a vote was held in the House of Commons on this very issue. My colleagues and I tabled a motion to begin the formal process of addressing the prosperity gap. That motion read as follows:

"That, in the opinion of the House, there is a growing prosperity gap in Canada that is making it harder for working and middle-class families to make ends meet and sees more and more Canadians, including women, children, seniors, aboriginal peoples and people with disabilities, slipping into poverty and therefore calls on the government, in cooperation with the provinces and territories, to implement a national anti-poverty strategy beginning with the reinstatement of the federal minimum wage to be initially set at $10 per hour."

This significant motion was defeated by a vote of 114 to 162. Both the Conservatives and the Bloc Quebecois voted against implementing a national anti- poverty strategy. Every single Conservative MP in British Columbia voted against it.

We know that the current minimum wage falls behind the cost of living. I believe that people deserve a living wage. While increasing the minimum wage is not enough in itself, it is one component of a broader strategy.

I and my colleagues have proposed other solutions to address the gap. We have called for improvements to the Employment Insurance program, passed the Seniors Charter and Veteran's First Motion, promoted access to universal child care and public health care, urged the signing of the UN Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities and the UN Declaration on Indigenous Rights, and shared a vision for a sustainable economy that invests in growth and creates more equality.

Canadians are hard working people. Our economy is strong. But when the richest 10 per cent of families with children earn 82 times the amount earned by the poorest 10 per cent (compared to 31 times in 1976), something is wrong.

Surely, we can have a prosperous economy and at the same time, ensure that the needs of all Canadians are looked after. We deserve no less from our Federal Government.