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in her own words

Attawapiskat: Firing back at the racist rants and ignorant responses with facts

I still intend to get a series of posts out clarifying issues like First Nations housing, health care, education and so on, but I have a confession. I haven't been staying away from the comments sections of articles about Attawapiskat.

I know. It's not healthy. There are so many racist rants and outright ignorant responses that it can bog you down. Where do you even begin, when the people making these comments do not seem to understand even the bare minimum about the subject?

Well, I try to answer questions with facts. Here are some of those facts, if you're interested.

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Stephen Harper poverty Harper government First Nations child poverty Attawapiskat First Nation
in his own words

Aboriginal babies made up 71 per cent of infant deaths reviewed by B.C. children's advocate

British Columbia's Representative for Children and Youth has just issued an "aggregated, in-depth" report into the recent deaths of 21 infants in that province.

The total number of deaths in B.C. within the time period examined was actually 69. Moreover, that figure refers to 69 cases "reported to the Representative," suggesting more, unreported, infant deaths may have in fact occurred in B.C. over that time. Under the methodology employed by the Representative, the report screened out 48 cases

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infant death rate First Nations children children's health children's advocate child poverty british columbia aboriginal children
press release

Canadian welfare system outdated: National Council of Welfare

OTTAWA, ONTARIO, December 13, 2010 - A new report from the National Council of Welfare (NCW) shows that welfare can be harder to get today than 20 years ago. This means more people were forced into destitution to qualify for welfare in 2009, when the recession's casualties were mounting.

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poverty child poverty welfare welfare state National Council of Welfare economic crisis economy
Columnists

The deadly consequences of inequality

Last May, the OECD put out figures comparing infant mortality rates in countries around the world. Perhaps the biggest story of all the figures were those attributed to Canada. This country has always boasted of its social stats -- life expectancy, infant mortality, university graduates, and other measures of our success as a nation.

But not this time.

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wealth distribution statscan poverty infant mortality child poverty Canadian wealth Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives

The struggle for education in Haiti

How one Haitian school is trying to help its students and teachers.
The story of how one Haitian school is trying to help its students and teachers, and what it represents for the rest of the country.

Related rabble.ca story:

The struggle for education in Haiti
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schools poverty Haitian earthquake Haiti education child poverty
rabble news

Children's Aid Society on call during G20

"Maybe leave the kids at home?" The headline for the June 3, 2010 Globe and Mail article detailed the unexpected presence of the Children's Aid Society (CAS) at the G20 protests, a 24-hour-a-day "collaborative partnership" with Toronto's four CAS organizations and the Integrated Security Unit.

That article described scenarios of a parent arrested or children lost in the crowds. In the article, CAS spokesperson Dave Fleming explained that if involved, "our focus will always be for a child to go with a relative, but that's not always possible."

It undoubtedly created a sense of unease, the presence of the CAS felt as a threat to our most vulnerable ranks, parents and children. It left those with children wondering why CAS would be present at G20 protests.

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poverty G8-G20 Childrens Aid Society children's rights child poverty

Ontario's Poverty Reduction Strategy

By Nick Falvo
| January 9, 2012

December marked the three-year anniversary of Ontario's Poverty Reduction Strategy. While I believe there is much to celebrate, much remains to be done.

The Strategy surprised a lot of observers, especially in light of the fact that it was announced in December 2008, just as Ontario was entering a recession. Its focus was almost exclusively child poverty, and at full implementation (i.e. 2013), it will result in $300 million in new annual spending. This is equivalent to 0.3 per cent of total provincial spending in Ontario, which is roughly $100 billion.

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Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives
Reduction in child poverty stalled in Nova Scotia
November 23, 2011 |
For the first time since 2003, the child poverty rate increased and now stands at 8.2% of all children under the age of 18 in Nova Scotia, which translates to 14,000 children living in poverty.
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ccpa child poverty Nova Scotia

Is social assistance a 'poverty pariah'?

By Nick Falvo
| July 25, 2011

An article in the current edition of NOW Magazine looks at social assistance in Ontario. The article is aptly entitled "Poverty pariah," in light of how apparently unpopular Ontario's welfare system has become over the past 20 years.

As can be seen at the National Council of Welfare's Interactive Welfare Incomes Map, a single adult on welfare in Ontario receives $7,501 per year. In real terms, this benefit level is roughly 35% lower now than it was in the mid-1990s.

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How much does poverty cost B.C.?

By Iglika Ivanova
| July 15, 2011

We've known for a long time that we all pay for poverty. We just didn't know how much.

This is the question I investigate in my latest CCPA report The Cost of Poverty in B.C. If you're not in the mood for reading the report, you can watch a short video that summarizes the findings here.

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