Despite Premierâe(TM)s McGuintyâe(TM)s promise to produce a poverty reduction plan, and the earnest hopes of editorial writers and anti-poverty activists, I am of the belief that the next four years will see little if any action on poverty reduction. I base this prediction on my analysis of poverty and its public policy antecedents in Canada and what we know about the forces that create poverty and maintain its presence.

Our premiers all assure us that they are concerned with maintaining thehealth of Canadians and assuring the sustainability of the health caresystem.