A new report suggests that people on low incomes use payday loans and other predatory companies, because banks aren’t there for them. We look at the report and talk to Jonethan Brigley of ACORN Nova Scotia.
The city should stop pretending that the Africville case was settled in the courts. It never was.
Frequent contributor Kendall Worth tackles the serious topic of social isolation. He looks at causes for isolation other than poverty, and particularly puts alcoholism under the loop. But poverty can certainly add to the problem, Kendall explains. He ends with a list of suggestions anybody can try, from joining a book club to becoming an activist.
This weekend’s video is a spoken word poem by the young and very talented Guyleigh Johnson, about community and growing up in North Dartmouth. Not to be missed.
Nova Scotia gets a failing grade in this year’s Report Card on Child and Family Poverty in Nova Scotia. The annual report tracks child poverty relative to previous years and other provinces, and this year there isn’t even a glimmer of good news.
A year ago contributor Tim Blades sent a letter to the Minister of Community Services with some pointers on what needs fixing in her department from the perspective of somebody on social assistance. It’s as relevant today as it was a year ago.
Halifax Council recently awarded a cleaning contract for the Sackville Sports Stadium to the lowest bidder, raising questions about wages paid to the outsourced janitorial staff . Prior to the municipal elections several successful candidates declared that they supported a living wage. That issue was not raised during the discussions, however.
A private member’s Bill in Ontario wants welfare rates to be set by an independent entity, based only on the cost of living. Nova Scotia would benefit from a similar approach.
Food bank use in Nova Scotia spiked 20.9% over last year—the highest increase among provinces in the country. It’s also a 40.9% increase over 2008. It’s also the new normal. Hard to believe there was a time nobody even knew what a food bank was.
Reporter Tim Blades wonders how come single parents on welfare see their child support clawed back in Nova Scotia, yet British Columbia has done away with the practice, and Ontario is soon to follow. And then there are some other policies that make the lives of single parents on welfare and their children particularly difficult, and sometimes even dangerous, Tim reports.