Early childhood development crucial in fight against poverty: group head

NEW?GLASGOW - The government needs to put more money into early childhood development to aid in the fight against poverty, says the executive director of Canada Without Poverty.
The earliest years of a human's life, from birth until about age four, are the most critical. Therefore the government needs to invest in more programs dealing with childcare, said Rob Rainer.
But childcare is only one of many areas that needs to be looked at when it comes to fighting poverty, he said.
"To tackle poverty properly, there's a whole basket of things that needs to be done."
The province announced its poverty strategy today and Rainer said there are three main things the government needs to look at.
First, it needs to come up with a set of targets and timelines. For instance, where it would like the rate of poverty to be in five years and in 10 years.
"The plan should be envisioned to go beyond one term of government," he said.
Secondly, the government should have a mechanism for ongoing consultation and engagement with the public, especially those with low income.
And finally, formal accountability is key. Rainer said an annual report should be made regarding what the government is doing to fight poverty through some sort of poverty commission. This would aid in greater understanding between the government and the public as to what is being done.
Rainer said a good example is the Newfoundland and Labrador government, which has invested $132 million into strategies like these in its fight against poverty.
"Nova Scotia should have something similar, something specific and concrete."
Newfoundland and Labrador has set its sights on being the province with the least poverty by 2014, he said.
"We'd like to see Nova Scotia come up with a goal like that."
Specific areas that need more funding from the Nova Scotia government are childcare, social assistance, affordable housing and income security.
Social assistance needs to be more easily accessed and the stigmas surrounding it need to be eliminated, said Rainer.
The irony of a high rate of poverty is that it costs the government more money.
A study conducted in December of 2008 estimated the cost of poverty in Ontario being between $32 and $38 billion.
Based on the Ontario study, the cost of poverty in Nova Scotia is $3 to $4 billion, said Rainer.
"The cost of poverty is very high."
Founded in 1971, Canada Without Poverty (formally the National Anti-Poverty Organization) is an incorporated, not-for-profit, non-partisan, member-based organization dedicated to the eradication of poverty in Canada.