Excerpts from Press release:
Poverty rates in Canada- especially among children and the working-age population-are among the worst of 17 leading developed countries, according to the Conference Board's annual ranking on Society indicators.
With more than 12 per cent of the working-age population living in poverty, Canada is in 15th place out of 17 countries-a "D" grade-ahead of only Japan and the United States. More than one in seven Canadian children lives in poverty-resulting in a 13th place ranking and a "C" grade.
"Considering how wealthy this country is, these rates of poverty are unacceptable. Not only are we not making progress; we are losing ground," said Anne Golden, President and CEO of the Conference Board. "Poverty rates among children and working age people are rising.
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In the overall Society category-which measures 17 indicators in the areas of social cohesion, equity and self-sufficiency-Canada ranks ninth, an improvement of one place from last year. Canada also earns an overall ‘B', which remains consistent with its grades in this category over the past two decades.
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The overall rankings have Denmark, Norway, Sweden and the Netherlands all earning "A" grades, while the United States and Japan are the two "D" performers among the 17 countries ranked.
Norway, the Netherlands and Denmark were also among the top five performers in the economy category of How Canada Performs, indicating that a strong economy does not have to come at the expense of a strong social fabric.
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How Canada Performs: A Report Card on Canada is the Conference Board's annual benchmarking analysis, which the Board has conducted since 1996. The Conference Board assesses Canada's performance against leading countries in the domains of Economy, Health, Society, Innovation, Environment, and Education and Skills.
- reprinted from The Conference Board of Canada