Report documents the disastrous plight of Canada’s welfare recipients

Invariably, those receiving welfare or “last resort” benefits have incomes far below the poverty line. Moreover, the real dollar value of the benefits paid welfare recipients has been rapidly shrinking over both the short and long term.

The report sheds light on the degree to which state policy is oriented towards enriching the wealthiest and most privileged sections of society to the detriment of the most vulnerable. Far from coming to the aid of the most destitute, the state is seeking to transform them through punitive regulations and woefully inadequate financial support into a source of cheap labor so as to increase the profitability of Canadian big business.

Entitled “Welfare Incomes 2005,” the report describes in detail the welfare benefits received by families across Canada.

In 2005, 1.7 million Canadians, roughly 5 percent of the total population, including nearly half a million children, were dependent on welfare for their livelihood.

Although the federal government helps fund welfare through transfers to the provinces, it is the provinces that administer welfare in Canada.

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http://wsws.org/articles/2006/oct2006/cana-o12.shtml