Community Resources University costs are rising. The average undergraduate tuition fee increased by seven per cent between 1997 and 1998, and the average undergraduate student debt load upon graduation have risen by nearly 50 per cent since 1995. Housing is less affordable for a growing number of families. Between 1991 and 1996, housing affordability problems grew, particularly among young and lone-parent families, and social housing construction stopped in most provinces. Health care is the top issue of concern among Canadians.
Cost restricts access to recreational activities for low-income families.
The number of people using food banks in Canada has more than doubled in the last decade. Forty-two per cent of people who depend on food banks for all or part of their food are children and youth under 18. Civic Vitality Municipal youth-friendly initiatives are growing. Seven of 21 Canadian cities surveyed have a youth advisory committee, up from three of 19 cities surveyed in 1997. The number of Canadians volunteering their time rose by two million between 1987 and 1997, and the number of volunteer hours rose by nine per cent.