That's the big question the National Council of Welfare is asking in a discussion paper published today. The paper contains a questionnaire for readers about poverty and poverty lines. The National Council of Welfare has long used the low income cut-offs or LICOs in its own work, but believes it is worth taking a closer look at the market basket approach.
Poverty lines are only a means to an end, the report says.
Counting poor people is always going to be unsatisfying work. It only makes sense if we take the next logical step and do our best to eradicate poverty in all its forms. The report contains information on the actual spending patterns of Canadians and examples of several possible ways of drawing market basket poverty lines. It also urges governments to do extensive consultations of their own, especially among poor people and anti-poverty groups. The National Council of Welfare will publish the results of its readership survey later in the year.