2021 FEDERAL POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS - Food Banks ...
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2021 FEDERAL POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS
INTRODUCTION
ABOUT FOOD BANKS CANADA
Food Banks Canada provides national leadership Our vision:
to relieve hunger today and prevent hunger
tomorrow in collaboration with the food bank a Canada There is little doubt that the last year has been marked by hardship, stress and loss
for most Canadians. Millions lost their jobs virtually overnight and while some have
network in Canada. where no been able to return to work, a return to pre-pandemic stability and normalcy still
Food Banks Canada is a national charitable
one goes seems many years away.
organization dedicated to helping Canadians hungry. However, if there is one silver lining that we can take from we can follow that creates a new normal where far fewer
living with food insecurity. We support a the first year of the pandemic, it is that we witnessed in real Canadians rely on a food bank in the future.
network of Provincial Associations, affiliate time what Food Banks Canada has been saying for years -
Unfortunately, many of the programs introduced at the
good social policies can have a deep impact on reducing
food banks, and food agencies that work at the food insecurity when they address its root causes, which
beginning of the pandemic were only temporary and have
already come to an end or will soon phase out. This leaves
community level to relieve hunger. Our work are low incomes and poverty.
many Canadians, and food banks, wary of the months and
is focused on maximizing collective impact, As our data has shown, the quick introduction of the years ahead as the economic hardship has not gone away,
CERB and other supports initially ‘flattened the curve’ even if many support programs have.
strengthening local capacity, and reducing the
of food bank use early in the pandemic in many parts
need for food banks. of the country. These new programs, before they were
As the country starts to slowly map out what our post-
pandemic society will look like, it is especially important
pulled-back, helped many Canadians have sufficient
to learn from the policies that were successful in helping
incomes so they could buy enough food to feed themselves
Canadians support themselves during difficult times.
and their families.
It is also important to learn who fell through the cracks
In Canada, we know that food is only a small part of
during this period, to provide a more encompassing
household food insecurity. Food banks are there to support
set of supports and initiatives targeted to those most in
individuals with immediate needs yet they can only do
need. This includes exploring in more detail why some
so much to help people in the long term. The pandemic
demographics were economically impacted more negatively
and the subsequent policies put in place by the federal
than others.
government gives us clear proof that sound public policies
that raise people’s incomes and lift them out of poverty is For instance, Indigenous and racialized groups had higher
the key to reducing food insecurity in the long term. numbers reporting a strong or moderate negative financial
impact of COVID-19 than white Canadians, even after
The fact that the CERB and other supports had such a
taking into consideration their differences in job loss,
deep impact in mitigating the potentially devastating
immigration status, pre-COVID employment status, and
consequences of the pandemic should be applauded and
other demographic characteristics.1
used as a building block as we build back a better Canada.
Looking forward - Canada now faces an opportunity. We
Before the pandemic, food banks in Canada were visited
can choose to revert to a pre-pandemic ‘normal’ where
over a million times per month and they were already
over a million Canadians a month needed help from a food
at capacity and struggling to meet the need in their
bank to make ends meet, or we can seize the opportunity to
communities. We now have an opportunity and a roadmap
build a better Canada that leaves no one behind.
FOOD BANKS CANADA • 2021 FEDERAL POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS • 1
NEW SUPPORTS FOR RENTERS
LIVING WITH LOW INCOMES
1
Even prior to the pandemic, food banks have been reporting every year that the
high cost of housing is one of the main reasons why people walk through their doors
looking for support.
OUR RECOMMENDATIONS:
• Immediately implement a national rent support
program based on an expanded version of the
In 2021, a national poll showed that 46% of Canadians Most of the NHS investments have been put towards loans Canada Housing Benefit so that Canadians
ranked the cost of housing as the largest obstacle to for the development of market housing rather than directly struggling to afford their rent can access this
affording food - up from 21% only a year before.2 addressing the most vulnerable. A 2019 Parliamentary important rental support while the rest of the
Budget Office report found that the new NHS changed very National Housing Strategy takes effect.
In 2019, 70 per cent of all food bank clients lived in private
little about how much funding the government invested • Significantly increase the amount that the federal
rental market housing, increasing from 60% in 2010.
into affordable housing. Notably, the report found that the government plans to invest in the previously
Within that group, the vast majority are people living NHS slightly reduced the funding targeted for those in announced Canada Housing Benefit so that all
within the lowest income group and are paying well over core housing need.6 Meanwhile, the erosion of affordable low-income people become eligible for the benefit
50 per cent of their income for the cost of rent and housing far outpaces its creation where for every affordable (remove any cap limit on how many eligible
utilities.3 Spending this portion of income on housing is unit created, four are removed from the market.7 citizens can apply).
considered a “crisis” level, leaving little left over for other
Without a doubt, the pandemic and its repercussions has • Introduce new investments and address an
basic needs such as food, as well as leaving them at
only amplified a problem that was already urgent across important omission of the National Housing
risk of homelessness.4
the country. Strategy, to build supportive housing for people
We were encouraged to see the federal government with mental and physical health disabilities,
Since the beginning of the pandemic, we believe that
introduce the National Housing Strategy (NHS) in 2017, particularly for low-income and marginalized
the CERB and other pandemic supports, combined with
something that Food Banks Canada had advocated for populations.
local/provincial moratoriums on evictions and deferred
over many years.
payments, have stemmed the tide of renters having to seek • To address the rate at which the stock of
As part of the strategy, the federal government committed help from their food banks, but we expect that to change. affordable housing units are being reduced, the
to spending around $20 billion dollars (equally matched by Further, in many areas with high housing costs, food banks government must explore new and faster ways to
the provinces and territories for a total of $40 billion) over use went up rather than down during the early months of acquire potential affordable housing and should
the next twelve years with the ultimate goal of removing the pandemic. consider community-targeted funding and non-
530,000 (half of) households from core housing need and market solutions to housing acquisitions.
More recently, as government supports have been wound
reducing the amount of chronically homeless people by half
down, and payments have come due, food banks have seen
by 2030.5
an increase in new clients needing support due to the high
Those were positive developments and sound government costs of housing.
policy – yet very little, if anything, has been done since the
Without immediate government action to support renters,
strategy’s announcement to help those who currently need
we fear this trend will only get worse over the months and
the support of food banks due to their high housing costs.
years ahead.
FOOD BANKS CANADA • 2021 FEDERAL POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS • 2
MODERNIZE AND EXPAND SUPPORTS FOR
LOW-WAGE AND UNEMPLOYED WORKERS
2
From February to April 2020, over 5.5 million Canadian workers were directly
affected by the Covid-19 related economic shutdowns across the country.9 Virtually
overnight, the labour market in Canada was flipped upside down.
OUR RECOMMENDATIONS:
• Significantly extend the maximum duration of
Employment Insurance benefits beyond 45 weeks.
Extended benefits will be crucial so that Canadians
aren’t forced into our broken and grossly
inadequate provincial social assistance system
once their EI benefits run out.
• Immediately expand the Working-While-on-Claim
(WWC) provisions in Employment Insurance to
allow workers to retain more of their income from
temporary/part time work while on Employment
Insurance without losing benefits, or having
their income clawed back. Workers who are not
punished for taking temporary/part time jobs
While many have been able to re-enter the workforce in For many, the road to the food bank starts with a job loss, while on claim are more likely to re-integrate
their previous jobs, millions have been forced to turn to then a year or less on EI (depending on eligibility) and then the workforce quickly and obtain full-time
new forms of less stable employment or have yet to re- squeezing what is left of savings, informal support systems, employment.13
enter the workforce at all as the economic impacts of the and last resources until there is nowhere left to turn but
pandemic continue to be felt - and will likely be felt for social assistance - which doesn’t provide nearly enough for • Permanently broaden the EI qualifying definition
years to come. basic necessities such as food. of ‘employment’ to include self-employed and
precarious work.
Exacerbating these issues is the outdated EI system which The fear for many food banks in Canada right now is that
in the 2018-2019 fiscal year only covered 39% of Canada’s they will not be able to accommodate a tidal wave of new • Review and reduce the amount of qualifying ‘hours
unemployed workers. Compared to over 80% in the early clients created by the pandemic while maintaining its level of employment’ needed to better reflect the nature
1990s,10 this shift in coverage demonstrates the evolved of support for long-term need created by decades of social of modern jobs and working situations.
nature of work in today’s world. policy neglect.
• Develop a new program within EI that specifically
The federal government has already announced that it Unfortunately – recent Labour Force Survey numbers show supports older workers (45-65) who lose
plans to review Canada’s Employment Insurance (EI) that a potential wave of new food bank clients may not be employment at a later age and who may need
program in the years ahead.11 This review is long overdue that far away. specific training and education programs
and welcomed, but there is concern that a full review of catered to their needs to help them re-enter
In May 2021, close to half a million Canadians who lost the modern workforce.
EI will take far too long to undertake and implement when
their jobs due to the pandemic had been fully unemployed
immediate action is necessary.
for more than six consecutive months.12 These are people TO BETTER SUPPORT LOW-WAGE
For years, our data has shown that those who fall out of the who are struggling to re-enter the labour market and who WORKERS CURRENTLY EMPLOYED:
labour force (i.e. those who are currently employed, or on may find themselves forced to turn to social assistance and
EI and looking for work) are far less likely to seek support food banks in the months ahead unless a better EI system • Expand the Canada Workers Benefit (CWB) further
from a food bank than someone who is forced to turn to is put in place swiftly. to allow more low-income workers to retain more of
welfare or disability assistance. their earned income before taxes are clawed back.
• Introduce government incentives to encourage
businesses to pay living wages to all employees.
• Introduce a Disability Hiring Strategy including
training and incentives to encourage businesses
to hire people with disabilities who are seeking
employment (currently 2 in 5 unemployed
Canadians with a disability between 25 and
65 are without work).14
FOOD BANKS CANADA • 2021 FEDERAL POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS • 4 FOOD BANKS CANADA • 2021 FEDERAL POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS • 5
INCREASE SUPPORTS FOR
LOW-INCOME SINGLE ADULTS
3
Over the last few years, Food Banks Canada’s yearly HungerCount report has raised
the issue that single working-age adults continue to increase year over year as a
percentage of people needing the help from a food bank.
OUR RECOMMENDATIONS:
• Make single, low-income adults a priority
consideration in all future poverty reduction and
recovery policy measures, including an expanded
Over the last decade, the percent of single people using As mentioned in our HungerCount 2019 report, single
and modernized EI, to ensure that this vulnerable
food banks has increased significantly, having grown from person households that are food insecure experience
population is no longer left behind.
38% of households helped in 2010 to almost half of all higher levels of mental health issues than other
households helped (48%) in 2019.15 households.18 Many have mental health issues that go • Develop new mental health measures as part
untreated for lack of supports available to them, are of future health accords with the provinces and
Since then, the pandemic and its economic fallout have only
stuck in a cycle of inadequate social assistance or territories that include a specific focus on the
exacerbated the situation for this group of people by forcing
disability-related supports, or have lost a job and have needs of single, working-age adults.
even more single adults to turn to their local food bank.
nowhere to turn for new training and education programs
As a proportion of new clients from February to June of • Implement our recommendation that
to re-enter the workforce. All of these issues now
this year (2021), single person households seeking help for governments move towards a Minimum Income
heightened by the pandemic.
the first time shot-up by 36% over a matter of months – Floor (See recommendation #4) for all to replace
more than any other demographic in Canada. For decades, governments have focused policies on specific our current broken social assistance system to
subsets of the populations such as families and seniors, yet address the high levels of deep poverty amongst
Looking at the staggering economic statistics for this
have routinely overlooked working-age single adults as a singles with no attachment to the labour force.
group, it doesn’t take long to determine why food banks
group that requires targeted action.
have seen this jump. Using Canada’s Official Poverty • Beyond a Disability Hiring Strategy (See
Measure (the Market Basket Measure), just over 1 in 10 From an optimistic lens, Food Banks Canada is encouraged recommendation #2), the rapid implementation of
Canadians live on or below the poverty line. If we look at by the recent announcements from the federal government the Canadian Disability Benefit, with amounts that
only unattached (i.e. single) working-age people, the figure to review its antiquated Employment Insurance (EI) bring recipients to or near their Market Basket
jumps to 33%: 1 in every 3 single adult lives in poverty.16 program and we hope our recommendations outlined above Measure (MBM), is needed to help pull over 30% of
(see recommendation 2) are implemented quickly as these Canadians with a disability19 out of poverty.
This group alone represents a low-income population
would have a positive impact on the lives of many single • This implementation should also include a review
of 1.3 million people. These are Canadians who live in
adults who are struggling to make ends meet. of the MBM for Canadians with a disability, so
deep poverty, with average incomes that are 50% below
that the poverty line can better reflect the costly
the poverty line. This means these individuals are often And for those who are unable to work, a large number are
realities of living with a disability.
struggling to survive on about $10,000 per year. receiving social or disability assistance but can’t climb out
of poverty due to the grossly inadequate supports and strict
Given these statistics, it is hardly surprising that close to
conditions that come with these programs. Current social
1 in 5 single adults experiences food insecurity and that so
assistance amounts do not consider the increased cost
many need support from a food bank to make ends meet.17
of living associated with having a disability. And amongst
This is a population that, from a government program single Canadians, those with disabilities are feeling the
perspective, has few places to turn and seems to have been intersection of physical, mental, and financial struggles.
largely forgotten by federal and provincial governments.
Many within this group have mental health issues that are
exacerbated by poverty and low income.
FOOD BANKS CANADA • 2021 FEDERAL POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS • 6 FOOD BANKS CANADA • 2021 FEDERAL POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS • 7
A PATH FORWARD WHERE
NO CANADIAN IS LEFT BEHIND (PROGRESS
TOWARDS A MINIMUM INCOME FLOOR)
4
For years, food banks across the country have known that their services can only do so
much. While they do everything possible to help their community during difficult times,
they are also the first ones to argue that only government policies can address the root
causes of food insecurity and food bank use – which are poverty and low incomes.
OUR RECOMMENDATIONS:
• Fund and develop, in coordination with the
provinces and territories, multiple Minimum
Income Floor pilot projects of various types across
the country in various provinces and territories (in
To put it simply, when sound social policies are put in Under the current system of provincial social assistance, rural and urban communities).
place – food bank use goes down. one must be virtually penniless before qualifying for
support.21 Once approved, the average yearly welfare income • Accumulate and analyze the data from these
Unfortunately, much of that progress appears to have only pilot projects over multiple years to determine
for a single person in 2019 was only $9,394, an average of
been temporary as the government winds down widely the type of Minimum Income Floor that is best
$13,506 below the poverty line.22 And, if one tries to work
effective programs such as the CERB and various one-time suited for Canada, and that accounts for Canada’s
their way out of welfare, their benefits (cash and non-cash)
benefit boosts, in favour of lesser alternatives. Yet, while regional differences.
are clawed back with punitive rates that disincentivize work.
not perfect, it is still important to learn from the social
policy lessons of the first few months of the pandemic and This is a system that has not evolved since the 1990s and • In the short term, allow all low-income households
use them as a foundation in the creation of a social safety one that keeps people stalled in a cycle of poverty that is to have access to the non-cash benefits that
net where no one falls through the cracks. extremely difficult to escape – as is demonstrated by the are currently only available to those on social
fact that nearly 60% of those currently helped by food banks assistance (such as childcare subsidies, affordable
As the CERB has come to an end, it is important to start housing supplements, drug and dental insurance).
are either on social assistance or disability supports.
building what is next. The changes to the Employment
Insurance (EI) system are long overdue, and a big step in Simply put, if there is anything the early months of the
the right direction. However, far too many Canadians will pandemic has taught us, it is that Canada needs to work
be left behind. towards a new Minimum Income Floor, at or above the
official poverty line, to replace our current failed approach
It is estimated that 482,000 Canadians will not qualify to
at supporting those who can’t access work.
transition from the CERB, or the other pandemic benefits,
to any of the new EI programs and will be far worse-off This means a new approach that provides every Canadian
than they were under the CERB.20 a minimum income floor where they can lift themselves up
and move ahead – not an approach that keeps people down
This group of people will likely face very difficult times
and holds them back.
ahead where they may have no other choice but to turn to
our current provincial social assistance system – a grossly The approach taken by the government during the first few
inadequate system that has been broken for many years. months of the pandemic gives a glimpse of what is possible
with sound policies – now it’s time to use those lessons to
build a Canada where no one is left behind.
FOOD BANKS CANADA • 2021 FEDERAL POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS • 8 FOOD BANKS CANADA • 2021 FEDERAL POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS • 9
ENHANCE MEASURES TO
REDUCE NORTHERN FOOD INSECURITY
5
Northern food insecurity remains a significant concern for Food Banks Canada. The
issue will likely worsen with the effects of the pandemic over the coming months and
years, unless some of the minimum income reforms mentioned in this report are
quickly enacted. While consecutive federal governments have attempted to address
OUR RECOMMENDATIONS:
• Immediately start working towards a Minimum
Income Floor (see recommendation #4) and move
away from a broken social assistance system that
this problem with various targeted programs and initiatives – it is clear that the keeps far too many northern Canadians in a cycle
current approach is failing. of poverty and food insecurity.
• In collaboration with the newly formed Inuit to
Food Banks Canada has worked over the last few years to challenges, are welcomed – yet are likely insufficient to Crown Working Group, initiate a comprehensive
suggest ways to improve the Nutrition North program and address the multiple challenges facing the north, especially review of Nutrition North Canada to determine
northern food insecurity in general. We are encouraged in light of a pandemic that has already affected supply why the program is only minimally achieving its
that the federal government has adopted one of our chain issues in food reaching northern communities. objectives of reducing the cost of food in the North.
recommendations from our 2019 HungerCount report
With household food insecurity levels that remain • Create a Canada-wide Northern Development
and now includes charities in the Nutrition North program
unacceptably high in the territories, the cost of food barely and Revitalization Plan, in partnership with local
on a pilot basis.
changing since 2011, and social assistance income that is groups, focused on the research and development
However, we remain concerned that food costs in the decreasing when inflation is taken into account, it is time for of regional programs that aim to train workers and
North remain largely unchanged since the beginning of the the federal government, in collaboration with the territories, grow business in strategic economic sectors.
Nutrition North program in 2011. For instance, in Iqaluit, to review their food security strategies in the north.
Nunavut, the cost of a nutritious food basket to feed a
Organizations such as Food Banks Canada, the RFDA in
family of four in March, 2018 was approximately $1,721.56,
Thunder Bay, Winnipeg Harvest, the Ottawa Food Bank
while in Ottawa, it would cost about $868.23
and the Community Food Sharing Association in
Recent data released by Statistics Canada shows that the Newfoundland (just to name a few) are doing what they
Nutrition North subsidy hasn`t had the impact on food can to support struggling northern communities, but
costs that many had hoped for when the program was it is very difficult to stretch scarce financial resources
first introduced almost a decade ago. towards high shipping costs.
As shown in the most recent numbers released by Nutrition Federal funding that flowed through Food Banks Canada
North Canada, the average cost of the Revised Northern during the early months of the pandemic helped many
Food Basket in March 2018 was actually higher by over northern food banks purchase food over the first year
2% since March of the previous year, and only 1% lower of the pandemic, but there remains a great concern for
than in March 2011, prior to the launch of the Nutrition the months and years ahead, for what was already a
North program.24 precarious situation.
Measures announced by the program in 2018, such as new Ultimately, food prices and food-driven solutions can only do
supports for traditional hunting and gathering programs so much. The federal government must also review its entire
(a measure which Food Banks Canada has advocated for), approach towards the long-term root causes of food insecurity
and a new Inuit to Crown working group to address future in the north if significant progress is to be achieved.
FOOD BANKS CANADA • 2021 FEDERAL POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS • 10 FOOD BANKS CANADA • 2021 FEDERAL POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS • 11
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https://canadiangrocer.com/food-affordability-faces-perfect-economic-storm
3 http://rentalhousingindex.ca/en/#affordability_prov
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behindthenumbers.ca/2020/09/15/transitioning-from-cerb-to-ei-could-leave-millions-worse-off/
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nutritionnorthcanada.gc.ca/eng/1548078467819/1548078497301, and Ottawa Public Health (2018). Nutritious Food Basket. Retrieved from https://www.
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nutritionnorthcanada.gc.ca/eng/1548078467819/1548078497301
FOOD BANKS CANADA • 2021 FEDERAL POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS • 13Relieving hunger today.
Preventing hunger tomorrow.
2680 Matheson Blvd, Suite 102, @FoodBanksCanada
Mississauga, ON, L4W 0A5 @FoodBanksCanada
info@foodbankscanada.ca
@foodbankscanada
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