Statistics Canada

Statistics Canada: The premiers convened this week in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont., to discuss a number of pressing issues, including the need to ensure funding for health care when the current health accord winds down in 2014. There are compelling reasons why they should also call on the federal government to step up to the plate on other social programs that affect the health of Canadians especially people living in poverty, according to The Chronicle Herald. ALSO SEE: Health changes violate constitution Across Canada, according to Statistics Canada, 4.2 million people, including 967,000 children and their families, live in poverty. Thats about 13 per cent of Canadians, or one in eight people, who are living in dire straits in our wealthy land. Poverty rates are even higher among historically disadvantaged groups, including women, people with disabilities, immigrants, racialized and Aboriginal Peoples. That 40 per cent of aboriginal children in Canada live in poverty is one troubling example of the scope of poverty among particular groups. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.