Thank you very much for giving us the opportunity to talk with you today.
I am the executive director of the Nova Scotia Association of Social Workers. We are the professional association for 1,600 social workers in Nova Scotia. We regulate and strengthen the profession, and we have a mandate to pursue social justice. In fact, our code of ethics calls upon us to engage in social action activities.
Social workers are well positioned to see the impact of government policies on people's lives. Our collective experience as front-line workers has reinforced our resolve to push for changes that would create a more just and equitable society.
Changes in the labour market over the past decade or two have had a significantly detrimental effect on many employees. Precarious forms of employment are increasing, with more temporary work, part-time contracts, and seasonal jobs. This means that fewer workers are able to obtain jobs with enough pay, enough hours, and enough benefits to allow families to make ends meet.
Low wages mean that even people who are working full-time for the whole year are stuck in poverty. Almost one in three children living in poverty now in Canada has at least one family member who is working full-time for the full year.
There are great difficulties in transitioning from social assistance into paid employment, for a number of people. All of these issues that we've just heard about have a differential impact on women, in particular on single parents who find themselves struggling in low-paying insecure jobs or unable to secure work at all because of the lack of child care or other important supports.
I'll just jump right to our recommendations. First of all, we'd like to recommend that the government implement progressive increases to the minimum wage in sectors of the labour market where the federal government has jurisdiction to bring it to a more adequate level. Not only will this help those who directly benefit from such increases, but it will also be a model for employers not governed by federal legislation. The United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights goes beyond that in urging the government of Canada to adopt all necessary measures to ensure that minimum wages are increased throughout Canada to a level enabling workers and their families to enjoy a decent standard of living.
Two, we'd like to recommend that the government restore eligibility for employment insurance, so a much larger proportion of workers is covered. With recent changes in recent years in eligibility criteria, far fewer people are able to collect EI benefits than was previously the case. The estimates vary, but Campaign 2000 estimates 38% of unemployed people have access to EI, which leaves a large proportion of people who actually can't access those benefits any longer. This situation has worsened the plight of low-income workers. We join with others in recommending that the eligibility criteria for EI be broadened. This would be one effective means of addressing low-income families.
We also would like to recommend that the government invest in tax measures aimed at supporting the working poor. The task force on modernizing income security for working-age adults calls on the government to create a new refundable tax benefit consisting of a basic tax credit for all low-income working-age adults and a working income supplement for low-income wage earners. While not seen as a panacea, this approach has been supported by others such as TD Economics and the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.
We urge the federal government, in consultation with others, to look at the most equitable and most effective means of better supporting low-income Canadians through the tax system. No one should have to live in poverty, including those who work full-time full-year.
We recommend that the government institute a quality early-childhood care and learning system that is universally accessible and affordable. Good quality accessible child care is a support that is needed by many, including single mothers, to make employment a viable option. The government must give this much greater priority for it to become a reality. This would really go a long way to addressing some of the barriers that women in particular face in re-entering the paid work force.
We recommend that the government create a national disability income support program. I think my next colleagues who are presenting from reachAbility will have many more details on this kind of initiative, but we support the goal of persons with disabilities to become employed. We also realize that there are people whose disabilities might really severely limit their ability to participate in the paid work force. We think it's very important to make sure that there is an income support system or supports in place so that people aren't destined to lives of poverty just because of disability.
We also recommend that the government support educational programs at all levels including programs for those with limited educational background. That's particularly important in this time and this new economy, when jobs require all kinds of new skills. A well-educated and skilled workforce is increasingly important for Canada to progress economically. As the required skill level increases and the demand for low-skill workers decreases, it becomes all the more important to provide opportunities for people at all educational and skill levels to develop to their potential.
Over the past decade or two, educational and skills development opportunities at the most basic levels have decreased. With the growing shortage of workers and the push to have fewer people dependent on social assistance, more adequate basic training programs are required.
We believe there is a very important role for the federal government to play in influencing conditions that will enable Canadians to participate in the labour market, in order that they both contribute to the good of the country and are treated fairly and compensated adequately, so that they are able to meet the needs of themselves and their families. Market forces alone cannot achieve these goals. We believe the recommendations we have made are some small but significant steps toward that end.
Thank you.