Report Cards

Poverty report cards discuss current situations of poverty at the Federal, Provincial, and/or Municipal levels using current statistical data—and sometimes participatory experience, indicating the felt reality of poverty—in comparison with historical data to establish trends and to determine either growth or decline in poverty prevalence. Report cards may also be population specific, for example, by focusing on child poverty or poverty prevalence among recent immigrants. Typically, poverty report cards also evaluate the implications of poverty trends and current statistics for the success of government and service agency programs in poverty alleviation, reduction and elimination. Finally, most such reports also offer recommendations or strategic plans to further reduce the experience of poverty within Canadian populations.