A recent report says it will take 1,450 years to end child poverty in Manitoba at the current rate.

Social Planning Council of Winnipeg's Campain 2000 report, Manitoba Child and Family Poverty Report Card Manitoba: Missed Opportunities, was released on Wednesday. This pre-pandemic report highlighted which federal ridings have the highest rates of child poverty, saying roughly one in four Manitoban children live in poverty.

"Kids in single-parent families are almost four times more likely to live in poverty as those in couple-led families. More than six in ten (62%) of children in single-parent families lived in poverty in 2019," the report says.

They say nearly one in three children under the age of six live in poverty, the highest level among other provinces.

"These formative years are critical for development, health and education."

The Churchill-Keewatinook Aski federal riding has a child poverty rate of 64.4 per cent, the highest in all of Canada. Grocery prices easily cost twice as much compared to the provincial capital, and according to 2016 Census data, a median household income of $65,280.

Winnipeg Centre (third) and Dauphin-Swan River-Neepawa (fourth) claim high spots on the national rankings for child poverty rates. The Charleswood-St.James-Assiniboia-Headingly riding has the lowest rate in Manitoba at 15.3 per cent.

"Manitoba has made the fewest fiscal investments in ending child poverty of any province," the report says. "Governments in Canada and Manitoba need to protect our most vulnerable and respect the dignity of those 'in life’s first pages”

They are recommending the province revise its poverty reduction strategy, building 300 new social housing units per year, and other strategies.

 

Foodbanks

On Monday, Harvest Manitoba shared their latest report that 325 food banks and agencies in Manitoba shared food with roughly 83,000 Manitobans, half of which are children, in November.

"We believe that by working together, we can create a stronger future for all, where no one goes hungry." Meaghan Erbus, senior manager of Harvest Community Food Network and Advocacy says in the statement.

They say the province's EIA , or social welfare program, has not increased its rates in more than three decades. Harvest Manitoba says high food costs and rent make it tougher for families.

"Food support from Harvest can help to stretch budgets, but it cannot fill the gap left by inadequate income," the report says.