The 2012 federal budget recently announced defunding for the National Council of Welfare (NCW), an arm’s length agency of the federal government responsible for maintaining and tracking welfare and poverty statistics in Canada. The data contained in “Welfare Incomes” and “Poverty Profiles” produced yearly by the NCW since 1987 provided the data that allowed policy advocates to track and monitor welfare rates and rules and poverty trends among Canadians, including persons with disabilities. This loss came as one of many data source losses since 2010.
To meet this need, the Caledon Institute of Social Policy recently released a statement committing to take over the work of the National Council of Welfare.
In taking over this work, the Caledon Institute will be able to provide up to date data on the issues needed to inform policy decisions. These two data profiles will make up part of a new report called the “Canada Social Report.”
See, “Saving Welfare Incomes and Poverty Profile,” available atwww.caledoninst.org.