I was just pursuing the Portage-Lisgar election stats for the 2008 election and found something that kind of shocked me (which might tell you how deep in the sand my head is buried).

Almost 12 percent of our riding is deemed to be living in poverty. That’s more than 10,000 people right here at home. Not a continent away. Right here. For those that don’t believe me check here – http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/special/federal-election/portage-lisgar/Portage-Lisgar-Profile.html

It also notes that 14.5 percent of kids under 18 live in poverty. That’s nearly 4,000 children living in poverty. Here. At home.

A family of four living in a small urban region earning less than $30,328 lives under the poverty line in Canada according to 2005 StatsCan figures and while some out there might cynically respond “that doesn’t seem so bad” my suggestion to you is to try it. For a single person living in a small urban region the cut off line is $16,273.

We live in one of the most affluent and wealthy countries in the world. We live in one of the most ‘Christian’ parts of the entire nation. How is it that such a large portion of our population lives in poverty? How is it that so many of our children live in poverty?

Wow.