(The following article is from the June 1-15, 2009, issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading communist newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited. Subscription rates in Canada: $25/year, or $12 low income rate; for U.S. readers - $25 US per year; other overseas readers - $25 US or $35 CDN per year. Send to: People's Voice, c/o PV Business Manager, 133 Herkimer St., Unit 502, Hamilton, ON, L8P 2H3.)

By Betsy MacDonald

June 9 is election day in Nova Scotia, and the economy is at the top of the political agenda. Our leaders agree that Nova Scotians need more jobs, and that government intervention is required to help the province through economic hard times.

     Where, then, is the discussion of poverty?

     Poverty is, without question, a major drain on our economy. It imposes large costs on our health care system and other public services. It keeps people from realizing their human potential and contributing fully to economic and social life.

     Poverty is connected to other forms of social inequality. The majority of Canada's poor are women, and you are more likely to be poor if you are a single mother, Aboriginal, from a visible minority community, or living with a disability.

     Poverty is not inevitable or natural; it is structural and linked to policies made by governments. In Nova Scotia, the cycle of poverty is perpetuated through a less-than-living minimum wage, a federal Employment Insurance (EI) policy that discriminates against women and the insecurely employed, inadequate income assistance, barriers to education and training for single mothers, lack of affordable housing, transportation and childcare, and other programs and policies that have the effect of legislating inequality.

     Once we recognize that poverty is policy-created, we must ask ourselves: Is this acceptable? If poverty could be reduced through progressive policies and legislation, what are we waiting for?

     We need to press for real changes at the provincial and federal levels that reverse, rather than exacerbate, poverty and the oppression of women. We must fight for affordable housing and childcare, more accessible education and training, pay equity, a fairer EI system, better funding for women's centres and transition houses, and a social assistance program that allows women and their families to live with dignity.

     Until we demand that our politicians recognize and address the root causes of poverty, people and communities in our province will continue to suffer, and Nova Scotia will not live up to its potential. We need to elect a government that will represent the interests of workers, women, and all others who are exploited through the capitalist system. Our leaders must take immediate action to address the real needs of people living in poverty in Nova Scotia.

     Eradicating poverty is an economic and social investment that cannot be put off any longer.

     This article is written as part of the Women and Girls Matter! campaign led by Women's Centres Connect!, the association of Nova Scotia women's centres. There is an increasing demand on women's services in the province, and this demand is not being met by current levels of government funding for women's centres and transition houses. The goal of the campaign is to ensure that women's services here can attract and retain qualified staff by providing fair and adequate salaries. We are asking candidates in the 2009 Nova Scotia election to commit to this goal, so that women and girls are able to access services, resources, referrals, information and programs that address their needs. So far, the leaders of the Nova Scotia Green Party, Liberal Party and NDP have responded positively to the campaign, as well as several Green, Liberal, NDP and Progressive Conservative candidates. For more information visit http://womenandgirlsmatter.blogspot.com/.

     (Betsy MacDonald works with Women's Centres Connect!, the association of Women's Centres in Nova Scotia.)