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Poverty in the Midst of Plenty

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spacer How many times have we walked by a homeless person and thought, "Lazy S.O.B. Get a job!" Yet images of suffering in Africa or South America tug at our heartstrings. Or have you had your children come home from school lamenting the lack of clean drinking water in faraway places: while they have never heard that many First Nations in our own country lack access to fresh drinking water. Successive governments have promised to end child poverty, yet there are still hungry children in our classrooms. Newspapers gush about $45,000 cocktail dresses, while the working poor line up at food banks and families sleep in cars

Is poverty simply part of the human condition or is it a social construct, a result of the decisions we make as a society? Allan Gregg has spoken to a range of experts about poverty both at home and abroad. We are pleased to present some of the most thought-provoking online.

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If anyone deserves the title "Captain Canada" it's Mel Hurtig. He gave us our own encyclopedia and for his entire career he's been fighting the good fight - against foreign takeovers, free trade and what he views as the sellout of our country. At seventy-five, he's still fighting - with a new book about growing income disparity called "The Truth About Canada." Originally broadcast in 2008.


Angus Toulouse, born and raised on the Sagamok Anishnawbek First Nation in north eastern Ontario, is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Angus Toulouse & Associates. With more than 20 years of leadership experience – as a First Nation Councillor, Chief of Sagamok Anishnawbek and seven years as Ontario Regional Chief – Angus has a wealth of experience and knowledge which provides the foundation for the core services Angus Toulouse & Associates provides. Angus has made public service the cornerstone of his career and has developed a unique insight into the inner workings of government, politics and strategy. He speaks to Allan about Aboriginal poverty and the inequities faced by Aboriginal students. Originally broadcast in 2011.


Sandra Dean took on the challenge of a lifetime when she became principal of a rundown public school in Ottawa. She talks to a Allan about how she transformed South Simcoe from the worstto the best school in the district. She told her story in a book called "Hearts and MInds: A public School Miracle. Originally broadcast in 2000.


Doug Saunders'  book "Arrival City" addresses the great neglected trend of the 21st century: urbanisation. Travelling across the globe, from Rio de Janeiro’s favelas to Nairobi’s slums and Berlin’s Turkish enclave, Saunders weaves the tales of individual migrants through his vast story, that of the current, final great human movement – involving a third of our species – from the countryside to the city. He also looks at the way immigrants settle in Toronto and move from ethnic enclaves to other parts fo the city. Winner of the Donner Prize. Originally broadcast in 2011.


In this interview David Blankenhorn looks at the connection between poverty and the absent father in "Fatherless America." Blankenhorn is a strong advocate of family values and was once a vigorous opponent of same-sex marriage. In 2012 he changed his position and came out in support of same-sex unions. Originally broadcast in 1995.

Further Reading

Globe and Mail Report on Poverty in Canada
UN Report says Poverty in Canada has a Child's Face
Mean Streets - Poverty in Canada from the Economist
gipoco.com is neither affiliated with the authors of this page nor responsible for its contents. This is a safe-cache copy of the original web site.