Shelly Panczyk is the chairwoman of the Queens County Food Bank in Liverpool. (Rick Conrad)

Queens County has one of the highest rates of child poverty in Canada.

A new report on child and family poverty in Canada ranks Nova Scotia as the worst in Atlantic Canada and one of the worst in the whole country in reducing child poverty. And Queens is a top problem spot in the province. 

The 2024 Report Card on Child and Family Poverty in Nova Scotia looked at household incomes from 2022, based on tax filings.

Lesley Frank, the co-author of the report from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, is also the Canada research chair for food health and social justice at Acadia University.

She told QCCR that the province doesn’t have a great track record on child poverty.

“Nova Scotia has had a lacklustre performance in child poverty reduction,” Frank said. “We’ve typically over the last several years had the highest child poverty rate in Atlantic Canada, the fifth highest in Canada including the territories, third highest provincial rate.”

The report found that more than one in five children live in poverty in Nova Scotia, or 23.8 per cent. That amounts to 41,500 kids, an increase of 16 per cent over the year before.

Frank and her co-authors say that’s the biggest increase in a single year since 1989, when the federal government promised to eradicate child poverty by the year 2000.

In Queens County, the numbers are even worse, where 31.5 per cent of children live in poverty, the fourth highest rate in Nova Scotia. That’s a 10 per cent increase over the numbers from 2021, representing 510 children in Queens County.

The rate is higher still in Liverpool at 32.8 per cent.

“Typically if you look at Canada as a whole, generally there tends to be higher poverty rates in urban areas as opposed to rural,” she said. “That doesn’t really hold for Nova Scotia. There are a lot of high rates in rural Nova Scotia. … There’s a rise in rates in western Nova Scotia in general.”

The numbers are no surprise to Shelly Panczyk, the chairperson of the Queens County Food Bank.

She said they see about 240 families a month, a 30 per cent increase over previous years. Combined with the numbers who use the Community Food Resource Network in Caledonia, Panczyk estimates more than 300 Queens County families rely on food banks every month.

She said she and other food bank volunteers served 85 families on Tuesday alone, the last pickup day before Christmas.

“That’s a lot of families in a small community. I don’t see it getting any better for the next little while. It’s going to get worse before it gets better.

“About 20 per cent of our clients are two-income families.”

Panczyk points out that there are few opportunities for high-paying jobs in Queens. And low wages directly lead to family poverty, including food and housing insecurity.

Frank says governments know how to fix the problem.

She points to the federal and provincial programs offered during the pandemic. Those had a marked impact on lifting families and children out of poverty.

“We have demonstrated that we can swiftly reduce child poverty with adequate income supports. We just didn’t stick with it,” Frank said.

“We really shouldn’t be that surprised that the child poverty rates increased in 2022 in such a dramatic way because all those benefits that were there two years ago that lowered it were gone. If you do nothing, you can expect that to be the outcome. That’s why it keeps happening. We don’t do the things that we know will work.”

Frank and her co-authors call on the provincial government to create a poverty elimination plan to reduce poverty rates by 50 per cent by 2027.

That would include things like making the Nova Scotia child benefit available to more families and have it indexed to inflation.

The plan would also address social assistance rates, create a living wage standard and establish a child and youth advocacy office.

“Children have a right to food, and those that are living on government transfers only as their only source of income it’s shockingly immoral on how much those families are receiving. A one-parent family with one child has to live on $21,000 a year in Nova Scotia for all its needs. It’s impossible.

“Many of these children are living in families with full-time working parents so that has to do with establishing conditions for decent work and quality job creation, bringing incomes to living wages so people can afford basic necessities of life and have quality of life.”

The food bank’s Panczyk said all governments – municipal, provincial and federal – have a responsibility to lower child poverty.

“They have to make it that it’s affordable for people to live. It’s like anything: Do I eat? Do I pay rent? Do I pay some on my light bill?

“Everybody has to step up in the government and try to help in some way.”

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

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Kendra Shot is the organizer of Santas for Seniors Queens County. (Rick Conrad)

UPDATED DEC. 4, 10:30 A.M.

Even though the Canada Post strike is continuing, the organizer of Santas for Seniors Queens County says seniors will still get their gifts in time for Christmas.

In previous years, organizer Kendra Shot has mailed out the cards. But this year, she says that she and some other women will hand deliver more than 300 envelopes with gift cards to seniors around Queens County.

“We’re going to make sure they get out before Christmas because I know a lot of seniors wait for this to help with their Christmas dinners,” Shot told QCCR.

On Tuesday, Shot got some great news that somebody wanted to adopt 50 seniors.

“I’m feeling very, very happy about it because last year at this time, we had to add another week to get all the seniors adopted and by the looks of it, I’m praying we’ll have everybody adopted by Friday.”

Later on Tuesday, Shot announced on the Santas for Seniors Facebook group that all 337 seniors have been adopted.

This is the fifth year for the volunteer-led program, which helps low-income people 55 and over celebrate Christmas. 

Anyone could nominate a senior, or seniors could nominate themselves. They gave Shot the person’s full name, age and mailing address. People told Shot what they’d like, whether that’s a gift card for groceries, gas or other goods.

All nominees are anonymously posted to the Santas for Seniors Queens County Facebook group. And then people adopt as many seniors as they’d like.

Donors buy a holiday greeting card and include the requested gift cards. They put a stamp on the front of the envelope and the number of the senior on the back. People can drop them off at three locations in Queens County – Exit Realty or Route 3 Cellar Taproom and Grill in Liverpool, or Stew’s Corner Convenience and Gas in Greenfield.

Over the past four years, more than 1,200 seniors in Queens County have been adopted.

Shot said despite people feeling the pinch this year, they’ve still found a way to contribute. 

“I’ve noticed even with the people adopting this year, they can’t do as much as they’ve done in previous years, but they want to help,” Shot says.

“This kind of puts a jump start in my step, because I’ve got my Christmas shopping done, my cookies done, my baking, and the presents wrapped. It puts a little fire in me to get up and get going, but now I do get to sit back and relax.”

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

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Region of Queens councillors Jack Fancy, David Brown and Vicki Amirault in a file photo. (Rick Conrad)

The Region of Queens plans to increase the income threshold for people eligible for the low-income property tax exemption.

As part of budget discussions on Tuesday, District 6 Coun. David Brown asked council to consider increasing the income brackets for those eligible for the tax break.

“We know there’s been a lot of inflation this year and the consumer price index went up 3.4 per cent,” Brown said.

“We end up with bracket creep. I know some people are getting small raises in their pensions, small raises in the EI rate, and minimum wage that could price them out of that benefit. So we could be clawing back what little benefit they gained out of inflation.”

Property owners with a household income of $20,000 a year or less are eligible for a maximum $400 tax exemption. Those who make between $20,000 and $25,000 get up to $350, and those making between $25,000 and $30,000 get as much as a $300 break.

The revised income amounts would add $5,000 to each of those brackets. So the lowest income bracket would now be up to $25,000, and then $25,001 to $30,000 and $30,001 to $35,000. The tax exemption amounts would not change.

Brown originally wanted council to increase the income brackets by the same rate as inflation. That would have added about $680 to the lowest income group and about $1,000 to the highest.

But District 3 Coun. Maddie Charlton said council should increase the top bracket by $5,000. She said the Municipality of the District of Lunenburg recently changed its low-income tax exemption to give people a 14 per cent boost in savings on their property taxes.

“I think upping that to the $35,000 is more than reasonable and helps those who need it the most,” Charlton said.

Council decided to increase each income category by $5,000.

“We’re talking about the lowest (paid) and the poorest in our society who need the most help from us,” Brown said. “And it’s a small amount of money to be able to help those who need it the most. I think it’s something we should do.”

The region originally set aside $125,000 for the low-income tax exemption in their 2024/25 budget. CAO Cody Joudry said staff would add another $10,000 for it in the budget. 

The increase will be funded from the municipality’s accumulated surplus special operating reserve fund, which sits at just over $10 million.

Council is holding a special meeting on Monday at 9 a.m. at the region’s offices to vote on the final budget.

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

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A rendering of the Queens Neighbourhood Co-operative Housing development planned for Liverpool. (QNCH)

An affordable housing development for Liverpool could break ground by this fall.

Queens Neighbourhood Co-operative Housing is planning a 26-unit development off Lawrence Street that will include one-bedroom, two-bedroom and three-bedroom units in two separate buildings.

It’s passive design, net zero-ready housing that will welcome tenants from all income groups.

The group was formed as a result of consultations by the Queens Care Society, which identified transportation and housing as vital for Queens County’s older population.

The Region of Queens sold the land to the group for $1 and rezoned the area. It also committed $203,000 toward the project. 

Initially, the group expected to start construction this spring. But now they hope to break ground later this year.

Earl Mielke, with Inclusive Homes Consulting, has been working with the Queens Neighbourhood Co-operative Housing board. He said Monday that there have been some delays in the initial work on design and preparation. 

But he said they’re at the final stages of the design, and are working now with a cost consultant, before they make funding requests to the province and the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation. CMHC requires groups to use a cost consultant because it wants a good idea of the final project cost.

“We hope to have our funding in place and a contractor hired, realistically late fall. Early fall, late fall, it all depends on how quickly the funders turn the funding over. And the availability of contracts is a big factor.

“Realistically, we really hope to get something started there by the end of this year.”

He said the group expects the whole project to be in the $6-$7-million range, though that could change as the project progresses.

“A lot of it will depend on the funders. But what we’re getting from the feds and the province, they’re really anxious to get some wins for affordable housing. The initial discussions we’ve had are very positive. We’re seen as one of the more shovel-ready on this scale. Things are going well.”

Mielke said rent for the units will be based on a mixed-income approach. Rents will be at or below the median market rate. 

He said that could mean the highest rent would be about $1,200 a month. But he cautioned that that could change depending on final construction costs.  

“A mix of incomes, the rents are all basically the same across the board. It’s just a matter of what types of rent supplement or income testing assistance will be available. And a lot of that is negotiated with the province.

“If you have a single pensioner on old age pension, they can’t afford $1,200 a month. So there will be units that will be designated for people on lesser incomes.”

Mielke says this is just the first of what the group hopes will be more affordable housing developments in other areas of Queens. 

“The intent is do this one, do it really well and then move into another neighbourhood. Initially, it was like 100 units over three years. Now it’s more like 100 units over three to five years. … We’re just looking at ways to … get more affordable housing.”

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

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An augmentative communication device for children with autism. (Communications Nova Scotia)

Nova Scotians who have a child with autism can now apply for up to $3,000 to cover costs of equipment, supplies and other expenses.

The Autism Family Support Fund is open to lower-income families with an autistic child 16 years old or younger.

The provincial government announced the funding Monday.

Some examples of equipment eligible for funding include door alarms and minor home improvements, educational materials, respite costs, travel, or programming such as camps or tutoring.

The province says families should apply by Feb. 23 for the one-time grant. 

For more information, go to https://iwkhealth.ca/autism-family-support-fund .