Quote of the Week

"We should essentially establish the elimination of child poverty as a great national objective, not unlike what we did with the case of the deficit."

-Paul Martin, Federal Minister of Finance

In a world where social justice issues seem to press in on us from every possible angle, it can be exhausting to decide where to channel one’s energy. But when it comes to matters of finance and the common good, who sets our priorities?

The government holds great potential as a vehicle for change; but it often places little value on the voices of the poor and weak in our midst, despite their real and ever-growing needs. Take the Canadian healthcare system, the source of pride among so many national citizens. Despite this renown, a recent study by researchers at St. Michael’s Hospital found that 1 in 6 people experiencing homelessness in Toronto suffered from unmet healthcare needs over the course of the past year.

Perhaps we ought to take another look at just who benefits from this supposedly ‘universal’ system, and how that system responds to those who have fallen between the cracks. The painfully biased priorities of the Canadian government are also evident in its recent decision to shut down the federal prison farms program, rejecting a system of rehabilitation and sustainable, restorative justice in favour of prison cells and punitive action.

Jesus called for us to walk compassionately with the weak, the ill, the prisoners, the poor. Surely the plight of our neighbours ought be a national objective which carries the same weight as the government’s pledge to balance its books from year to year.

If we speak out and demand that our government tackle poverty with the same determination that it expends on its own internal priorities, perhaps we can start down the path toward a truly equal system.
 
*For more information or to get involved in the fight for the prison farms, check out the movement's website: Save Our Prison Farms.