Dear Editor,
I was born in 1929 at the start of the Great Depression and, although my parents struggled financially, I was fortunate because we always had enough to eat. But I do remember the out of work men who came to our back door to ask for food in return for labour. I heard from my parents, and have read the many stories of the poverty that existed, the work camps, and the harsh treatment of workers who had no employment standards act to protect them. I know that hunting and fishing were not sports but essential sources of food.
But this is the 21st century, and 90 plus years have gone by. We live in one of the richest countries in the world, and we have an increasing number of people who have to rely on food banks to feed their families and themselves. Surely there is a solution to this third world type of problem. You could begin by establishing a basic income to ensure that no Canadian income is below the poverty line. You could raise the income level at which federal income tax must be paid to recognize the impact of rising prices.
We seem to be increasingly dependent upon volunteer organizations like foodbanks which, although worthwhile and important, should not have become essential for so many Canadians to have an adequate diet.
I am shocked. I am dismayed. I am angry.
I am reading that another recession is forecast by economists. If we have experienced a 60% increase in food bank demand during a time of low unemployment, it is apparent that we are grossly unprepared for a recession.
Shirley Price
