Giving Compass' Take:

• Jackie Marchildon reports that critics are panning Canada's claim of record-low poverty because of the methodology used.

• How can funders work to build more accurate measures of poverty and wellbeing? 

• Learn about measuring progress in the fight against poverty. 

The government of Canada recently released data that suggested Canada’s poverty rates are the lowest they’ve ever been — but critics argue the methodology used to determine these stats is outdated and flawed.

Statistics Canada, the government’s agency that produces stats that affect the population, released its findings from the Canadian Income Survey for 2017 on Feb. 26. The survey tracked Canadians’ incomes from various demographics in 2017 and determined that the median income for Canadian families was $59,800 per year, up by 3.3% from 2016.

The study also revealed that 9.5% of Canadians were living below the poverty line — a year prior 10.6% of Canadians were reported living below the poverty line.

“Based on the methodology that is being used … we do see this as a premature announcement and many people who are living in poverty also feel that way,” Michèle Biss, legal education and outreach coordinator for Canada Without Poverty, told Global Citizen. “For millions of people in our country who are still having to make decisions between paying hydro or buying food, they’re going to look at this announcement and ask the question, ‘Why is it that I am being left behind?’”

The government compiled this data using the Market Basket Measure (MBM), which is used to determine Canada’s poverty line. Living under the poverty line is defined as being unable to buy a “basket” of specific goods and services that include essentials like food and shelter.

But as StatsCan is in the process of updating the MBM to reflect present-day costs and circumstances, the current measures do not provide an accurate reflection of poverty rates in Canada, according to Biss.

Read the full article about Canada's record-low poverty claim by Jackie Marchildon at Global Citizen.