Conservative Minister Moore must apologize

Industry Minister James Moore not only failed to take responsibility for his government’s inaction, he has now gone a step further and claimed child poverty isn’t their problem, saying: “Is it my job to feed my neighbour’s child? I don’t think so.”

NDP critic Jinny Sims, like most Canadians, was appalled by the minister’s callous remarks.

“During the holidays many of us are looking to help our neighbours and those in need. For a Conservative minister to claim that child poverty isn’t his problem is heartless,” said Sims. “Child poverty has continued to grow under this government, and now they’re saying it’s not their problem. The minister should apologize for these offensive comments.”

Instead of apologizing immediately for his heartlessness, Moore took to twitter attacking those who called him out for his comments.

In 1989, the House of Commons passed a unanimous motion by former NDP MP Ed Broadbent “to seek to achieve the goal of eliminating poverty among Canadian children by the year 2000”. Unfortunately, successive Liberal and Conservative government have failed to act on this commitment.

Stephen Harper even called the Broadbent motion the “high water mark of political stupidity in this country.”

Since 1989 child poverty rates in Canada have risen from around 912,000 to 979,000 – meaning one in seven children are still living in low income households. In British Columbia, where Moore and his neighbours live, the situation is even worse – one in five children lives in poverty, the highest rate in Canada.