The growing economic gap : what it means for Canadian families and the Canadian future.

In 2008, the collapse of the market for securitized subprime mortgages in the United States triggered a financial crisis that spread rapidly around the world. Although Canada’s financial institutions were not directly threatened as in other countries, the extent of continental economic integration meant that the crisis weakened the Canadian economy and profoundly affected the lives of many working Canadians. At the time of this writing, it is unclear when recovery will begin or how robust it will be. It is also unclear what longerterm effects the crisis will have on employment, the distribution of income, and the extent of poverty in Canada. We do know that every recent recession has brought with it a widening of income disparities and that the long term consequences of a growth in poverty and economic insecurity are felt for decades: in individual lives, on social development, and on economic performance