By Brian Lee
Who doesn’t enjoy cashing in one of our rare days of winter sunshine to get out for a drive? We don’t get around as much in the winter and it’s worth a look to see what changes took place during our hibernation. For the past year or so I’ve been noticing how much the forest bordering local roads has matured to expose contours of land previously hidden from view by the lower vegetation of immature trees.
For anyone with a curiosity for what lies beyond the green curtain, it can be distracting — especially on a sunny day as the filtered light reveals a massive tree trunk or a home previously obscured. It’s especially so in the winter when the deciduous plants bordering the treeline are bare and sightlines extend hundreds of metres from the road. But it has exposed something else too.
I can’t help but notice there seems to be an alarming level of poverty peeking out from leafless stands of salmonberry and alder. Homes that seem barely habitable or trailers that would look abandoned if not for the smoke rising from a chimney or moisture collected on a window. The past few years have widened the gulf between those with and those without and it’s clear that many in our community are suffering.
Some may not even seem marginalized but if you could look at their bank account, you would understand there is a growing number whose only hope for a worry-free retirement is an early exit. In other words, if their health holds out during their senior years, their money won’t.
A recent study conducted by CIBC economists suggests poverty in retirement is going to get worse. The study found that among Canadians between the ages of 25 and 64 today who earn less than $100,000 a year, 5.8 million of us will experience a decline in our standard of living at retirement of more than 20 per cent. That figure climbs to 30 per cent for those in their late 20s or early 30s. The study concludes that much of that decline owes to the fact that they entered the job market at a time when private pension plans are scarce. And, as Tony Parsons reminds us each evening, Canadians aren’t saving enough.
In a community whose main industry is retirement, it poses a potential problem. But poverty isn’t restricted to those past the working age. A quick glance through reports by the Sunshine Coast Youth Action and Awareness committee shows that, at any given time, our community hosts a number of school age kids not living with their parents or with "inadequate shelter. Local church groups, the food bank and Rotary have been working for years to offset these problems but others tend to dismiss them as isolated cases of laziness or drug abuse.
While this may sometimes be the case, it’s hard to ignore that the problem is growing. And soon the leaves will return. Poverty will once again retreat from view as we resume our facade of a carefree summer resort. But it’s still there, hidden in the bushes, and by next winter we might see more of it.
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