Canada / The Middle-class dream is a ‘myth’ says an internal report

Canada’s middle class is mortgaging its future to stay afloat, making the Canadian dream “a myth more than a reality.” 

That’s the blunt assessment of an internal Conservative government report, an unvarnished account of the plight of middle-income families that’s in contrast to the rosier economic picture in this month’s budget.

The document was prepared last October by experts in Employment and Social Development Canada, the department that runs the employment insurance fund and other income-support programs. The Canadian Press obtained the report under the Access to Information Act.

“The wages of middle-income workers have stagnated,” it says, referring to the period from 1993 to 2007.

“Middle-income families are increasingly vulnerable to financial shocks.”

The document, drawing on three years of “internal research,” was prepared for the department’s deputy minister, Ian Shugart, shortly before the resumption of Parliament last fall.

“In Canada, political parties are making the middle class a central piece of their agendas,” notes the presentation.

Chosen excerpts by Job Market Monitor. Read the whole story at Conservative report calls middle-class dreams a ‘myth’ | Toronto Star.

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