A Child Is Not a Toy: Voices of Children in Poverty

Anne Savoie is a youth counsellor in Anjou, Quebec.

According to Statistics Canada, 1.2 million children lived below the
poverty line in Canada in 1991. In this book, the author, who
experienced poverty herself as a child, demonstrates—through a series
of interviews with children living in poverty and with workers who have
first-hand experience of these children—why poverty occurs, why some
costly services should be changed, and how public monies could be
utilized more effectively. In addition, she suggests ways people can
help change poverty in Canada and lists some organizations that provide
aid.

Anyone who doubts the reports, studies, and commissions about poverty
in Canada should read this book. Its first-hand accounts of the damage
poverty inflicts are sobering.