Inequality has broad impacts on the health of Montreal children, report finds

By The Canadian Press on October 21, 2024.

Montreal Public Health Director Mylene Drouin addresses a news conference in Montreal, on Wednesday, February 24, 2021. A new report has found that economic inequality has wide-ranging effects on the health and development of Montreal children, affecting everything from high school graduation rates to screen time. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson

MONTREAL – A new public health report says economic inequality has wide-ranging effects on Montreal children’s health and development, affecting everything from high school graduation rates to screen time.

The report released today by Montreal’s public health department finds that the city’s 12-and-under population is doing well as a whole, but that there are “significant inequalities” depending on where they live and their socioeconomic status.

Researchers conclude that disadvantaged children are more likely to be inactive, more likely to spend more than two hours a day looking at screens, and less likely to graduate high school.

The report also finds that inequalities exist at the neighbourhood level, with some areas offering less access to parks, public transit, safe streets and daycares.

More than 38,000 Montreal families, or 14 per cent, are spending more than 30 per cent of their income on housing, and a 2020 survey indicated that more than one in five children live in a food-insecure household.

The report includes a number of recommendations, including more social and affordable housing, financial subsidies for low-income families, and more daycare spaces for vulnerable children, including those with special needs and the children of asylum seekers.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2024.