Canadian government not addressing poverty, rewarding the rich.

TheStar.com | Canada | Income gap growing wider

Canada spends less on cash transfers, such as unemployment and family benefits, than other OECD countries and that may be one of the reasons the country fares worse than others, the report suggests.

The report echoes concerns raised by Canadian social research groups about growing income disparity in Canada at a time of strong economic growth.

"It's a consistent repudiation of the trickle-down theory," said Armine Yalnizyan, an economist with the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, which has written several reports on the issue.

"Even in a period of dramatic growth in the job market – and Canada has been a leader in job growth in the G-7 in the last 10 years – trickle down has not happened," she said.

The OECD report underscores the need for federal action, she said, adding every political party except the recently elected federal Conservatives had plans to cut poverty in their campaign platforms.

"It will be interesting to see how the other parties form a coalition of interest on this issue, or if they do," Yalnizyan said.

With U.S. Democratic leader Barack Obama ahead in the polls and promising to cut poverty in half in that country within 10 years, Canada may soon be one of the only developed countries without a detailed plan to address the problem.