After successive federal surpluses, it's a moral outrage that Canadians on welfare are receiving some of the lowest payments in 20 years, says a national poverty group.

A report released Thursday by the National Council on Welfare suggests the 1.7 million Canadians on welfare in 2005 saw some of the lowest welfare rates since 1986.

"We have forgotten about these people and I think it's morally disgraceful," said John Murphy, the chair of the council.

Called Welfare Incomes 2005, the report tallies total welfare income, including both provincial and federal welfare benefits, child benefits and tax credits.

It measures the welfare rates in four different scenarios: a single employable person, a person with a disability, a single parent with one child, and a couple with two children aged 10 and 15.

New Brunswick and oil-rich Alberta had some of the lowest rates among all the provinces, while Newfoundland and Labrador delivered some of the highest rates, suggests the report.

Of the four scenarios measured, the highest and lowest welfare rates among the provinces were:

Single employable person:

• N.B. - $3,427
• N.L. - $8,198

Person with disability:

• Alta. - $7,851
• Ont. - $12,057

Lone parent with one child:

• Alta. - $12,326
• N.L. - $16,181

Couple with two children:

• N.B. - $17,567
• P.E.I. - $21,213

The income figures reported from the Northwest Territories, Yukon and Nunavut were higher than those in the provinces. However, the cost of living is higher in northern regions, so any benefit of bigger cheques is lost.

A single person on welfare in N.W.T. receives $13,610 per year, while a couple with two children in Nunavut receive $36,325.

Alberta rates halved

Welfare rates have dropped, sometimes in half, over the past two decades, suggests the report.

In 1986, a single person on welfare in Alberta received roughly $10,000 a year. By 2005, that amount had dropped to $5,050 per year.

Critics say the provincial government, which is on track to run 13 straight years of surplus budgets, should be ashamed.

"We've got people sleeping in our parking lots. We've got people sleeping in dumpsters," said Edmonton social aid worker Ellie Gibson.

"There was someone run over in a parking lot in Edmonton [Tuesday] night."

Poverty advocacy groups say the report proves Canada should have a national poverty strategy.

"Across Canada we're enjoying record-breaking surpluses and record-breaking welfare rates," said Sherry Tingley, executive director of the National Anti-Poverty Organization.

"I'm extremely puzzled and it's not a very good strategy for us as a country."

National standards needed

Brenda Murphy, who works with Saint John's Urban Core Support Network, said Ottawa should play a role in social assistance, which is run by the provinces.

"I think it makes sense to have national standards so it doesn't matter what province people live in, that there's some equality there," said Murphy.

Advocacy groups say some of the Conservative government's new initiatives help the poor, including the cut to the GST and the universal child care benefit.

But they say the poor in Canada really need a guaranteed annual income that will cover the basics of food, clothing and a place to live.

The report bases its findings on Statistics Canada's Low-Income Cut-Offs (LICOs), which is not an official poverty line but a measure of the number of Canadians who spend 20 per cent more of their gross income on food, shelter and clothing than the average Canadian.

Critics of the LICO call it an arbitrary measurement, saying it doesn't accurately measure poverty.