Swift action would show the government is serious about implementing the recommendations of its own Social Assistance Review Advisory Council, meeting the commitments it made to poverty reduction in December 2008 – and, especially, improving the lives of low-income Ontarians across the province.

“The government now has the advice it sought from experts in the field – it is time for the Premier and Cabinet to act, without delay,” said 25 in 5 Network co-chair Greg de Groot-Maggetti. “We urge government to appoint two income security commissioners and an advisory council, and lay out a broad public consultation schedule, by September 1.”

“We especially welcome the Council’s recommendation to immediately increase the incomes of adults without children who are on Ontario Works,” said Mike Creek, co-chair of 25 in 5. “They bear the largest burden of poverty and make up a significant number of the people on assistance. No one anywhere in Ontario can live on the current single adult benefit of $580 per month.”

“And we would extend the recommendation to the incomes of everyone on Ontario Works and ODSP. There are many ways to do this, such as the $100 Healthy Food Supplement, a Housing Benefit for all low-income tenants, or increased tax credits.”

25 in 5 highlights some important recommendations in the Council’s report, including:

• Immediately implementing short-term rule changes in Ontario Works and the Ontario Disability Support Program, as recommended by the Council in February;
• Separate and substantive discussions with First Nations to ensure long-term reforms reflect their needs and priorities;
• Developing an expanded range of income supports and services to be available to all low-income Ontarians, building on the approach of the Ontario Child Benefit;
• Re-engineering long-term coverage in Ontario Works as an ‘opportunity planning’ program to support achieving full labour market potential through skills building, education, training, employment and related support;
• Ensuring the labour market offers effective pathways out of poverty by strengthening initiatives such as minimum wage increases, enhanced employment standards, fair employment initiatives and the federal Working Income Tax Benefit;
• Developing standards for a livable income and a process to use those standards to ensure the adequacy of Ontarians’ incomes.

TORONTO, June 3 – The Housing Network of Ontario welcomes the Ontario Government’s announcement today of public consultations to develop a new long term affordable housing strategy for Ontario.

“The high cost of housing is the single biggest expense for low, moderate and even middle-income people across the province, and Ontario has the highest housing costs in Canada,” says Michael Shapcott, Director of Affordable Housing for the Wellesley Institute and one of the founding partners of the Housing Network of Ontario. “Addressing the need for affordable housing must be a key part of Ontario’s Poverty Reduction Strategy if the government is to meet its target of cutting child and family poverty by 25% by 2013. So we’re pleased to see that the Ontario government will begin public consultations this June and a new long term affordable housing strategy for Ontario will be announced early next year.”

“This is an historic opportunity. Ontario has never had a comprehensive provincial housing plan – we’ve been waiting for decades for this commitment. There are over 160,000 households on the wait list for affordable housing in Ontario, and 1 in every 5 tenant households are spending more than 50% of their income on rent. With the economic downturn making this situation even tougher now is the time for people to let our government know what we need for a provincial plan that assures stable and affordable homes for all,” said Sharad Kerur, Executive Director, Ontario Non-Profit Housing Association.

“Communities across Ontario have been eagerly awaiting these public meetings to talk about the housing crisis and what the provincial government needs to do. The Housing Network of Ontario is calling for Ontario’s Long-term Affordable Housing Strategy to address four priorities: affordability measures to increase the supply and make existing housing more affordable; availability of well-maintained housing that addresses the diversity of community needs; supports, programs and protections that help all Ontarians equitably access and maintain affordable housing; and a clear way to measure progress, to ensure that housing insecurity and homelessness are being reduced,” said Yutaka Dirks, of the Advocacy Centre for Tenants Ontario.

The government announcement states that Housing Minister Jim Watson will hold consultations in 12 communities between June – September. MPPs are being encouraged to hold consultations in their ridings before December 2009. People can provide input via a government website or by calling 1-877-224-7271. Full information about the upcoming consultations, including resources and links, is available at http://stableandaffordable.com.

“The 25 in 5 Network for Poverty Reduction calls on all MPPs to hold consultation meetings in their ridings to get input for Ontario’s new Long Term Affordable Housing Strategy. We will be working with our partners across Ontario to ensure that MPPs listen to the community and hold meetings beyond the 12 communities that Minister Watson will be visiting,” said Jacquie Maund, Coordinator of Ontario Campaign 2000.
“And while the government is consulting, low income people in Ontario need to see progress on spending the $600 million for housing construction and retrofit that was committed in the March Ontario budget.”

The Housing Network of Ontario includes anti-poverty activists, homelessness groups, social housing advocates, equity and human rights groups, non-profit organizations, tenants and others working to ensure the provincial government delivers an integrated and fully-funded affordable housing strategy. www.stableandaffordable.com
The Housing Network of Ontario is linked to the 25 in 5 Network for Poverty Reduction, over 450 organizations across Ontario working to eliminate poverty in the province. www.25in5.ca

Media contacts:
Michael Shapcott, cell 416-605-8316
Sharad Kerur 416-927-9144×102
Yutaka Dirks, 416-416-592-5855×5243
Jacquie Maund 416-595-9230×241

Today’s budget took crucial steps to bring Ontario closer to the goal of reducing poverty by 25% by 2013. But the budget needed to go further to help low-income individuals and families get by in current tough economic times, said the 25 in 5 Network for Poverty Reduction.

“This budget has moved the bar forward on housing, tax credits, and child benefits in ways that will make a tangible difference in the lives of many Ontarians. But there are still significant gaps that must continue to be addressed in the year ahead,” said Pat Capponi, Facilitator of Voices From the Street.

The 25 in 5 Network identified five critical areas for government action, released in its Blueprint for Economic Stimulus and Poverty Reduction in February. The budget delivered on the Ontario Child Benefit, made significant progress on affordable housing, fell short on social assistance, missed the mark entirely on early learning and child care, and went halfway on labour standards.

“Increasing the Ontario Child Benefit to $92 a month as of this July will help protect low income families during an economic downturn and is crucial to the goal of reducing child and family poverty by 25% by 2013,” said Sarah Blackstock, of the Income Security Advocacy Centre. “We are eager, however, to ensure government meets its commitment that each child on social assistance will be better off by at least $50 a month at full OCB implementation.”

“Matching federal infrastructure dollars to build more affordable housing and repair existing social housing units is smart economic stimulus and an investment to keep tens of thousands of Ontarians out of the cold in this recession and beyond,” said Michael Shapcott of the Wellesley Institute.

“A two percent social assistance hike falls far short of what’s needed. Communities across Ontario will continue to call for a Healthy Food Supplement of $100 a month to help adults on welfare who are struggling,” said Peter Clutterbuck, of the Social Planning Network of Ontario. “We can expect more Ontarians to experience hardship and food bank lines and homelessness to grow.”

“With no new funding for early learning and child care in this Budget, thousands of families could have their subsidies cut starting in September. Many parents who rely on child care to stay employed, get retrained and keep their head above water could face an economic crisis. The situation is urgent and we cannot afford to wait for action,” said Jacquie Maund, Ontario Coordinator of Campaign 2000.

The 25 in 5 Network was also looking for the Budget to kickstart the development of a new Ontario Housing Benefit, but no details were forthcoming. Ontario only went halfway on its commitment to hiring new employment standards officers to ensure more workers will have their wages and basic rights protected through this downturn, and 25 in 5 called for immediate action on the other half. In addition, 25 in 5 continues to call for the establishment of a provincial Equity and Anti-Racism Directorate.

The 25 in 5 Network for Poverty Reduction is a multi-sectoral coalition of more than 350 provincial and Toronto-based organizations and thousands of individuals working to eliminate poverty in Ontario.

Read the 25 in 5 Budget Backgrounder in Word format

Government Release: Ontario Budget Creates Jobs for Families Today and Builds Economy for Tomorrow

TORONTO – A report by the 25 in 5 Poverty Reduction Network shows how the Ontario government could get three-quarters of the way towards its goal to reduce child poverty by 25 per cent.

A Blueprint for Economic Stimulus and Poverty Reduction in Ontario – the result of consultations in 30 Ontario communities – lays out a plan that could reduce the number of poor Ontarians by 197,420 (15 per cent) and reduce the number of poor children in Ontario by 62,000 (19 per cent) within the next three years.

“Our blueprint focuses on key investments during the next two years in social infrastructure and public programs that do double duty of stimulating the economy at a time when we need it most and reducing poverty when the need is highest,” says blueprint co-author and OFL economist Sheila Block.

The blueprint includes immediate measures such as:

1. A $100 Healthy Food Supplement to help all adults on social assistance access healthier food;
2. A Housing Benefit to help low-income renters meet the rising cost of housing;
3. An increase to the Ontario Child Benefit to $92 a month in 2009 budget and $125 a month in 2010 budget to protect Ontarians during the economic downturn;
4. Building 7,500 new affordable child care spaces, crucial to supporting parents who need to work and retrain for the demands of a changing economy;
5. Leveraging federal infrastructure dollars to build more affordable housing.

In the first year, the blueprint calls for an investment of $2.4 billion in social infrastructure and public programs, with a $2.6 billion commitment next year.

Analysis by Informetrica Inc. shows that increasing the Ontario Child Benefit, indexing social assistance and introducing the healthy food supplement in the next two budgets, as well as increasing the minimum wage up to $11 an hour by 2011 would bring the provincial government three-quarters of the way towards its goal to reduce child poverty by 25 per cent in five years and it would reduce total poverty by 60 per cent by 2011.

Spending in the blueprint is also stimulative: it is directed to infrastructure investments or low-income Ontarians. Almost half is directed to infrastructure investment, which will help our economy recover and will not contribute to a structural deficit.

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For more information please contact: Trish Hennessy (416) 551-2059.