Breaking the Cycle: Ontario's Poverty Reduction Strategy

MOVING FORWARD

CONTINUING OUR PROGRESS

Our accomplishments in 2009 have been considerable. And we look forward to moving the poverty reduction agenda forward in 2010 as we embark on a series of integrated initiatives that will do more to meet the needs of low-income Ontarians in gaining access to health services, affordable housing, employment, effective social assistance programs and a responsive education system. We recognize that the current economic climate is hard on many Ontarians. The economic slowdown has proven challenging and threatens to frustrate our efforts to move forward rapidly. However, 2010 will see us further strengthening our work as a community of communities, and bringing together all federal, provincial, regional, municipal and community partners in a shared commitment to realize the vision of Ontario’s Poverty Reduction Strategy.

Poverty Reduction Legislation

Breaking the cycle of poverty is going to take a sustained, long-term commitment. That’s why the government brought in legislation – the Poverty Reduction Act – that will ensure that Ontario remains focused on tackling poverty, even after the current five-year strategy is complete. The legislation, which passed with unanimous consent from all parties in May 2009, will require successive governments to:

report annually on their initiatives to reduce poverty and on key indicators of opportunity such as income levels, education, health and housing
develop a new poverty reduction strategy at least every five years
set a specific poverty reduction target at least every five years
consult before developing these strategies, including consultation with those living in poverty.

Results Table

As promised in Breaking the Cycle, the government has established a Results Table to monitor implementation of the Poverty Reduction Strategy. Chaired by Minister of Children and Youth Services Laurel Broten, this table is made up of Cabinet Ministers, MPPs and external experts.

The Federal Government

What has been done so far

In our Poverty Reduction Strategy, we indicated that in order to achieve our goals, particularly our goal of reducing child poverty by 25 per cent in five years, we would need the federal government to share our commitment to poverty reduction. We were pleased that the 2009 Federal Budget increased the Working Income Tax Benefit for families from $1,044 to $1,680 annually, and continue to encourage the federal government to double this benefit from the original $1,000 level. We were also pleased that the federal government partnered with our government to deliver the additional $1.2 billion in new housing infrastructure and to extend the Canada- Ontario Affordable Housing Program for 2 years. This funding, combined with economic stimulus funding, will result in 1.2 billion dollars in new housing infrastructure that will create 4,500 new units of affordable housing and repair 50,000 units of social housing.

Areas where more support is needed

Ontario’s economy has been hard hit by the global economic recession. Ontario currently accounts for half of Canada’s long-term unemployed. Despite recent program changes, Ontario’s concerns about the Employment Insurance (EI) program remain. In 2008, almost 70 per cent of unemployed Ontarians did not receive EI total regular benefits, primarily because the program is not designed to meet the changing needs of Ontario’s labour force.

In these times of global economic challenges, Ontario calls on the federal government to ensure Ontarians have equitable access to the EI program. The federal government should also review and change the current EI funding formula for training programs to reflect current labour market conditions.

We continue to call on the federal government to:

increase the National Child Benefit Supplement by $1,200
renew the Early Learning and Child Care Agreement
close the gap in quality of life between Aboriginal peoples and other Canadians, and establish equality education funding for students on-reserve.

Conclusion: Realizing the Vision

Ontario’s Poverty Reduction Strategy is a long-term plan and a realistic one. Much has been accomplished during 2009 and much hard work remains.

We are well aware that the economic downturn of 2008-09 in Ontario and around the world presents serious challenges to moving our key poverty indicators forward in year two, and many difficult decisions lie ahead. During tough economic times, Ontarians rely more than ever on public services and social assistance. We will focus on those key priorities most important to Ontarians, and aggressively pursue strategies in 2010 to support lowincome families during this time, while continuing our progress toward Ontario’s vision for poverty reduction.

Reducing poverty is everybody’s business. It’s the right thing to do and it’s the smart thing to do for Ontario’s economy. We encourage communities, organizations and individuals to get involved in 2010 and make a difference, whether that means helping one person learn to read or changing an entire community for the better.

We acknowledge the valuable work that has been done in 2009 and the commitment Ontarians have demonstrated to building a province in which everyone has the opportunity to learn, grow, thrive and contribute.

Breaking the Cycle: The First Year

Download full report (PDF).