Social Policy in Ontario

Politicians are ignoring poverty in chase after middle-class votes

Posted on October 7, 2015 in Inclusion Debates

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TheStar.com – Opinion/Editorials – The focus in this election campaign has been on the middle class while issues of poverty and hunger go largely unmentioned.
Oct 06 2015.   Editorial

Too many families across this country are struggling to find jobs and put food on the table. But somehow their stories and their concerns are being all but ignored in a federal election campaign that seems to be focused only on the middle class.

That’s why two events on Tuesday were a much-needed reminder that there are poor, hungry and financially vulnerable people whose needs deserve more attention than they’ve been getting so far.

The first reminder was a street protest in 50 communities across Canada to draw attention to the need for a national anti-poverty campaign. The event was timed to coincide with the annual ChewOnThis! event held to focus on the nearly 900,000 people across the country who rely on food banks each month.

Organizers are concerned that there has been little focus by politicians on “the scandalous rates of homelessness, hunger, and poverty” in Canada, noted protester Leilani Farha, executive director of Canada Without Poverty.
They are right to be upset. It’s understandable that the politicians concentrate on the concerns of middle-class voters by offering too-numerous-to-count tax credits to families who feel they can’t get ahead. But it’s also true that some people are actually going without adequate food and shelter. For them, reaching the middle class remains a dream.

This troubling reality was underscored by the release on Tuesday of the Toronto Foundation’s annual Vital Signs report on the GTA.  The report is full of findings that the politicians should be addressing during this campaign.
Of particular concern is the ever-widening gap between the rich and poor. Over the past 25 years, incomes for the poorest 10 per cent of city neighbourhoods have gone up by just 2 per cent, while the richest 10 per cent have seen their wealth grow by 80 per cent.

In fact, after Calgary, Toronto has the second-widest income gap in Canada, and it is growing at twice the national average, up 96 per cent since 1990.

One of the reasons for the growing gap is the trend toward precarious and part-time employment. Disturbingly, the report found less than half the workers in the GTA and Hamilton have permanent, full-time jobs with benefits.

Other distressing findings in the Vital Signs report:

Youth unemployment rose to 21.65 per cent in 2014.
– The working poor now make up 10.7 per cent of the workforce.
– In 1990, 68 per cent of census areas in Toronto were defined as middle income. In 2012 that had declined to only 32 per cent.
– At the same time as families are being squeezed by precarious employment, the report’s authors found the city is becoming more expensive to live in. Since 2008, the cost of childcare has increased 30 per cent, while rent is up 13 per cent and public transit is up 36 per cent.

No wonder then, that the vulnerable are being pushed into poverty. Vital Signs reports there are 80,000 families in the GTA on the waiting list for affordable housing and there were more than 890,000 visits to food banks in 2014.

More disturbing still: a full 29 per cent of Toronto’s children live in poverty.

In the end, with such a disconnect between the election campaign platforms and issues contained in the report, it’s no wonder that Toronto’s young people are becoming disenchanted with election campaigns. Vital Signs reports that just 39 per cent of 18-24 year olds voted in the 2011 federal election campaign. That’s a shocking contrast to the 80 per cent of their parent’s generation who voted at the same age.

The election isn’t until Oct. 19. There’s still time for politicians to pay serious attention to the issues highlighted by reports like Vital Signs.

< http://www.thestar.com/opinion/editorials/2015/10/06/politicians-are-ignoring-poverty-in-chase-after-middle-class-votes-editorial.html >

Tags: budget, child care, participation, poverty, standard of living, youth

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