>From another list. Ed Weick
----- Original Message ----- From: "Barbara Anello" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "DAWN Ontario E-List" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Monday, June 02, 2003 2:35 PM Subject: [ow-watch-l] 10-year Tory war on welfare devastates Ontario's poor - New study by CCPA shows 37% 'real value' plunge in assistance rates > Source: NUPGE > http://www.nupge.ca/news_2003/n29my03c.htm > > 10-year Tory war on welfare devastates Ontario's poor > > New study by CCPA shows 37% 'real value' plunge in assistance rates > > Toronto - A decade after the last small increase in benefits, and eight > years after the Harris-Eves Tory government won power and declared war > on welfare, Ontario's poorest citizens are finding it almost impossible > to meet basic needs such as food and secure shelter, says a new study by > the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. > > Called Targeting the most vulnerable: A decade of desperation for > Ontario's welfare recipients, the study has been compiled by Michael > Oliphant and Chris Slosser of the Daily Bread Food Bank in Toronto. They > have released it in the same week as the announcement by the federal > human resources department of a new measurement system of poverty called > market basket measure (MBM). > > When the Tories were elected in 1995, dedicated to slashing taxes and > public spending, they targeted the province's so-called 'Cadillac' > welfare program, making no allowance for the actual cost of living in > Canada's second most expensive province. > > Welfare rates were cut by 21.6%. Since then, inflation has also risen by > a cumulative 15.8%, boosting the real impact of the Tory war on the poor > to an astonishing 37%. > > Last increase was 1% > > The last time welfare rates were increased in Ontario was 10 years ago. > At that time, a 1% increase by the former NDP government was denounced > by the Tories, who were then in opposition. > > Ontario has since fallen below every recognized measure of poverty, even > the inhuman minimum extolled by the Sarlo-Fraser Institute, the voice of > big business in Canada. > > Meanwhile, the average rent for a two-bedroom apartment in Ontario has > increased by 24% over 10 years and the cost of food has risen by 13% > since 1999. > > Ontario's shelter gap - the difference between a shelter allowance and > the average rent - is also increasing. Even if the current shelter > allowance covered rents, the total amount allowed for basic needs fails > to cover non-rent living costs. > > In Ottawa and Thunder Bay, the basic needs allowance a single welfare > recipient receives does not even cover the monthly cost of nutritious > food. > > Devastating > > Higher rental prices have been devastating, especially in the two > largest urban centres: the GTA and Ottawa. As a result of the increasing > shelter gap, the average family of four in Toronto diverts $244.25 from > the food budget (basic needs allowance) to meet the cost of rent; in > Peel $298; in Windsor $141, in Ottawa $158; and in London $157. The > Daily Bread Food Bank in Toronto reports that the average family on > welfare in the GTA spends 70% of income on rent. > > "Eight years after welfare rates were slashed by over 21%, significant > reinvestment is now required to halt and reverse the erosion of welfare > incomes under the Harris-Eves government. We propose that the basic > needs allowance be returned to its pre-1994 level, and that the cost of > inflation be added. Furthermore, the flat shelter allowance should be > replaced with a rate that is variable by location and tied to the > prevailing average rents in each city," the authors say. > > More information: > . Targeting the Most Vulnerable > http://www.policyalternatives.ca/on/oab2003-sa-highlights.html > > To change delivery options, subscribe, or unsubscribe from OW-Watch-List: > http://list.web.ca/lists/listinfo/ow-watch-l > Visit the Workfare Watch Project Website at: > http://www.welfarewatch.toronto.on.ca/ > - _______________________________________________ Futurework mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://scribe.uwaterloo.ca/mailman/listinfo/futurework
