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In the News6/2/2009Designing new architecture for Ontario social assistance By: John Stapleton - Toronto Star Forget trying to reform the current system and build a new one that is both simpler and fairer1/6/2009 Economic formula offers cure for Toronto's sinking feeling By: David Pecaut Better income security plus increased spending on infrastructure would be potent medicine7/2/2008 Figuring out where the truth lies By: Carol Goar - Toronto Star6/12/2008 Keep up poverty fight By: Editorial - Toronto Star5/7/2008 Inequality rots social foundations By: Carol Goar - Toronto Star5/5/2008 Misstep on child benefit By: Editorial - Toronto Star5/2/2008 Immigrants fall behind, says Statscan By: JOHN MCGRATH - The Globe and Mail5/2/2008 GTA middle class struggles By: Laurie Monsebraaten - Toronto Star Gap between rich and poor widens while the centre lags, census figures show5/2/2008 Gap between rich, poor widens By: Daniel Girard - Toronto Star5/2/2008 The rich, the poor, and the chasm between By: TAVIA GRANT - The Globe and Mail Census data released Thursday show recent immigrants victims of widening income disparity as middle class stagnates4/18/2008 Preying on vulnerable workers By: Carol Goar - Toronto Star4/14/2008 Activists push poverty plan By: Kerry Gillespie and Laurie Monsebraaten - Toronto 4/2/2008 Working poor still losing ground By: Laurie Monsebraaten - Toronto Star Report shows Ontario child poverty rate still rising; system penalizes working poor4/1/2008 Minimum wage scare By: Editorial - Toronto Star2/23/2008 McGuinty wants equal EI pay for Ontario workers By: Laurie Monsebraaten - Toronto Star Says unemployed are being short-changed $1.7B and wants Ottawa to address discrepancy in budget 2/14/2008 A Tory joins poverty debate By: Editorial - Toronto Star12/17/2007 No room for poor, renters in Peel By: Michele Henry - Toronto Star Rapidly growing region opposes basement units but also lacks a plan for low-income tenants 12/6/2007 The treadmill of poverty By: Laurie Monsebraaten - Toronto Star11/20/2007 Disturbing trend in poverty rates By: Editorial - Toronto Star11/20/2007 Dental care action urged By: Moira Welsh - Toronto Star Oral Health Coalition pushing Queen's Park on promise to aid poor 10/17/2007 Action needed on poverty By: Editorial - Toronto Star10/12/2007 New momentum in poverty battle By: Carol Goar - Toronto Star 9/19/2007 All governments have a duty to tear down walls of poverty By: Opinion-Editorial - John Stapleton - Toronto Star With politicians in election mode, now is the time to secure a decent living for all 9/19/2007 Homeless denied health care By: Michele Henry - Toronto Star9/14/2007 Schools can help fight poverty By: Opinion-Editorial by Gail Nyberg, Caroline Morgan 9/10/2007 Poverty takes huge toll on health By: Opinion-Editorial - Gary Block - Toronto Star9/6/2007 Denticare movement has teeth By: Thomas Walkom - Toronto Star 9/5/2007 Dental plan could aid 500,000 By: Rob Ferguson - Toronto Star Proposed program for working poor would include preventive care, fillings, extractions, source says 9/4/2007 A `25-and-5' goal to fight poverty By: Editorial - Toronto Star8/20/2007 Premier promises cash for cities By: Kerry Gillespie - Toronto Star McGuinty plans to relieve municipalities of paying $935 million for social services, reversing some downloading introduced by Mike Harris7/17/2007 First order of business: Cultivate urban prosperity By: Opinion-Editorial - Toronto Star7/17/2007 Prosperity gap weakens province By: Editorial - Toronto Star7/16/2007 Prosperity gap weakens province By: Toronto Star7/14/2007 No commitments offered on poverty group's targets By: Kerry Gillespie - Toronto Star But parties to meet with Campaign 2000 officials7/12/2007 Under pressure By: Denise Davy - The Hamilton Spectator Studies show that when women are forced to choose between family and work commitments, home often presents the bigger draw. But what happens when that job is politics, and the demands are ramped up? And how do we get women to stay in the game?7/10/2007 NDP set to unveil $100M dental program By: Robert Benzie - Toronto Star7/6/2007 Many shut out of rental program 7/3/2007 Dental care should be election issue, says coalition By: Moira Welsh - Toronto Star6/27/2007 Dental care for the poor By: Editorial - Toronto Star6/26/2007 The true cost of homelessness By: Gordon Laird - Toronto Star 6/26/2007 He has a new smile; system still in decay By: Moira Welsh - Toronto Star He is one of the lucky ones – Star readers reacted generously to his plight. But for Ontario's working poor, dental care – and hope – remains elusive6/7/2007 Successful session for Ontario's poor By: Editorial - Toronto Star5/25/2007 Coalition urges raising welfare By: Kerry Gillespie - Toronto Star Activists demand all political parties draft plans to end `appalling' state of poor5/18/2007 Poverty is everyone's business By: Carol Goar - Toronto Star5/15/2007 Who's to blame for the prosperity gap? By: MARGARET WENTE - Globe and Mail5/14/2007 Successful solo act opens new eyes By: Andrea Gordon - Toronto Star They're gaining ground but single mothers still battle prejudice, poverty 5/10/2007 Mobilize Ontario to fight poverty 5/9/2007 In search of a poverty strategy By: Laurie Monsebraaten and Rita Daly - Toronto Star Stop picking away at the edges of poverty, say forum speakers, and take a leaf from Ireland's comprehensive plan5/8/2007 Child poverty – this is not as good as it gets By: LAUREL ROTHMAN AND ARMINE YALNIZYAN - Globe and M5/8/2007 Worst is over, best is long gone By: Carol Goar - Toronto Star5/7/2007 Rich, poor gap widens By: Rita Daly - Toronto Star Few income gains during past 30 years for families with kids, Ontario study says 4/30/2007 Public forum: Wage gap By: WAR ON POVERTY - Toronto Star4/30/2007 Needy get help tapping into diet subsidy By: Sandro Contenta - Toronto Star Activists use clinics to aid the poor to improve nutrition4/20/2007 Getting out of the 'poverty trap' TheStar.com - News - Getting out of the 'poverty trap' By: New Ontario program for children reflects desire t4/17/2007 Hotel staff need help: Study By: Majority of lowest earners in sector are immigrant4/13/2007 Getting out of the 'poverty trap' By: Laurie Monsebraaten - Toronto Star New Ontario program for children reflects desire to reform welfare system, rather than just raising rates 4/11/2007 Poverty – from those who know By: Carol Goar - Toronto Star4/10/2007 Bankers, activists join forces to help the province's poor By: KAREN HOWLETT - GLOBE AND MAIL David Pecaut remembers the moment when a group of prominent business leaders realized that Canada's social safety net was deeply flawed and failing to protect its most vulnerable working-age adults. It was the morning of April 16, 2005, and a group of bankers, business people and social activists had gathered on the 40th floor of the gleaming Royal Bank tower in downtown Toronto, where they saw stark evidence of how those on welfare can actually end up worse off when they get a job. Toronto-Dominion Bank economist Gillian Manning had presented numbers at the meeting showing how a mishmash of tax and income-support policies penalize Canadians on social assistance who take a job. The combined effect of the loss of benefits available to those on welfare plus taxes payable on income often left a working individual with less money than what he or she received on social assistance. "That was a real epiphany for a number of the business leaders there," said Mr. Pecaut, a civic leader who had enlisted 50 individuals from all walks of life to serve on a task force he co-chaired, to get help for the country's lowest-income families. The task force reached a consensus that day -- that the system was profoundly broken, he said in an interview. Print Edition - Section Front Enlarge Image One of the business leaders at the meeting, Bill MacKinnon, chief executive officer of accounting firm KPMG LLP and a task force member, described it as "a bit of an eye opener." Until then, he said, he did not realize that many of those working in fast-food restaurants and other low-paying service jobs were living in poverty. "I don't think we tend to equate people who are working with people who are poor," he said in an interview. But from that day on, bankers and business leaders were sitting around the same table as poverty activists, calling on governments to address the plight of the working poor. The task force also played a key role in Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty introducing the most fundamental changes to income security in the province in 40 years. The centrepiece of the provincial budget tabled last month was social program spending aimed at giving the 1.3 million children growing up in low-income families a better start in life. The new five-year, $2.1-billion child benefit program will allow parents to move off the welfare rolls without losing financial support for their children. The program was first proposed by the task force in a report released last May as a first step toward a modern income security system. The report called for the benefit to go to all low-income parents regardless of their source of income. Mr. Pecaut said he realized the task force's message was reaching the provincial government when Finance Minister Greg Sorbara told him privately last year that he would address low-income families in his next budget. Mr. Pecaut's group, known as the Task Force on Modernizing Income Security for Working-Age Adults, had the help of Ontario Liberal backbench MPP Deb Matthews, who played a behind-the-scenes role in getting child poverty on the government's agenda. Ms. Matthews said the 17 members of the women's Liberal caucus decided last year to make child poverty their No. 1 priority. She said the caucus was disappointed the government had not ended the practice of clawing back from welfare recipients the child benefit supplement that the federal government gives to low-income families with children. This deprives these families of nearly $1,500 a year. "The overriding issue is people don't have enough money," she said in an interview. "If you don't have enough money to pay the rent and feed the kids, that's a problem." The women's caucus won strong support for addressing child poverty from the entire Liberal caucus last fall. Mr. McGuinty appointed her to co-chair a government committee on child poverty. Ms. Matthews said she knew she had won over the Premier a few months ago when she gave a speech at a fundraiser for the Margaret Campbell fund, named after the first Liberal woman member of the provincial legislature. Ms. Matthews said it was her fantasy that one day women would make up three-quarters of the legislature. "We wouldn't tolerate children going hungry," she told her audience, which included the Premier. Mr. McGuinty asked her later for her ideas on reforming the system. She also said Mr. Pecaut's task force, which she sat on as an ex officio member, was enormously helpful in getting the Premier on side. "We see this as a very important historic step, but we still have more to do," she said. Myriam Canas-Mendes, 34, a single mother of two, works part time as an outreach worker at the Stop Community Food Centre in Toronto and also relies on social assistance to supplement her income. Beginning in July, she will receive an extra $250 a year for each child under the child benefit program. The program will take until 2011 to provide the full annual benefit of $1,100 per child. With the benefit and other measures in the budget, she figures she will receive an extra $60 a month, beginning in July, not nearly enough to buy clothes and food and pay for extra curricular activities for her children. "What do you do with $60?" she asked. 4/7/2007 Getting out of the `poverty trap' By: Laurie Monsebraaten - TORONTO STAR New Ontario program for children reflects desire to reform welfare system, rather than just raising rates 4/2/2007 Don’t It Always Seem to Go By: John Stapleton - Literary Review of Canada ...that you don’t know what you’ve got ’til it’s gone?3/21/2007 Minimum wage to rise By: That will be the minimum wage in the budget bluepr3/20/2007 GTA families feel budget impact By: Five families in the GTA with different income lev3/9/2007 City council's $10 plea By: Editorial - Toronto Star3/9/2007 Countdown for poverty activists By: Carol Goar - Toronto Star 3/6/2007 City hall hears tearful plea to boost wages By: JEFF GRAY - Globe and Mail Motion seeking to raise minimum wage passes after councillor's emotional speech 3/6/2007 Kids hit hardest by economic woes By: Laurie Monsebraaten - Toronto Star Report praises Liberal initiatives but cites unfulfilled promises 3/5/2007 Guaranteed income, guaranteed dignity By: Laurie Monsebraaten - Toronto Star3/5/2007 Too many tumble into income gap By: Editorial - Toronto Star3/5/2007 Ending poverty. Period By: Stuart Laidlaw - Toronto Star Canadians are saying, `There's something wrong here and we need to fix it' Whitby seniors are part of worldwide movement to change government and business priorities 3/1/2007 Income gap grows wider By: Laurie Monsebraaten Rita Daly & Laurie Monsebraa3/1/2007 Canada's income gap growing, study says By: Globe and Mail Update - Globe and Mail 2/1/2007 Street kid to crusader By: Memories of tough teen years help fuel MPP's camp1/26/2007 What is a worker worth? Some economists disagree with the common wisdom that a higher wage will endanger jobs 1/26/2007 Time for a raise in minimum wage January 20, 20071/25/2007 'You just can't live on $8' By: Kerry Gillespie - Toronto Star1/25/2007 Ontario cities losing jobs By: Surya Bhattacharya - Toronto Star 1/25/2007 Review minimum wage, Tory urges By: Rob Ferguson - Toronto Star 1/24/2007 The poor know best By: Opinion-Editorial - Toronto Star1/24/2007 Minimum wage drive heating up By: Rita Daly - Toronto Star Labour council joins campaign 1/24/2007 Can't afford bigger wage hike: Sorbara By: Canadian Press - Toronto Star1/22/2007 Struggling on $1,008 a month By: Rob Ferguson - Toronto Star McGuinty government has raised assistance rates 5.3%, gains wiped out by jumps in the cost of living1/11/2007 NDP flexes its muscles, urges financial `fairness' By: Bruce Campion-Smith - Toronto Star With party now holding balance of power in Parliament, Layton says he's ready to declare war on `prosperity gap' 1/10/2007 Rich-poor gap becomes a chasm By: Search thestar.com Search the Web Advanced S1/8/2007 Minimum wage to rise to $8 By: Robert Benzie - Toronto Star12/21/2006 Over-60s caught in the poverty trap By: Moira Welsh - Toronto Star Thousands of near-seniors are living on provincial benefits, waiting to turn 6512/21/2006 Reprieve for homeless By: Opinion-Editorial - Toronto Star12/19/2006 Speak out on poverty By: Editorial - Toronto Star11/23/2006 Benefit clawback lifted from disabled By: KERRY GILLESPIE - Toronto Star Ontario changes rules so those who find paid work can keep benefits10/23/2006 Ontario still punishing poorest of its children By: Editorial - Toronto Star10/21/2006 Victory possible in war on poverty By: Editorial - Toronto Star10/20/2006 Money woes get worse for young single moms By: ROMA LUCIW - Globe and Mail 11/24/2005 Hunger drives Ontario's poor to the bank By: Karen Howlett and James Rusk - Globe and Mail11/9/2005 Panel seeking welfare increase By: Paul Moloney - Toronto Star10/26/2005 Just tinkering with EI won't make it better By: Globe and Mail10/21/2005 Activist groups want Ottawa to expand EI system By: Richard Blackwell - Globe and Mail Court ruling says federal government can offer social benefits through EI9/29/2005 Caregiver leave program lacks heart By: Andre Picard - Globe and Mail6/7/2005 Canada's welfare system called 'utter disaster' By: Terry Weber - Globe and Mail2/21/2005 A promise for change By: Editorial - Toronto Star1/19/2005 Parents bringing governments to court over clawback By: Heather Duhn- Timmins Times A Charter challenge against provincial and federal governments has been filed in court by low-income parents1/16/2005 Improving opportunity for immigrants By: Haroon Siddiqui- Toronto Star Haroon Siddiqui says underutilizing skilled workers costs us $5 billion a year 10/25/2004 Alliance Tackles Welfare Reform By: Carol Goar- Toronto Star6/14/2004 Life as a Senior- on Welfare By: Carol Goar- Toronto Star3/15/2004 Remedy for a Failure By: Mary Janigan- Macleans A new tax scheme could help those trapped in low-income jobs or stuck on welfare12/3/2003 Punished for their providence By: Carol Goar
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