[Canada] Poverty is on the rise

From The Dundas Star News

By Craig Campbell

Staff at Dundas' foodbank wonder how they will deal with increasing poverty in their service area, while government funding is not meeting their budget demands.

The number of foodbank clients served by the Salvation Army's community and family services site on King Street West in Dundas jumped from 1,364 four years ago to 3,964 in 2005. That's an increase of 2,600. Client visits increased by 60 per cent from 2004 to 2005.

To director Shirley Molloy and her staff, that's a clear indication of increasing poverty in Ancaster, Dundas, Flamborough and west Hamilton - the communities served by the Dundas Salvation Army foodbank.

"One of the concerns we have is what do we do about this increasing problem?" Ms. Molloy said. "We feel we are merely putting a band aid on the problem."

She said it's expensive for people to eat well and she wonders about the long-term effects of local residents surviving on canned and packaged food.

Limited government funding means family services can't enhance service levels in response todemand.

With a federal election approaching, some people are looking to the next national government to lead the way. The communities served by the Dundas foodbank also form the local riding of Ancaster-Dundas-Flamborough-Westdale.

Carolyn Milne of the Hamilton Community Foundation has helped form a Hamilton Roundtable for Poverty Reduction.

She pointed out the riding is part of a broader problem across the city, where 100,000 residents or 20 per cent of Hamilton's population are living in poverty. Ms. Milne said roundtable members want the next federal government to take on a major role in the fight against poverty.

"We need a well orchestrated, collaborative network," Ms. Milne said. "The federal government working with the provincial governments and municipal governments, and the private sector."

Each level must focus on its strengths, and she believes that has started with the roundtable. The partnership between Hamilton Community Foundation and the city brings all levels of government to the table.

"It's time to really take a strong position that the level of poverty in our country is not acceptable," Ms. Milne said.

"I think it starts with a vision for the country. I'd say that vision originates with the federal government."

Don Jaffray said Dundas food bank staff are right to be disturbed by the increase in need, but the federal government should focus on issues that created this high level of reliance on emergency food, rather than providing more funding for food banks.

Mr. Jaffray said the federal government could take several concrete steps, including raising the minimum wage to at least $10 an hour, working with provinces to reform social assistance, stopping provincial clawbacks of the National Child Benefit, providing a long-term commitment to affordable housing and increasing investment in national childcare.

Staff at the Dundas food bank sees how local residence struggle with poverty first hand.

Ms. Molloy said single parent families surviving on fixed incomes are one reason for the increase in clients.

"How can a family of four survive on $7.45 an hour? They can't," she said. "We have a few clients who come from professional backgrounds but due to downsizing and other personal factors, they find themselves coming to us."

Homeless youth who share accommodations in Dundas because they feel it's safer than larger areas, and seniors living on fixed incomes also account for some increase in local poverty, she said.

"Rent goes up, food prices increase as does heat and hydro, but they try to get along with the same monthly cheque. This means they have to stretch the dollar as far as possible.

"You can't not pay your rent or your utilities, so food is often the sacrifice."

The Dundas Salvation Army's community and family services foodbank served 1,364 clients in 2002; 2,237 in 2003; 3,186 in 2004; 3,964 in 2005. The number of registered clients grew from 703 in Nov. 2003 to 1,506 in Dec. 2005.