[Canada] Poverty fighters seek $1B

From The Ottawa Sun

By NELLY ELAYOUBI,

THE PROVINCE is being asked for a firm commitment on child poverty after a report released yesterday showed that 16% of Ontario children, or 443,000, are living in poverty.

Campaign 2000, a network of agencies devoted to ending child and family poverty in Canada, found that rate had stayed the same since 2001. The average low-income family is living about $10,000 below the poverty line, the report added.

Advocates are calling on the province to invest up to $1 billion over the next two years to jump start a multi-year Ontario Action Plan for Children with investments in social programs and high quality jobs.

In Ottawa, 11% of families (24,060) and 15% of children are living below the poverty line.

Among children who immigrated to Ottawa between 1996 and 2001, the poverty rate is 41%. For aboriginal children in Ottawa it's 25%.

'MARGINAL JOBS'

"Although we've enjoyed economic growth here, we still have a persistent problem with poverty," said Dianne Urquhart, executive director of the Social Planning Council, an affiliate of Campaign 2000.

"At the same time, we've had very little increase in minimum wage, we've had continuing growth with respect to marginal jobs and social assistance rates haven't gone up," Urquhart said.

About 15,000 children use the Ottawa Food Bank each month --40% of all people using the service.

The Food Bank also provides almost 600 meals a day to 15 schools as part of the KickStart program.

Jane Joy, manager of the city's children services division, said there aren't enough services to meet demand.

"We're always confined by insufficient funding,"Joy said.

MENTAL HEALTH PROBLEMS

Dr. Robin Walker, medical director of critical care at CHEO, said children's health is directly affected by the family's economic situation and often leads to adult health complications.

Nearly twice as many pre-term babies are born to lower income mothers. Similar data applies to infant mortality, childhood injury, homicide in youth and physical illness.

Behavioural and mental health problems are all linked to lower income families, as well as dental and nutritional deficiencies.