Poor showing on poverty

from The Ottawa Sun

Activists says city not doing enough; municipality blames feds, province

By NELLY ELAYOUBI,

As Mayor Larry O'Brien called on the federal and provincial governments to do their share in funnelling money to cities in the fight against poverty, anti-poverty activists were calling on the city to do its part in addressing the concern.

"You can sit here until the cows come home and say, 'well, we're waiting for the other governments to do their part,' but in the meantime it's the city that ends up paying the cost of keeping people in whatever accommodation they're in," said anti-poverty activist Linda Lalonde.

Lalonde was at City Hall yesterday for the launch of the ninth annual poverty awareness week.

She criticized the city for failing to provide a sufficient number of subsidized child care spaces.

About 8,000 children are on a waiting list and roughly half of those youngsters need subsidized spots.

Emergency shelters last year provided stays for 615 families. The wait for families seeking subsidized housing is five to eight years, Lalonde said.

RECORD TIME

"I'm not proud that in a city that has resources to make a difference for people, we're not doing it."

City council passed its budget in record time Monday.

User fees have gone up, and although subsidies will match the user-fee increases, Lalonde said some families simply can't afford to pay.

"It becomes, can I put my kid in swimming lessons or put food on the table?"

Lalonde said it was "vitally important" the city maintain a stake in all services that low-income people rely on, rather than "offloading to community services."

"This community has an obligation to provide these services ... it's something we do because it's the right of everybody to be a part of this community."

It's a short-term payout for a long-term gain, she said.

BEST INTEREST OF THE CITY

O'Brien, who officially declared March 1-8 as poverty awareness week, defended council's quick passing of the budget, and said it was in the best interest of the city to move efficiently.

He said additional work will go into making the city live-able for all people.

"You can't judge one part of a program just based on certain numbers of certain waits and certain user fees," O'Brien said. "I don't think that's a rational way of evaluating programs."

In his address, O'Brien said the federal and provincial governments "need to be reminded daily" of funding needs.

"Low-income families find it difficult to pay for basic needs ... and affordable housing is a big part of that."