Poverty activists hold politicians’ feet to fire

from The Independent

A grassroots movement of anti-poverty campaigners has pushed inequality up the political agenda

by Ray Yurkowski and Eoin Callan
The Independent

Hundreds of families in Northumberland confront what, for them, is a daily struggle – if not for survival then at least for dignity. And their troubles unfold mostly out of sight, in barren apartments, soulless shelters or overflowing trailers.

Helping low-income people is not just a county problem. The provincial government is looking for ways to cut poverty across Ontario. In the provincial throne speech following the election, the government launched a cabinet committee to tackle poverty reduction and a series of steps to tackle inequality, including an increase in the minimum wage and full-time spaces for children in junior and senior kindergarten, to help cut childcare costs. Northumberland-Quinte West MPP Lou Rinaldi, who was appointed to the committee, said it will be working with the public, private and volunteer sectors to develop a plan to reduce poverty in Ontario. Their report is expected in the fall.

“I would hope we could identify a priority scale of issues,” Mr. Rinaldi said.

A new countywide committee started by local poverty activists has also been struck. Fifteen people, including a representative from Mr. Rinaldi’s office, became members of the new committee after the Northumberland Legal Centre hosted a justice forum on poverty last fall.

“The county and United Way have jumped on our bandwagon to form the poverty reduction committee,” said Deb O’Connor of the NLC and Northumberland Coalition Against Poverty. “And being a social justice organization, this is something that we are very pleased to spearhead.”

The activist said the government committee is a “reason for hope” but adds it is unlikely to go “far enough, fast enough.”

“That’s why it’s important that local committees like ours get formed,” said Ms. O’Connor. “Because we will keep the heat on the government to do better.”

On a local level, Ms. O’Connor says she expects the countywide committee “to play a major role in developing poverty reduction in Northumberland.”

The county council took a step in this direction last month when it approved 21 low-cost apartments for Cobourg and Colborne, the first new Northumberland social housing project in more than 10 years.

The decision was greeted by applause. But Mary Anne Rowlands, chair of the Northumberland Affordable Housing Steering Committee, said the affordable housing units being planned were not enough to meet the need.

Ms. O’Connor said one of the most exciting recent developments was Mr. Rinaldi’s appointment to the cabinet committee. Her hope is the local MPP will influence the way rural poverty is viewed.

Mr. Rinaldi said there was no “magic bullet” for eliminating poverty, adding he had posed the question to actvists “point blank” about “what it takes to do away with poverty.”

“I don’t think any of us has that answer,” he added.

“That’s surprising,” said Ms. O’Connor. “The Coalition Against Poverty has been campaigning for three years on a platform to raise the welfare rates, increase the minimum wage and build affordable housing.

“There shouldn’t be any confusion about that, there’s been a campaign throughout the province and those are the same three issues when I started doing this work in the 80s.

“We need a $10 minimum wage now, not two years from now, and the welfare rates need to be increased 40 per cent to bring them back to where they were before the Mike Harris cutbacks.”

After a nine-year freeze, the Ontario Disability Support Program and Ontario Works rates were increased by five per cent over the last four years and another two per cent in November.

“A single person on welfare receives $558 a month,” Ms. O’Connor explained. “No sane person would tell you that that’s enough to sustain your life.”

Mr. Rinaldi strayed from the Liberal’s party line in an interview with The Independent, saying he “personally” supported an increase in assistance payments “absolutely”.

But he said the focus of the spring budget would be providing initial funds to back up the party’s campaign pledges to increase the minimum wage and free up childcare spaces.

Ms. O’Connor said: “We are very hopeful the province is going to do meaningful poverty reduction.”