Thank you very much.
Good afternoon. I'm honoured to have the opportunity to present to you today on behalf of Social Planning Toronto, formerly known as the Community Social Planning Council of Toronto.
We are an independent non-profit organization that has worked for over 50 years to improve the quality of life for all Toronto residents through research, community education and mobilization, and advocacy, with a particular focus on reducing inequality and poverty. We are a founding member of the 25 in 5 Network for Poverty Reduction in Ontario and also work closely with our sister organizations in the Social Planning Network of Ontario and collaborate with other social planning organizations across Canada on initiatives designed to address poverty and other forms of inequality.
Social Planning Toronto joins with many other organizations in calling on the federal government to take bold steps to reduce poverty in our country. The reasons for doing so are more compelling than ever, and the excuses for inaction are withering away.
First, on the excuses, the myth that poverty is somehow an intractable problem that cannot be successfully overcome has been effectively destroyed. A number of European nations, most notably the Scandinavian countries, with which Canada has a great deal in common, have managed to virtually eradicate poverty through significant investments in children, income security measures, and a comprehensive system of supports designed to ensure the maximum productivity of their workforce. Here in Canada, provincial initiatives in Quebec and Newfoundland are showing significant progress in reducing poverty rates, particularly among children.
The second myth--that we somehow can't afford to implement a robust poverty strategy--has been shattered by the events of the last year. The government response to the fiscal crisis has shown that governments can marshal the resources necessary to respond to any challenge. It is simply a matter of choices.
And the choice is clear: we can pay to address poverty now or we will continue to pay for it massively and for generations. We pay for it through lost productivity, lost opportunity, and increased family violence. We pay for it through the health care system, our criminal justice system, and through growing demands on an already frayed social support system. We pay for it through the lost opportunities of children and their reduced life chances, employment opportunities, and the earning capacity of themselves and their children.
There is a growing body of evidence that the cost of poverty far outweighs, in crass dollar terms, the costs associated with its reduction and eventual elimination. A recent report from the University of Toronto's Social Assistance in the New Economy project, in collaboration with the Wellesley Institute and Social Planning Toronto, and entitled Poverty is making us sick: A comprehensive survey of income and health in Canada, estimated that an additional $1,000 a year, or an increase of less than $100 a month in the incomes of the lowest-income 20% of Canadians, would result in a substantial improvement in the health status of those individuals and significant savings to the health care system.
Another finding from the sister study entitled Sick and Tired: The Compromised Health of Social Assistance Recipients and the Working Poor in Ontario, documents an alarming cost. One in 10 social assistance recipients in Ontario contemplated suicide within the past year. Suicide attempts were 10 times higher among those receiving social assistance in Ontario than those who are not poor. Another recent study by the Ontario Association of Food Banks estimated the cost of poverty in Ontario at between $10 billion and $13 billion a year for the provincial and federal governments.
The moral imperative is also compelling. Despite recent setbacks, Canada remains one of the wealthiest nations in the world. Is there really justification for us to tolerate leaving at least one in eight Canadians living in poverty, with far higher rates among racialized communities, people with disabilities, and our aboriginal population? This is an unconscionable blot upon our national and international reputation.
Given a compelling case for action, what actions to take? The “Blueprint for Poverty Reduction” in Ontario, developed by the Social Planning Network of Ontario and the 25 in 5 Network for Poverty Reduction, calls for significant federal involvement in the areas of housing and income support.
Significant reform to the employment insurance program is a critical component of any action plan. Earlier this month, Social Planning Toronto released a report entitled, Uninsured: Why EI is Failing Working Ontarians.
Key recommendations of that report include: reducing regional EI disparities by creating a lower uniform number of qualifying hours; raising benefit levels; increasing the duration of benefits; ensuring fairness and protecting low-income workers by eliminating the two-week waiting period; removing the voluntary leaving clause; addressing the issue of providing support for self-employed workers, with a particular focus on maternal and parental benefits; improving access to training and employment supports by easing training restrictions; and protecting workers during periods of economic decline by ensuring a more robust EI reserve fund and implementing measures to extend benefit duration when the national unemployment rate reaches 6.5%.
An expanded EI program is a key measure for poverty prevention. Individuals who cannot access EI, or whose benefits run out too quickly, are forced to turn to an inadequate social assistance system that requires them to strip their assets, provides benefit levels well below the poverty line, and creates multiple barriers to returning to productive employment. Maintaining adequate income supports in the short term through the employment insurance system will prevent many Canadians from falling into the poverty trap that is so difficult to escape.
There are many other steps the government can take as part of a concerted, comprehensive strategy to reduce poverty in Canada. Key among these are the establishment of a truly affordable child care program, further enhancement of the working income tax benefit, and a renewed federal role in the provision of affordable housing. The federal government has the lead responsibility for Canada's aboriginal communities, and a concerted effort to address aboriginal poverty by significantly increased investment in education and housing would be an important first step to building a poverty-free Canada for all its residents.
Canadians and our governments have shown a remarkable capacity throughout our history to rise to the occasion and to meet the challenges of nation-building. The challenge of eliminating poverty in Canada is no greater than others we have surmounted in the past. Strong leadership from the federal government can and will make all the difference.
Thank you.