Thank you.
My name is Reno Melatti, first vice-president of the Ontario Teachers' Federation. We welcome the opportunity to address the standing committee today.
The Ontario Teachers' Federation is the advocate for the teaching profession in Ontario and for its 155,000 teachers. OTF members are full-time, part-time, and occasional teachers in all the publicly funded schools in the province of Ontario. That includes elementary, secondary, public, Catholic, and francophone.
As educators in Ontario, we are dedicated to the education of all students, regardless of their background or their financial or social circumstances, with the goal of making a difference. There are many external factors and conditions that affect a child's ability to learn and a teacher's ability to support that learning, but none as critical or complex as child poverty.
Children who come to school hungry, dressed poorly, or ill cannot concentrate in class. This is the beginning of a vicious cycle where children are not successful in school, become disengaged, and often years later leave school without graduating. Poverty and income inequality affect all members of society, but have much longer-lasting effects on children.
Ontario is both the largest economy in Canada and one of the most prosperous jurisdictions in the world. Unfortunately, however, almost one out of every six children is growing up in poverty. That translates to over 478,000 children under the age of 18 living in poverty.
The poverty in Ontario has not dropped below the 1989 rate of 11.6%. In fact, it has increased to almost 18% in 2004. This does not bode well for the 1989 unanimous resolution in the House of Commons to end child poverty. Other alarming statistics include the fact that almost half of the children living in poverty across Canada live in Ontario. The income gap between rich and poor families has reached a record high, and 132,000 rely on food banks every month, representing 40% of the food bank users.
Poverty among immigrants has steadily increased to 60% over the past 20 years. Seventy per cent of children living in poverty live in families with at least one working parent. The average one-parent low-income family is living $9,500 below the poverty line. The average two-parent low-income family is living $11,000 below the poverty line. The poverty rates for children from aboriginal, racialized immigrant, and one-parent mother families are double the average rate.
There are many reasons for the increase in child poverty, including the duration in social assistance programs, sky-rocketing inflation rates, and severe limits imposed on the national child benefit supplement. Additionally, immigrants often end up in lower-paying jobs due to barriers they face relating to international credentialing.
In Canada, the ongoing lack of coordination between federal and provincial governments has resulted in severe underfunding for many social programs that would ordinarily support marginalized groups.
Campaign 2000 released a discussion paper in 2007 outlining a poverty reduction strategy developed specifically for Ontario. Solid government leadership is required. However, in these uncertain economic times, the Government of Ontario appears to be focused on other pressing issues. Ontario could expand upon the programs from other jurisdictions--for example, Quebec and Newfoundland and Labrador--by developing measures to assist families. These include raising the minimum wage and ensuring that there are good jobs paying more than poverty wages. They could also strengthen the social safety net with income support programs, and invest in affordable child care, housing, and post-secondary tuition.
Educators in schools are very influential partners in increasing students' chances of living productive lives as responsible citizens. Every day classroom teachers and support staff see the impact that poverty has on the lives of these children. Some characteristics of poverty that teachers see and have reported include students who move and change schools frequently because there isn't sufficient money for rent; students who withdraw from the shame or lash out in anger; students who suffer from low self-esteem and lack of confidence, especially in high school; and students who demonstrate an attitude of hopelessness.
Children who live in poverty are marginalized both in and out of school. All children deserve to live and learn with dignity, free from poverty, and socially and economically secure. When they are no longer victims of poverty, only then will factors other than socio-economic status be the important determinants of educational and social outcomes.
In 2007, Campaign 2000, in its Ontario discussion paper, pointed out that the strong economy of the day was not solving the child poverty problem. It is inevitable that unless governments act, the current economic situation will make the issue of child poverty even more dire.
The Ontario Teachers' Federation is supportive of the goals of the National Council of Welfare and Campaign 2000 in working to eradicate child poverty. We look to the federal government to do its part in addressing its responsibilities in the areas of employment insurance, child care, and appropriate minimum wage across this country.
Thank you very much.