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Ontario Takes Important Steps to Fight Poverty, but demand EI reform

TORONTO (March 26th, 2009) – The Ontario Association of Food Banks (OAFB) is encouraged by the actions taken to fight poverty and recession in today’s budget, but calls on Ontario to quickly move forward with social assistance reforms and aggressively push the federal government for improvements to the adequacy and accessibility of Employment Insurance (EI).

The province re-affirmed commitments made last week by announcing poverty and recession fighting strategies including the acceleration of the Ontario Child Benefit (OCB) to a maximum of $1,100 per child per year, and $1.1 billion for renovating and building social housing over two years.  The budget announcement also took additional steps to fight poverty and recession which are in line with policy recommendations made by the OAFB. These changes include:
• increasing the maximum Ontario Works (OW) and ODSP allowance by two per cent;
• supporting additional skills training programs targeting basic literacy and skills for $90 million over two years;
• creating community hubs in low-income neighbourhoods for $3 million;
• following through on a commitment to increase funding for the Ontario Trillium Foundation by $10 million in 2009-10; and
• hiring new employment standards officers for proactive enforcement for $4.5 million.

In addition, the provincial government also announced stable funding of $5 million for municipal rent banks, as well as sales tax credits for low-income households amounting to $260 for each adult and child annually.  These credits will help ease the burden of the harmonization of federal and provincial sales taxes.  Although the government has taken important steps to fight poverty, the OAFB calls on the provincial government to loosen restrictions on social assistance by raising asset limits and earning thresholds for potential recipients.

“Many important measures to fight poverty and the recession were introduced today,” said Adam Spence, Executive Director of the OAFB.  “Although other steps are needed to reduce poverty in Ontario including increasing asset limits and other social assistance reforms, one of our biggest challenges today is equitable access to EI for Ontarians.”

The OAFB calls on the Premier to aggressively push the federal government for improvements to the access and adequacy of EI for Ontarians. During the last recession, 60 per cent of Ontarians qualified for the program. However, today only 30 per cent are currently eligible.  Many Ontarians are being forced to turn to food banks after they lose their jobs without adequate federal government supports for transition.

“Working Ontarians are paying into the EI program but remain ineligible due to the inequity of the current system,” said Judy Dancause Chair of the OAFB and Executive Director of the Agape Centre in Cornwall.  “Despite the gains made today, McGuinty needs to demand the federal government fix employment insurance or food banks will continue to see growing numbers of Ontarians during this difficult economic downturn.”

The Ontario Association of Food Banks (OAFB) is a network of over 100 food banks including communities across the province from Ottawa to Windsor, and Niagara Falls to Thunder Bay.  For more information about the OAFB, as well as hunger and poverty in Ontario, please visit www.oafb.ca.

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For further information, contact:
Adam Spence, Executive Director, Ontario Association of Food Banks (OAFB), Work: 416.656.4100, Cell: 416.543.0897
Judy Dancause, Chair, Ontario Association of Food Banks (OAFB) and Executive Director, Agape Centre (Cornwall), Work: 613.938.9297, x.23, Cell: 613.361.0332

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