2012
Community Strategy to Eradicate Poverty
in Greater Sudbury - Update
Annette Reszczynski – Senior Social Planner
Social Planning Council of Sudbury
1|Page
Social Planning Council of Sudbury
Community Strategy to Eradicate
Poverty in Greater Sudbury - Update
Table of Contents
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ....................................................................................................... 3
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ........................................................................................................ 4
THE PICTURE OF POVERTY........................................................................................................... 8
BACKGROUND ........................................................................................................................... 10
MOVING FORWARD................................................................................................................... 15
CONCLUSION ..................................................................................................................... 37
Appendix A: Map to Poverty Reduction ........................................................................... 38
REFERENCES ...................................................................................................................... 39
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Thanks go to all of the people who over the years have worked diligently helping people
in our communities get the services, resources and supports they need. Thanks also go
to all of the people who have participated in various anti-poverty planning sessions and
community meetings over the years sharing your thoughts and ideas and searching for
ways, despite the obstacles, to make our communities better for everyone. Thanks also
to the Ontario Trillium Foundation for funding so much of this work. Finally, thank you
to Social Planning Council staff and placement students who are always ready to work
together as a team – especially when it comes to very large events that require a lot of
leadership, organizing, facilitation and note taking. Special thanks to Lynn O’Farrell for
providing research support.
Annette Reszczynski, Senior Social Planner & Author
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This report is an updated version of the March 2008 report, Community Strategy to
Reduce Poverty in the City of Greater Sudbury. It provides an overview of the past four
years in the same areas where recommendations were made originally. Additionally,
new recommendations are made based on input through community planning sessions,
namely the June 2011 Action Planning to End Poverty: Next Steps session, four follow up
sessions to that event held in November 2011 and community organizing that has
occurred across the province.
Ontario’s first poverty reduction strategy was introduced in 2008 and aims to reduce
child poverty by 25% (90,000 children) over a five year period (2008 – 2013). With
393,000, or one in every seven children still living in poverty in Ontario in 2011, at least
71,000 more children need to be lifted out of poverty in order for the current target to
be realized (Campaign 2000 Ontario, 2012). In response to the provincial governments
focus on a partial and measured commitment to address only child poverty the Social
Planning Network of Ontario (SPNO) (a coalition of social planning councils throughout
Ontario) shifted its policy agenda and began advocating for a full commitment to the
eradication of all poverty. The recommendations in this report reflect this shift.
The Social Planning Council of Sudbury (SPCS) has been working in the area of poverty
“reduction” since its inception in 1991. With funding from the United Way Centraide
Sudbury and/et Nipissing Districts, the first broad based community planning session to
address poverty was held in the fall of 2003. At the time the community’s goal for
addressing poverty included continuing to meet the basic needs of those living in
poverty and addressing the underlying structural causes of poverty. Almost nine years
later, and after a lot of work, the community has become much more organized and
knowledgeable about what those underlying causes are and how to address them. The
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notion that poverty is not inevitable and that it leads to significant costs in society is no
longer a foreign concept. There is no more debate for example about raising social
assistance rates as an obvious step towards poverty eradication amongst the partners
working to eliminate poverty.
While better and more integrated supports and services are identified as part of the
solution – they are no longer seen as the sole solution – both for those on social
assistance and for the population of working poor. Ensuring that no one individual or
family lives on incomes below 80% of the Low Income Measure After Tax (LIM-AT) and
enabling minimum wage earners to live 10% above the poverty line by raising the
minimum wage, as per Poverty Free Ontario’s social policy agenda,
are key
recommendations in this report.
There is also growing recognition that the advancement of social development, of which
poverty eradication is a central component, requires social infrastructure.
Cross
sectoral planning, creative partnerships, community engagement and innovation does
not happen on its own. Taking care of the basics like ensuring everyone has a place to
call home, has healthy food to eat and a way to get around requires dedicated on-going
coordinated effort. Organizations whose mandate it is to do community based planning
are uniquely placed to take on intermediary roles in the community. Intermediary
organizations have the flexibility to span sector silos and facilitate partnerships that
together can solve problems individual sectors alone cannot solve.
The inclusion of people with low incomes in decision making, the linking of those
farthest removed from the labour market with viable employment and a mental health
and addictions system that is accessible to those who need it most – all identified as
community priorities – are achievable goals but not without a dedicated intermediary
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Social Planning Council of Sudbury
who can oversee the strategy and who has the resources to ensure the work will get
done.
Recommendations
Recommendation # 1: That the community champion poverty eradication in Ontario as
fiscally viable seizing every opportunity both formally and informally to advocate for a
general poverty rate of 4% or lower.
Actions:
1. That a broad based approach to advocacy be developed that is inclusive and
multifaceted bringing this strategy to reality through the developing of
coalitions, networks, and social justice movements.
2. That all partners committed to poverty eradication find popular education
methods including social media and other innovative and creative forms of
activism to contribute to the cause.
Recommendation # 2: That lobbying for fair taxation represents a central component of
this poverty eradication strategy.
Recommendation # 3: That the community align its poverty eradication efforts at the
local level with provincial efforts most notably Poverty Free Ontario’s policy agenda to
“end deep poverty, end working poverty and protect food money”(SPNO, 2011).
accomplishing this by…
Actions:
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1. Advocating for an immediate $100 per month Healthy Food Supplement to be
added to the Basic Needs Allowance of all OW and ODSP recipients as the first
step toward income adequacy in benefit levels.
2. Advocating that by 2015 no individual or family on OW or ODSP in Ontario live
on incomes below 80% of Low Income Measure After Tax (LIM-AT).
3. Advocating for a minimum wage rate of $12.50 by 2014 vs. the current rate of
$10.25 enabling minimum wage earners to live about 10% above the poverty
line.
4. Advocating for a full housing benefit through rent subsidies so that the costs of
housing do not exceed 30% of gross household income and the building of new
affordable housing stock.
Recommendation #4: That the Social Planning Council of Sudbury work toward the
development of a local social development strategy.
Recommendation # 5: That a local organization - with a proven capacity to function
effectively as an intermediary – be supported to become the secretariat to social
development in the City of Greater Sudbury so that…
•
the infrastructure and capacity needed to encourage and support social
development (cross sectoral planning, creative partnerships, community
engagement and innovation) on an ongoing basis is in place;
•
people who are living in poverty have access to the support they need to actively
participate in changing the conditions affecting them;
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•
the non-profit, public and private sectors have the support and training
necessary to collaborate to address social issues in concrete and sustainable
ways;
•
the community’s ability to develop socially is continually being enhanced by the
sharing of best practices, tools and training;
•
the community at large is supported and empowered to participate in local
decision making.
Recommendation # 6: That affordable and appropriate housing, a healthy, affordable
and sustainable food system and reliable and sustainable transportation take on greater
community priority in light of persistent homelessness, chronic cycles of hunger, rising
food and fuel costs and consumer frustration with public transit and lack of
infrastructure to support sustainable mobility.
Recommendation # 7: That the community work together to close the supports and
services gap for children 6 and up particularly for those transitioning from state care to
independence.
Recommendation # 8: That an innovative workforce strategy that includes those most
removed from the labour force and which carves out a clear pathway between the
employment and training sector and the labour market be developed.
Recommendation # 9: That the mental health and addictions sector – along with allies
in health, education, criminal justice and the non-profit sector intensify their efforts to
develop cross sectoral integration as part of an overall social development strategy.
THE PICTURE OF POVERTY
In the Community Strategy to Reduce Poverty, the measure used to report poverty
levels was the Low-Income Cut Off (LICO). While there is no official measure of poverty
in Canada, in this report the Low Income Measure After Tax (LIM-AT) is used instead as
it is now the official poverty indicator used by the Ontario government. The LIM-AT
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identifies people at income levels less than 50% of the median income in the population
as living in poverty (i.e. in the bottom 25% of all incomes). Ontario’s first poverty
reduction strategy introduced in 2008 aims to reduce child poverty by 25% (90,000
children) over a 5 year period (2008-2013). With 393,000, or one in every 7 children still
living in poverty in Ontario in 2011, at least 71,000 more children need to be lifted out
of poverty in order for the current target to be realized (Campaign 2000 Ontario, 2012).
While the Ontario poverty rate (13.1%) in 2009 is slightly below the LIM-AT for Canada
(13.3%), Ontario’s poverty rate experienced a growth rate of 17% since 2007 totaling
almost 1.7 million children, parents and individuals. This represents 277,000 more
people living in poverty in 2011 than in 2007 and is the highest poverty rate reported for
the province since the early 1980’s. While the rate of poverty growth by age group is
lowest among children, the proportion of working age adults (18 to 64 years old) living
in poverty increased from 11.2% to 13.4%, a growth rate of 19.6%. Ontarians 65 years
and older also show an extremely high poverty growth rate of 41.9% since 2007,
although the overall proportion of seniors in poverty still remains below 9%.
Food Bank usage and social assistance caseloads remain fairly high. In Greater Sudbury
in 2010, 4000 persons were on Ontario Works in any given month and 14,000
individuals accessed food banks across the Sudbury region. As well, the Sudbury Food
Bank
states
that
15%
of
the
people
they
serve
are
working
poor
(www.sudburyburyfoodbank.ca). According to a new study from the Metcalf Foundation
the number of working poor in the Toronto Region increased by 42% between 2000 and
2005.
This group accounted for more than 70,000 adults in the city of Toronto and
more than 113,000 in the region overall (Stapleton et al, 2012).
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BACKGROUND
The Social Planning Council of Sudbury (SPCS) has been working in the area of poverty
“reduction” since its inception in 1991. The first broad based community planning
session to address poverty was held in the fall of 2003. This event, called the Social
Action Planning Conference (SAPC) was co-sponsored by the SPCS and the Sudbury &
District United Way. Ten social issues were identified and goals, objectives and actions
were developed by conference participants for each topic area. The overall goals
identified for the issue of poverty included meeting the basic human needs of those in
our community living in poverty as well as addressing the underlying structural causes of
poverty. Following this event the SPCS and a planning committee comprised of
conference participants decided that follow up support to the areas identified as priority
– namely poverty, youth, learning and working, and fostering civil society - was a good
next step.
In the fall of 2004 the SPCS began lending support to the Youth Services Coalition, a new
group and the only group doing youth focused planning. The SPCS helped them to
develop their strategic plan and identify partners and allies to work with. The SPCS also
reached out to the employment and training sector to support their work in identifying
service gaps.
Recognizing an in-depth scan of employment and training services was
needed, the Ministry of Training Colleges and Universities (MTCU) commissioned the
SPCS to do an environmental scan in the City of Greater Sudbury and Sault Ste. Marie of
employment services and recommend a model for improved integration within these
two cities.
The SPCS also organized a public dialogue about civil society that approximately seventy
five people attended to discuss the need for progressive social policy, the democratic
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deficit and ways to address these issues locally. Also, with the intent to build voluntary
sector capacity by linking local experience with policy change, the SPCS organized a
forum in the spring of 2006 called Community Experience, Capacity Building and Public
Policy: Empowering the Voluntary Sector.
These two events helped strengthen a
growing interest in local decision making, participatory democracy and policy. At this
time the SPCS was commissioned to develop a Human Services Strategy for the City of
Greater Sudbury providing the opportunity to introduce recommendations concerning
public participation in local decision making, the importance of investing in social
infrastructure and a municipal commitment to address poverty.
Throughout this time the SPCS was also very involved in the issue of homelessness; from
conducting research into the incidence and causes of homelessness over a seven year
period to taking a leadership role in several key housing and homelessness committees.
In 2007 the SPCS was commissioned by Human Resources Development Canada (HRDC)
to develop a poverty reduction strategy for the City of Greater Sudbury (CGS).
The project was undertaken in two phases. The first, in conjunction with the CGS
Community Solutions Team on Homelessness, resulted in the development of the
Housing First Strategy – an approach to ending homelessness that centers on providing
people who are homeless with housing as a first step and before dealing with any other
issues they may have. The second phase of the project resulted in the development of
the first ever “Community Strategy to Reduce Poverty in the City of Greater Sudbury,
March 2008”.
Shortly thereafter the province of Ontario released its own poverty reduction strategy.
The SPCS used the provincial document, which listed existing and proposed programs,
as a template to inventory local programs through an appreciative inquiry process.
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This process took several months and the intent was to help the community determine
what services and programs were already in place, what opportunities were on the
horizon and how local priorities could best be aligned with the priorities of the
provincial government. In 2009 the SPCS held a community planning session called
Action Planning to End Poverty to present the findings of the appreciative inquiry
process, and to identify local priorities through a mapping exercise.
The mapping exercise was a participatory process where the individual/family was
placed at the centre of a number of concentric circles. Participants were then asked to
name the various services/supports that this individual/family needed in order to
transition out of poverty. These supports and services were mapped according to
whether or not they fell into the category of crisis / primary supports, secondary
supports or structural supports (see Appendix A). Out of all of the supports and services
listed, eight areas of priority were identified:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
social innovation
adequate income
community engagement
policy
food security
mental health and addictions
housing
sustainable funding for the non-profit sector
With Ontario Trillium Foundation funding in hand to advance these priority areas the
SPCS worked for the next two years (2009 – 2011) to facilitate the development of
collaborative planning and partnerships, including working cross provincially. More on
this in the coming sections. In June 2011, the SPCS hosted Action Planning to End
Poverty: Next Steps. The purpose of the event was to strenghthen and build upon the
network of people working to move the anti-poverty agenda forward. One hundred and
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Social Planning Council of Sudbury
sixteen people registered for the session – many from sectors newly engaged around
the issue of poverty. With fifteen discussion tables occupied and reflecting topics
identifed in the map (referenced above and depicted on page 36) groups talked about
the programs and services they offered clients, what they would like to offer in order to
lesson the impact of poverty within their sphere of influence, and the type of network
connections they would need to make this possible.
The session ended with an
innovative networking exercise where participants were first asked to indicate who they
wanted to be connected with for the purposes of better meeting the needs of their
clients and then were able to actually make those connections. The SPCS mapped the
results of this exercise and projected the maps onto the wall so participants could see
the networking process taking place. The results of the days’s mapping exercise where
subsequently analyzed by looking at the individuals who wanted to be connected to
each other and around which issue. At the end of the day, the majority of participants
indicated they wanted to work on Progressive Social Policy demonstrating the critical
need for policy change and the understanding that many of the problems being
experienced at the front lines whether those lines are in the classroom, the hospital or
the food bank all relate back to punitive policies that keep people in deep poverty.
The second priority area that came out in the mapping exercise was the desire to
integrate the voices of people who are most impacted by punitive social policies in
influencing how these policies are changed – not just in terms of income support but in
all areas from employment and training to food security to safety to sustainable funding
in the non-profit sector and social innovation.
Employment and Training ranked third among participants as an area of importance
with many citing challenges including but not limited to the disconnect between
employers, educational institutions and the labour market particularly for people living
in poverty. It was indicated that the high cost of post secondary education, the lack of
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supportive services for people who want to return to school, the need for meaningful
co-op student placements, the challenges of introducing innnovative solutions within
school boards all contribute to limiting people’s opportunties, thereby impacting the
local economy in a negative way.
Mental Health and Addictions, Income and Success at School for All emerged as the final
areas of priority. The Mental Health and Addictions discussion table talked about
spending a lot of time providing things like food vouchers, bus tickets etc. to their clients
and doing a lot of referrals for housing and child care. Lack of funding in the sector was
cited as contributing to the lack of crucial services that if in place, would save the system
a lot of time and money. The absense of free supportive counseling and mental health
workers in schools, long waiting lists for treatment centres and the lack of mental health
crisis workers were cited as examples.
Success at School focused on the necessity of finding ways to reach out to those
students who are not succeeding at school – many because of financial hardship.
Culturally inclusive curriculum, the presence of health and mental health services right
in the school, policies and practices that address hunger and exclusion and social
marketing tools that could connect students to the information and services they need
were suggested strategies.
Other themes that emerged included focusing efforts in neighbourhoods and schools
since poverty excludes people from community life and schools offer great potential as
community hubs. The Food Security discussion table talked about the role of the
education system and schools as places to reconnect young people to food and
neighburhoods as places to expand the communities capacity to grow local food while
the Environmental Sustainability group talked about the role of regional food security in
preparing for climate change impacts.
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The Housing discussion table shared many of the same concerns expressed by Mental
Health and Addicitons, Income, Success at School for All and Safety – namely that
people encounter a multitude of problems in relation to housing and therefore housing
solutions need to span several sectors. For example, inadequate social assistance rates
make it very difficult for people to find safe housing presenting big challenges for youth,
women and people coming out of addiction treatment centres and correctional
facilities.
The Transportation discussion group talked about how inadequate transportation can
exacerbate a whole host of other issues like safety, employment, social connection and
belonging, and child care. There were many concrete suggestions on how to move
forward on transportation as it relates to poverty eradication and social innovation as
well. These are included later in this report.
In November 2011, four follow up sessions to the June networking event were
organized by the SPCS giving organizations and individuals an opportunity to meet again
and determine where they wanted to focus their efforts. These sessions centered on the
areas where the community demonstrated the most mutual interest in working
together (i.e. Progressive Social Policy, Community Engagement of People with Low
Incomes, Employment and Training and Mental Health and Addictions). The input from
these four sessions is integrated into this document and provides the basis for a number
of recommendations and actions.
MOVING FORWARD
In this section nine recommendations are made and are presented as part of four key
steps;
Step #1: Believe that Poverty Eradication is Possible
Step #2: Link Local Organizing Efforts Cross Provincially
Step #3: Invest in Local Infrastructure
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Step #4: Take Care of the Basics
These steps mirror the steps that were presented in the original Community Strategy to
Reduce Poverty, however in this update some of them are emphasized differently. For
example, the overall goal is no longer to reduce poverty; a position that is satisfied with
leaving some groups in poverty while lifting others out. The overall goal is to eradicate
poverty – which means bringing the poverty rate to 4% or lower.
This change is the
result of the last four years of linking local organizing work with cross provincial
organizing through Poverty Free Ontario and others, making it possible for thousands of
voices to be engaged in a sustained dialogue and decision making process.
The
presence of social infrastructure plays a key role in supporting citizens in addressing
issues collectively and making change.
The creation of a local social development strategy facilitated by a neutral intermediary
organization (secretariat) represents the logical next step in building social
infrastructure capacity locally.
As well, as the community has developed its
understanding of poverty, it has broadened its understanding of basic needs like
housing, food, transportation and child care to include access to mental health and
addictions supports and services and a pathways approach to employment. This shift
reflects a more integrated and innovative approach to social issues and is reflected in
step #3. Each of the four steps outlined in this next section also includes an update on
progress since the last report, reflecting the community’s commitment and desire to
continue to move forward.
Step #1: Believe that Poverty Eradication is Possible
Much has gone on over the past four years concerning changing perceptions of poverty.
First of all the realization that poverty is not inevitable has grown. Second of all, the
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number of voices coming from sectors that have not been part of the conversation thus
far has also grown. For example, people like Ed Clark, TD Bank’s CEO, have said that the
current tax system disadvantages lower-income Canadians and that taxes should be
raised for those in the highest tax bracket.
Union members and faith based
organizations have joined forces in organizing demonstrations in many places in the
province. Public Health officials have been very vocal in their efforts to impact policy
that affects the social determinants of health. Many Municipal Councils have passed
resolutions supporting more support for those trying to survive on OW and ODSP. Food
bank workers across the province have organized in a “Freedom 90” campaign focusing
on their desire to retire from Food Bank work. There are many innovative and creative
ways to encourage activism and contribute to engaging others in advocacy work and the
broadest base coalition will be the most effective.
Within the voluntary sector there has been a shift away from the notion of poverty
reduction to poverty eradication. This has been reflected in the Social Planning Network
of Ontario’s Poverty Free Ontario policy agenda which advocates for eradication as
defined as the lowest possible levels of poverty in the industrialized world, both in
incidence and in depth. Part of the reason for this policy change has been the evidence
supplied by other countries who have been able to get their overall poverty rates down
to as low as 4%.
In 2008 the notion that poverty was not inevitable and costs society was a fairly new
concept. At the time most of the discourse focusing on the direct cost of poverty was
linked to homelessness. Four years later there is a growing awareness that it costs less
to bring everyone over the poverty line relative to the indirect costs of poverty (i.e.
hospitals, policing etc.) demonstrating that it actually costs society more to keep people
in poverty than to close the poverty gap (National Council of Welfare, 2011). For
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Social Planning Council of Sudbury
example, just the health impact alone of leaving people in poverty costs the healthcare
system in Ontario about $2.9 billion annually (Ontario Association of Food Banks, 2012).
Similarly, there is a growing awareness about the reality that over the last decade or so
there has been an alarming growth of income inequality in Canada. Almost all of the
economic gains of the past three decades have gone to Canada’s top 1% but taxes have
not gone up accordingly. Controlling for inflation, during the last 30 years, the highest
earning fifth of Canadians increased their pay by 40% while the earnings of the lowest
fifth fell by 11%.
In the 1960s, the highest marginal income tax rate was 80 per cent and in the early
1990s it was 58 per cent. But now the highest marginal rate is 46 per cent, only for
income over $132,000. We have a flat tax for the rich. Doctors pay a top rate of 46 per
cent, but so do billionaires. Ultimately fair taxation plays a central role in ensuring that
the basic needs of every person in every community are met and efforts in that
direction are essential.
Recommendation #1: That the community champion poverty eradication in Ontario as
fiscally viable seizing every opportunity both formally and informally to advocate for a
general poverty rate of 4% or lower.
Actions:
1. That a broad based approach to advocacy be developed that is inclusive and
multifaceted bringing this strategy to reality through the developing of
coalitions, networks, and social justice movements.
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Social Planning Council of Sudbury
2. That all partners committed to poverty eradication find popular education
methods including social media and other innovative and creative forms of
activism to contribute to the cause.
Recommendation # 2: That lobbying for fair taxation represents a central component of
this poverty eradication strategy.
Step # 2: Link Local Organizing Efforts Cross Provincially
Policies governing income levels through income supports are determined by the
provincial and federal governments and as such, efforts at the local level need to be
aligned with organizing efforts at these higher levels. In the 2008 Community Strategy
to Reduce Poverty, this was the first of seven recommendations and there were several
opportunities that the community took advantage of to do just that.
In the November 2011 follow up session on Progressive Social Policy participants clearly
recognized that problems experienced by clients with low incomes like ill health – both
mental and physical - homelessness and unemployment all relate back to policies at the
provincial level that do not serve people’s best interests. Inadequate social assistance
rates, a minimum wage that does not allow a person who is working full time full year to
live out of poverty and barriers to employment and education like preventing Ontario
Works recipients from receiving benefits and student loans at the same time, all need to
be changed. Similarly, the push towards employment for people who are disabled is also
causing concern particularly among those who have serious mental illness.
Participants were also very clear about the lack of information available to people about
what they are entitled to particularly with regard to Ontario Works and was identified as
an important next step for the community to work on. A process to facilitate more
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collaboration between and within sectors to promote better outcomes for clients was
emphasized as critical. Finally, policy needs to be developed with direct input from
those who will be most affected by that policy. In the November 2011 follow up
discussion on Community Engagement of People Living in Low Income, it was clear that
the voices of people who are most impacted by punitive social policies have an
important role to play in influencing how those policies are changed. In particular
participants felt that the voices of youth, those with mental illness, physical limitations
as well as whole neighbourhoods should be included as legitimate and valued voices in
influencing change.
In light of the need to change policy to better meet the needs of those most impacted,
the SPCS has played a central role supporting provincial groups - most notably the Social
Planning Network of Ontario (SPNO) – contributing staff support and leadership to
campaigns and organizing efforts both provincially and locally. In 2007, the SPNO began
to mobilize cross-community support for poverty reduction and released a report
showing that Ontario was the “child poverty centre of Canada” (with 43% of all poor
children in Canada living in Ontario). This prompted Premier McGuinty, prior to the
October 2007 election, to commit to the development of a poverty reduction strategy
within one year of his Government’s re-election. In response to this commitment and to
ensure robust community input into the strategy, the SPNO conducted two speaking
tours of the province, covering thirty communities and working with social planning
councils at the local level to ensure a broad range of input. This tour culminated in 2008
with the release of the “Blueprint for Poverty Reduction: Legacy for an Inclusive
Ontario” produced by the SPNO and the 25 in 5 Network for Poverty Reduction, a
coalition of provincial and Toronto-based organizations. This compilation of input was
presented to Deb Mathews, the Minister of Children and Youth Services at the time, and
the Cabinet Committee on Poverty Reduction.
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The key expectations of the “Blueprint” included a commitment to a multi-year plan to
reduce family and adult poverty by 25% in 5 years; the adoption of the Statistics Canada
Low Income Measure (LIM) as a benchmark indicator to measure progress and a
commitment to develop strategies for a 50% reduction of family and adult poverty in 10
years. It also called for poverty reduction to be enshrined into legislation as well as for
Ontario to achieve several targets and goals - including a one year review of social
assistance benefits, raising minimum wage to $12.50/hour by 2014, enabling the
minimum wage earner to live about 10% above the poverty line and indexing thereafter,
raising social assistance rates so that by 2015 no individual or family on OW or ODSP
would live on incomes below 80% of LIM-AT, increasing the maximum Ontario Child
Benefit (OCB) and introducing a $100.00 per month food supplement.
On December 4, 2008 the province of Ontario released its first Poverty Reduction
Strategy “Breaking the Cycle”. The strategy met some important tests that the SPNO
and the 25 in 5 Network had set as their own expectations of a poverty reduction
strategy. The Government did commit to a specific target of reducing child poverty in
Ontario by 25% in five years (90,000 children), making Ontario the first jurisdiction in
Canada to set clear targets and timelines for poverty reduction. The Government’s
strategy also adopted an income measure, the internationally recognized Low Income
Measure (LIM), which the SPNO and the 25 in 5 Network had strongly favoured. In
terms of specific policy initiatives in the areas of sustaining employment and livable
incomes, the most specific provisions on employment were related to improving
employment standards legislation and allocating resources for better enforcement. A
previously scheduled two percent (2%) increase to social assistance rates was
implemented, but the poverty reduction strategy contained no additional movement
toward income adequacy for people on social assistance.
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In response to the provincial government’s focus on a partial and measured
commitment to address only child poverty the SPNO shifted its policy agenda and began
advocating for a full commitment to the eradication of all poverty. The SPNO strategy
also included a phased in full housing benefit which would protect food money by
limiting total rental costs to 30% of gross household budgets for all lower income adults
and families. Recognizing that the social assistance review might be delayed for some
time and in response to Minister Meilleur’s statement to a delegation that ‘she would
love to give people an extra $100 per month but it’s not on the public radar’ – the SPNO
in partnership with the Association of Local Public Health Agencies (alPHa), the Stop
Community Food Centre and local anti-poverty reduction and public health departments
in communities across Ontario urged the Ontario Government to introduce a
$100/month Healthy Food Supplement through the Put Food in the Budget Campaign.
The supplement would be added to the Basic Needs Allowance of all Ontario adults on
Ontario Works (OW) and the Ontario Disability Supports Program (ODSP) as a first step
toward income adequacy.
The Put Food in the Budget Campaign began with the Do the Math on line survey where
in 2010 more than eight thousand citizens and forty MPP’s across Ontario were asked to
estimate the cost of basic living expenses required by a single adult for one month and
compare their results to what a single adult gets from Ontario Works ($592.00 per
month). The result was that almost all who participated said social assistance is
inadequate. This campaign was followed by the Do the Math Challenge where 1000
people in twenty five communities participated in eating a diet consisting of food from
designated food banks for up to seven days. Not surprisingly many participants failed to
complete the challenge noting the ill effects associated with having to subsist on a food
bank diet.
In Greater Sudbury thirteen prominent Sudburians and their families
including Dr. Penny Sutcliffe the Medical Officer of Health joined the “Challenge”.
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Social Planning Council of Sudbury
At the local level, the identification of access to healthy and affordable food as a
community priority precipitated the SPCS`s involvement in the Sudbury Food
Connections Network (SFCN) in 2009. This led to the development of the first public
access community garden in Sudbury’s downtown core, a Community Garden Network
to support the growth of gardens across the city and an annual Seedy Sunday event to
support the development of sustainable local food system. In the fall of 2011 the SPNO
in partnership with the Interfaith Social Assistance Reform Coalition (ISARC) - a
provincial network of faith groups working together for social justice – worked cross
provincially in seventeen communities leading a non-partisan campaign urging all
political parties and electoral candidates to make poverty an election issue. Part of this
campaign included a sign blitz where hundreds of lawn signs saying “Let’s Vote for A
Poverty Free Ontario” were erected just before the provincial election. Locally, the SPCS
with the help of several area churches managed to erect one hundred signs on
properties across the city as well as hanging a giant banner with the Poverty Free
Ontario slogan from the top of a downtown Sudbury church.
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Social Planning Council of Sudbury
(Giant banner hung from Christ the King Church, Sudbury 2011)
At the same time, a review of the social assistance system being conducted by
Commissioners Frances Lankin and Munir Sheikh reported hearing from two thousand
people in consultations across the province, and receiving seven hundred written
submissions. In the CGS the SPCS partnered with the Community Legal Clinic and the
CGS’s Employment Services department to hold two input sessions – one for front line
workers and one for people in receipt of social assistance. In the end over fifty people
participated and gave their input. Despite what can be considered to be comprehensive
feedback, the Commission’s subsequent reports were very disappointing. According to
the SPNO and other partners the Commissioner’s reflection “does not reflect the
strength of feeling nor urgency for action on Ontario Works (OW) and the Ontario
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Social Planning Council of Sudbury
Disability Support Program (ODSP) benefit levels that condemn recipients to chronic
conditions of hunger and hardship. Sixteen city councils representing three million
Ontarians passed resolutions supporting a $100/month Healthy Food Supplement… The
credibility of the reform exercise is undermined when such clearly expressed community
input is ignored”(SPNO, 2012).
SPNO’s own analysis of the written submissions posted on the Commissioners’ web site
as of December 31, 2011 shows that income adequacy is the primary concern of
proponents for reform. Four out of five posted submissions (79%) identified income
inadequacy as an issue to be addressed in the Social Assistance Review, making a variety
of recommendations to improve the adequacy of social assistance rates. Exacerbating
the situation the Ontario government announced in their spring 2012 budget, before
the social assistance review recommendations were made available - to freeze social
assistance rates, and delay the promised increase of $100.00 in the annual child benefit
for one year. In fact, in the last four years, since announcing a Social Assistance Review
as part of the Poverty Reduction Strategy in 2008, the Ontario Government has actually
taken action that worsens the living conditions of people on social assistance. Part of
this has come about through combining the introduction of the OCB to single parents
with a cut of $125 per child per month to their Basic Needs Allowance as well as ending
the clothing and back to school allowances (SPNO, 2012).
As well, the provincial government has decided to cut the Community Start-Up and
Maintenance Benefit (CSUMB) which at present is available to OW and ODSP clients
every two years to assist with moving costs, effective January 1st 2013. For the City of
Greater Sudbury this means an annual loss of 2 million dollars. On top of the elimination
of the CSUMB, all other discretionary health benefits under Welfare (OW) and Disability
(ODSP) will now be capped, meaning that access will be severely limited. Funding for
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Social Planning Council of Sudbury
these benefits (dental emergencies, eye glasses, etc.) will be cut over the next three
years.
Recommendation # 3: That the community align its poverty eradication efforts at the
local level with provincial efforts most notably Poverty Free Ontario’s policy agenda to
“end deep poverty, end working poverty and protect food money” (SPNO, 2011).
Actions:
1. Advocate for an immediate $100 per month Healthy Food Supplement to be
added to the Basic Needs Allowance of all OW and ODSP recipients as the first
step toward income adequacy in benefit levels.
2. Advocate that no individual or family on OW or ODSP live on incomes below 80%
of LIM-AT; Ontario by 2015.
3. Advocate for a minimum wage rate of $12.50 by 2014 vs. the current rate of
$10.25 which would enable minimum wage earners to live about 10% above the
poverty line.
4. Advocate for a full housing benefit (rent subsidies so that the costs of housing do
not exceed 30% of gross household income) and the building of new affordable
housing stock.
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Social Planning Council of Sudbury
Step #3: Invest in Local Social Infrastructure
The second and third recommendations in the 2008 Strategy included the CGS City
Council investing in social infrastructure by creating a human services planning and
policy development body that would help coordinate policies concerning transportation,
employment and training, affordable housing, food security and income. The notion
that poverty reduction, a fundamental component of social development, is as central
to the health of the community as economic development and environmental
sustainability was introduced.
Unfortunately this recommendation has not been
adopted. The City of Greater Sudbury has however continued, for the third term in a
row, its commitment to the Healthy Community Strategy and a Healthy Community
Cabinet Advisory Panel to oversee the creation of various initiatives through a
framework of four pillars - Human Health and Well Being, Environmental Sustainability,
Economic Vitality and Civic Engagement and Social Capital albeit with a significantly
reduced budget and limited staff support.
The fourth recommendation in the 2008 Strategy was that the CGS City Council adopt a
Civic Engagement Framework and Public Participation Policy. In the winter of 2007 the
Social Planning Council of Sudbury conducted a survey of Civic Engagement Experiences
at the request of the City of Greater Sudbury for the purpose of providing feedback that
could be used to develop a Public Participation Policy. Respondents to the survey had
participated in a variety of engagement activities including Committees and
Roundtables, Advisory Boards and Panels, public meetings/community consultations,
Community Action Networks, the Community Solutions Team and others. The results of
the survey identified that respondents consider civic engagement to be extremely
important. The report also identified concerns including the need to more specifically
define the role which residents play within various methods of civic engagement. The
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Social Planning Council of Sudbury
need to be inclusive and to provide equal opportunities for all citizens to participate in
community process was also identified as very significant.
Following the compilation of various data received including survey responses, a draft
Public Participation Policy was prepared and presented by the SPCS and circulated to
City staff. The framework of the policy was reviewed by staff before being presented to
the Healthy Community Cabinet in October of 2007. A summary of the proposed Public
Participation Policy was presented to City Council in January of 2008 prior to a Council
Retreat. The document set out a framework for effective public participation including
identifying core values. Reference materials (i.e. inclusion lens and guides for citizen
and government use were also provided). It was expected that staff would utilize the
framework as a guide in planning for successful citizen participation. To date the public
participation policy remains a recommendation to council.
There is a Terms of Engagement for the Community Action Networks (CAN’s) – the
network of community groups established by the City of Greater Sudbury to help
provide a better line of communication between the community, Council and City staff.
The Terms of Engagement use four out of the five domains of engagement developed by
the International Association for Public Participations’ Spectrum of Public Participation
including “inform”, “consult”, “involve” and “collaborate”.
They do not include
“empower”.
The SPCS is currently in the process of working with stakeholders as a convener in the
human services sector to develop a coordinated social development strategy which will
provide consistent opportunities for institutions, organizations and individuals to work
together to create innovative solutions to difficult social problems. The first year of
what the SPCS hopes will be a three year project will result in a map of relationships and
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Social Planning Council of Sudbury
issue areas that is expected to lead to the development of a community process of
knowledge sharing and joint planning – providing much needed social infrastructure to
the community.
Much work has been done over the last several years in both developing and evaluating
best practices around how to engage people living with low incomes, opportunities to
put these practices into action and new resources for both training front line workers
and engaging people with low incomes as advisors in this work. One example is the
SPCS’s engagement of people living on low income directly in planning for healthy
community outcomes through the Sudbury & District Health Unit’s Healthy Community
Partnership. Over the past two years the SPCS has coordinated a roster of people who
as paid consultants provide input on health policy and share personal stories in
conference and workshop settings. The SPCS also works with a group of individuals
living on low income called PINGO (Poverty Is Not a Game Ontario). As part of a
provincial campaign called “Freedom 90” this group, along with food bank volunteers
created and released a video called “50 Ways to Close the Food Bank” to highlight the
growing number of food bank volunteers who are aging and emphasizing that food
banks and emergency meal programs do not, and never will, meet the growing needs of
people in our communities.
Another example of engaging low income residents is N.O.A.H. (New Opportunities and
Hope) in the Flour Mill and Donovan areas. This program is a partnership between
Better Beginnings and Better Futures (BBBF) and Greater Sudbury Police Services and is
governed by a committee of residents who work proactively with the police to improve
community safety from a social development perspective. It has grown to include over
50 partners and is engaged in effective service delivery in a low income neighbourhood.
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Social Planning Council of Sudbury
Recommendation #4: That the Social Planning Council of Sudbury work toward the
development of a local social development strategy.
Recommendation # 5: That a local organization - with a proven capacity to function
effectively as an intermediary – be supported to become the secretariat to social
development in the City of Greater Sudbury so that…
•
the infrastructure and capacity needed to encourage and support social
development (cross sectoral planning, creative partnerships, community
engagement and innovation) on an ongoing basis is in place;
•
people who are living in poverty have access to the support they need to actively
participate in changing the conditions affecting them;
•
the non-profit, public and private sectors have the support and training
necessary to collaborate to address social issues in concrete and sustainable
ways;
•
the community’s ability to develop socially is continually being enhanced by the
sharing of best practices, tools and training;
•
the community at large is supported and empowered to participate in local
decision making.
Step 4: Take Care of the Basics
A Place to Call Home, Healthy Food and a Way to Get Around
Since the 2008 Strategy was written the province of Ontario has released its Long-Term
Affordable Housing Strategy called “Building Foundations: Building Futures”. While it
provides municipalities more flexibility to cater to local needs it does not propose
building any new housing nor does it fund any new rent subsidies to help people afford
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Social Planning Council of Sudbury
existing apartments. In the 2008 Strategy the reality was that without new funding for
housing, municipalities would be hard pressed to effectively address the myriad of
challenges associated with housing and homelessness locally.
This is still the case and with the recent cuts to social assistance scheduled for January 1
2013 the impact will be compounded. Currently vacancy rates are at 3% and two
bedroom apartment rents have increased by 25% between 2005 and 2010 (Ontario
Association of Food Banks, 2011). Locally between 400 and 500 people are homeless at
any given time with Aboriginal populations and those with mental health and addictions
issues disproportionately affected. 1014 people accessed emergency shelters in 2010.
The number of youth emergency shelter clients increased from 140 in 2010 to 168 in
2011. Access to social housing remains an issue locally averaging 1,150 individuals on
the wait list however wait times have decreased by six months between 2008 and 2010
with 37% of clients on the social housing wait list housed in 2012 compared to 30% in
2008. Youth requiring adult trustees in order to be able to access income support
continues to be a barrier. Organizations serving youth could and would take on this role
if social assistance rules allowed for this giving youth safe and reliable supports in this
area.
Compounding issues related to affordable housing is once again stagnant social
assistance rates and the rising cost of food. In Sudbury in 2011 it cost $818/month to
feed a family of four, up from $740 in 2010 (SDHU, 2011). Food banks are seeing more
single clients with complex needs (i.e. those with mental health / addictions issues)
(SPCS, 2008). In 2010, approximately 14,000 individuals across the Sudbury region
accessed the services of the Sudbury Food Bank.
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Social Planning Council of Sudbury
At the June 2011 Action Planning to End Poverty” Next Steps planning session the Food
Security discussion was broader than the community’s emergency response to food
insecurity. It included the role of the education system and schools as places to
reconnect young people to food. Expanding the curriculum to include food growing and
food preparation as essential skills for everyone was as big a focus as was raising social
assistance rates in order to enable people to be able to afford to buy their own food.
Also of concern are the effects of climate change on communities. Extreme weather as
well as the limited local food supply (local supplies would last three days if distribution
routes were disrupted) were discussed. This group also asked the question, “How do we
as a community plan for the impact of climate change and rising fuel prices – particularly
for populations who have limited resources?” Next steps included establishing a buddy
system where people who had backyard growing space could share it with people
looking for garden space. Also a mapping exercise to identify places to grow, prepare,
preserve, store and distribute food, overlapped with where our most vulnerable
populations are concentrated, could facilitate a more effective and timely emergency
response.
Transportation is still a crucial issue for the residents of the City of Greater Sudbury
especially considering the cities huge geographic area. The ability for low income
residents to access services depends on the quality of public transportation among
other things. In terms of public transit usage CGS residents report lower rates compared
to their provincial counterparts (5% vs. 13%). The CGS’s Sustainable Mobility Advisory
Panel was struck to oversee the implementation of the Sustainable Mobility Advisory
Plan and active transportation options are expected to increase. At the June 2011
Action Planning to End Poverty: Next Steps session on transportation many issues were
raised and a number of ideas and solutions tabled.
One was to form a transit
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Social Planning Council of Sudbury
committee to look at costs, accessibility, peak hours, and routes in regards to the lowincome, disabled and senior population.
In November 2011 a group of citizens, decided to do just that and formed “Friends of
Sudbury Transit”. The group, identified issues ranging from the lack of maps and
schedules at bus stops and lack of information about policies and practices to
inconsistent and inconvenient hours of service and lack of safety at the transit centre.
The Friends of Sudbury Transit meet on an on-going basis and are in the process of
following up on a number of requests they made to the CGS Operations Committee in
May 2012 including the need to advertise the CGS Daycare Transfer which allows care
givers to drop off children at their respective daycare without having to pay to get back
on the bus. Currently, care givers who would benefit from this program typically are
only able to learn about it through word of mouth.
Recommendation # 6: That affordable and appropriate housing, a healthy, affordable
and sustainable food system and reliable and sustainable transportation take on greater
community priority in light of persistent homelessness, chronic cycles of hunger, rising
food and fuel costs and consumer frustration with public transit and lack of
infrastructure to support sustainable mobility.
Quality Child Care and Early Childhood Education (ECE)
At the June 2011 Action Planning to End Poverty Next Steps planning session the Child
Care / ECE discussion table’s conversation revealed that the issue of child care and early
child education has progressed considerably over the past ten years. The childcare
sector itself has become very integrated and organized. The Best Start Network (BSN),
established in 2008 has a mandate to plan, monitor and direct Best Start at the local
level, for the purpose of promoting healthy early childhood development environments
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Social Planning Council of Sudbury
on a diverse number of fronts. There are fourteen Best Start Hubs located in schools
offering free drop in programs for caregivers of children between the ages of zero and
six.
Both Francophone and Aboriginal hubs exist to ensure culturally appropriate
services are available and a standardized parenting education program, Triple P, has
been introduced across the CGS and the Sudbury and Manitoulin Districts.
The issue of children in care however is one that requires attention. Between 1999 and
2010 the number of children in the care of the Sudbury Manitoulin Children’s Aid
Society doubled from 286 to 482 and the number of crown wards went from 150 to 288.
In Ontario 1 out of 182 youth are in care and 21% of those youth are not enrolled in
school. 44% of youth in care are not expected to graduate from high school compared
to 19% of all youth. For these youth the risk of homelessness, poverty and involvement
with the criminal justice system is much higher than for youth not in care.
Recommendation # 7: That the community work together to close the supports and
services gap for children 6 and up particularly for those transitioning from state care to
independence.
Employment & Training
The discussion held by participants at the Employment and Training follow up session in
November 2011 reveals a growing understanding of the barriers to education,
employment and training that people who are living in poverty face. The high cost of
post-secondary education, the lack of supportive services for people who want to return
to school, the need for meaningful co-op and student placements, the challenges of
introducing innovative solutions within school boards and the disconnect between
employers, educational institutions and the labour market all contribute to limit
people’s opportunities and in many cases keeping people in poverty.
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Social Planning Council of Sudbury
In the 2008 Employment and Training Environmental Scan of Greater Sudbury and Sault
Ste. Marie it was determined that the “population being served by the employment and
training service sector … have significantly lower levels of education, higher rates of
illiteracy and learning disabilities, poorer health status and are less engaged in their
communities.
The majority are living well below the poverty line earning annual
incomes of $20,000 or less and lack access to healthy food and affordable and
appropriate housing, transportation and child care.
For adults engaged in securing better employment opportunities and/or higher skill
levels – the actual employment and training phase often represents only one
component of their journey along a much broader continuum. Supports and services like
transportation subsidies, basic life skills and literacy training are vital starting points
along the continuum for many individuals. As such there needs to be more emphasis and
resources placed on providing these supports and services and on ensuring they are an
integral part of the pathway leading to the labour market.
The SPCS has recently embarked upon a workforce development strategy in partnership
with the City of Sudbury Employment Support Services, the Greater Sudbury
Development Corporation and the Institute for Northern Ontario Research and
Development (INORD) to develop an integrated pathway between the employment
service system and the economic development sector. Those who are furthest removed
from the labour market and / or are under employed or earning less than a living wage
will be the focus of the strategy.
Recommendation # 8: That an innovative workforce strategy that includes those most
removed from the labour force and which carves out a clear pathway between the
employment and training sector and the labour market be developed.
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Social Planning Council of Sudbury
Mental Health & Addictions
The discussion held by participants at the November 2011 follow up session on Mental
Health and Addictions indicated once again that a lot of time is being spent on providing
things like food vouchers and bus tickets to clients and making a lot of referrals for basic
living supports like subsidized housing and childcare. Lack of funding in the sector was
cited as contributing to the lack of crucial services that if in place would save the system
a lot of time. The absence of free supportive counseling and mental health workers in
schools, long waiting lists for addiction treatment centres and the lack of mental health
crisis workers particularly in rural areas were cited as examples. The result is that people
end up in crisis and other parts of the system like the police, the emergency medical
services and the hospital become the default system of support.
There is a lot of stigma and misunderstanding attached to mental illness and addictions.
Services to these client groups must be carefully thought out and once again involve the
clients themselves. Locating services in malls for example, can create difficulties for
people with mental illness whose symptoms may be misinterpreted by security guards.
Furthermore, the practice of banning individuals from malls runs counter to the
intention of those service providers who are located in the mall specifically to better
serve this targeted population.
Recommendation # 9: That the mental health and addictions sector – along with allies
in health, education, criminal justice and the non-profit sector intensify their efforts in
demonstrating the cost effectiveness of adequate community based supports and
services through cross sectoral integration.
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Social Planning Council of Sudbury
CONCLUSION
The work to eradicate poverty in Greater Sudbury is an ongoing challenge. It requires
commitment, leadership, dedication and a willingness for all of us to be involved. There
are multiple roles and activities and it is our hope in updating the strategy that all of the
players will step up to the plate and take on the challenge. We will all be better off
when we are all “better off”. Eradicating poverty will improve our health outcomes,
improve our education outcomes, lower our crime rates, and improve our economy –
not to mention the benefit to individuals and families – our neighbours and friends –
who will have better lives when they don’t have to worry about where their next meal is
coming from or if they will continue to have a roof over their head.
It is our plan to continue to monitor our progress on poverty eradication and report to
the community on a regular basis.
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Social Planning Council of Sudbury
Appendix A: Map to Poverty Reduction
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Social Planning Council of Sudbury
REFERENCES
Campaign 2000 Ontario (2012), Poverty Reduction in an Age of Uncertainty & Change
2011 Report Card on Child and Family Poverty in Ontario
National Council of Welfare (2011), The Dollars and Sense of Solving Poverty Autumn
Vol. # 130
Ontario Association of Food Banks (2008), Costs of Poverty Report.
Social Planning Council of Sudbury (2008), Employment and Training Environmental
Scan of Greater Sudbury and Sault Ste. Marie.
Social Planning Network of Ontario (2011), Poverty Free Ontario
www.povertyfreeontario.ca
Stapleton, John; Murphy, Brian; Xing, Yue (2012), The “Working Poor” in the Toronto
Region: Who they are, where they live, and how trends are changing.
Sudbury District Health Unit (2011), Nutritious Food Basket
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