It's Time! ...
                ONTARIO NEEDS A RAISE
      Make poverty an election issue in your community:
      September 10th province wide event

Make Poverty an election issue in your community:
Sept 10 province wide event

With nearly 2 million people in Ontario living below the poverty line, politicians in this province need to take poverty seriously. They need to commit to raising the minimum wage and social assistance rates.

On Sept 10, in communities across Ontario, activists will be making it clear to political candidates that raising the minimum wage and social assistance rates must be a priority.

Additionally, we will be releasing a statement, endorsed by more than 50 economists, calling for a raise to the minimum wage and other income support programmes including social assistance.

If you would like to organize in your community or find out what's going on in your community, contact the Ontario Coalition for Social Justice at ocsj@ocsj.ca or at Tel: 416-441-3714.

The participating communities to date are: London, Windsor, Peterborough, Cobourg, Kenora, Red Lake, North Bay, Kingston, Kitchener, Sault Ste. Marie, Owen Sound, Hamilton, Burlington, Mississauga, Parkdale-Toronto, Davenport/Perth-Toronto and Jane/Finch-Toronto.

On June 5th, the Ontario Needs A Raise Coalition organized an Ontario-wide day of flyering, calling for increases to the minimum wage and social assistance rates and for indexing of both to keep pace with inflation.

The Harris-Eves government froze the minimum wage at $6.85 an hour in 1995. It’s even lower for students ($6.40) and liquor servers ($5.95).

Six Canadian provinces have raised their minimum wage since 2001. Inflation has dealt minimum wage earners a 20 per cent pay cut. If you work 35 hours a week in a big city you are almost $6,000 below the poverty line.

Low-wage work is a big reason why poverty is high in Ontario. More than 1 million workers, many of them young, earn poverty-level wages (under $10 an hour). The majority of minimum wage workers are adult women and workers of colour.

Overwhelmingly, transitions in the workforce are forcing more people onto the minimum wage.

In 1995, the Conservatives slashed social assistance (Ontario Works) by almost 22 per cent. Disability benefits (Ontario Disability Support Program) were frozen in 1993.

A single person receives, at most, $520 a month from social assistance or $930 from disability. Two adults and 2 children get only $1,770, if one adult has a disability.

Many families spend most of this on rent. Single-parent families on social assistance are $10,000 below the poverty line. This is driving people into abject poverty.

People seek assistance for many reasons, but many are aged 20 to 35 and single parent families, most led by women.

When they find work, it is too often low wage, part-time, temporary or casual. These low-wage earners increasingly need social assistance from time-to-time.

The Ontario government that slashed social assistance, disability and minimum wage rates was able to raise MPPs’ pay by more than 35 per cent.

This provincial election, demand a government that will ensure a decent standard of living for all Ontarians.

• Raise the minimum wage to $10 an hour.
• Raise the housing portion of social assistance and disability benefits to cover the real cost of shelter.
• Protect incomes from rising costs. Tie the minimum wage, social assistance & disability benefit rates to inflation.
  
  
  

• Inflation has soared 20 per cent.
• Water, fuel and electricity costs are 30 per cent higher.
• Food prices have risen 14 per cent.
• Ontario rents rose from $665 to $836 a month for one bedroom, a 26 per cent increase.
• When social assistance, disability benefits and minimum wages are too low, we are all insecure.

• Vote for a candidate who supports our demands.
• Go to all-candidates meetings.
• Ask where the parties stand.
• Talk to family, friends, neighbours and co-workers about why Ontario Needs a Raise.
• Help Leaflet on June 5th to raise awareness about growing poverty.
• Join us in the movement to get Ontario a Raise & End the Poverty Trap
  
  

Above Text from brochure produced by the Ontario Needs a Raise Coalition

Web Design courtesy of Barbara Anello

... to Increase to Social Assistance Rates

Contact the Hon. Brenda Elliott, Minister of Community, Family and Children's Services, PC, Guelph--Wellington, and communicate your support for an increase in social assistance rates!

Queen's Park Address
Hepburn Block, 6th Floor, 80 Grosvenor Street, Toronto, ON M7A 1E9
Telephone: (416) 325-5225
Fax: (416) 325-5221

Constituency Office Address
173 Woolwich Street
Guelph ON N1H 3V4
Telephone: (519) 836-4190
Fax: (519) 836-4191

EMAIL: brenda_elliott@ontla.ola.org
If sending email, please be sure (if you want a response from the Minister) to provide your snail mail address as she apparently sticks to a policy NOT to respond electronically because of privacy concerns.

... to Increase the Minimum Wage

Contact the Hon. Brad Clark, Minister of Labour, PC, Stoney Creek, and communicate your support for an increase in the Minimum Wage!

Queen's Park Address
400 University Avenue, 14th Floor, M7A 1T7
Telephone: (416) 326-7600
Fax: (416) 326-1449

Constituency Office Address
44 King Street E., Unit 10
Stoney Creek, Ont. L8G 1K1
Telephone: (905) 664-4200
Fax: (905) 662-2313
Toll free: 1-800-411-6611

EMAIL: brad_clark@ontla.ola.org

For further information, contact Sarah Blackstock, provincial coordinator or the Ontario Coalition for Social Justice (OCSJ) at Tel: 416-441-3714 or email: ocsj@ocsj.ca

or

Barbara Anello, acting chair of DAWN Ontario at tel: 705-494-9078 or email: dawn@thot.net

Return to DAWN Ontario website

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Page last updated Sept. 5, 2003