Carol Goar June 19, 2009 The four-month interlude between the announcement of Ontario’s poverty reduction plan and the release of the provincial budget was a tough time for Children’s Minister Deb Matthews. The economy was deteriorating. Her government colleagues were… Continue Reading
Laurie Monsebraaten Nov 24 2008 Ontario will have to spend at least $6 billion over the next five years to make a dent in the province’s “stubbornly high” child poverty rate of almost 12 per cent, advocates say. That’s comparable… Continue Reading
Carol Goar Nov 12 2008 One of the delegates brought along a sleeping bag. He stretched it out and fell asleep whenever the proceedings bored him. Another lost his train of thought at the microphone, apologized, and said he might… Continue Reading
Stacey Bowen, left, a Toronto single mother of two teenage daughters who is struggling financially, worries about paying for post-secondary education for daughter Desiree, 16, right, who wants to be a teacher. (Nov. 19, 2008) (VINCE TALOTTA /… Continue Reading
Dorran Grant and Maryan Osman, as board members of the Atkinson Housing Co-Op, are helping Toronto youth avoid a life of drugs and crime. (AARON LYNETT / TORONTO STAR) Laurie Monsebraaten July 12 2008 Connie Harrison and Stacey Bowen were… Continue Reading
Emily Mathieu Jun 24 2008 Opal Sparks remembers when careful planning and a well-thought-out food budget was all it took to make sure families got enough to eat. “I wasn’t brought up on steak and lobster by any means,”… Continue Reading
Jennifer Lewington May 15, 2006 Canada’s social safety net, now seen as a “sieve,” needs major changes to help low-income Canadians escape from poverty, concludes an unlikely coalition set to make wide-ranging recommendations today. An overhaul of the federal government’s… Continue Reading
Joanna Smith May 09, 2008 Ottawa–In a forum usually reserved for peering at poverty through the lens of bureaucratic terminology, Michael Creek showed up to talk about how being poor actually feels. “Poverty steals from your soul, leaving you with… Continue Reading
Jim Coyle June 14, 2007 If, as the saying goes, God made man because he so loves stories, the next few days in our town ought to win a good deal of heavenly favour for tales heartbreaking, conscience-stirring, rib-tickling, spirit-lifting… Continue Reading
Laurie Monsebraaten April 15, 2008 Cabinet minister Deb Matthews talks with anti-poverty activist Dip Habib, of the East Scarborough Storefront, at a forum at Queen’s Park, April 14, 2008. (TONY BOCK / TORONTO STAR) Ontario can’t say it will cut… Continue Reading