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<\/a>Nick Kozak \/ for the Toronto Star
Dawn Marie Harriott and her son Calvin Johnson, 16, at their home in Richmond Hill, Ont. The family has moved from poverty into the middle class since the last Census in 2006.
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Laurie Monsebraaten<\/span><\/h4>\n Sep 11 2013<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\nDawnmarie Harriott was on welfare and living in a downtown Toronto rooming house during Statistics Canada\u2019s 2006 Census.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\nToday, the 42-year-year single mother of two is earning $45,000 a year and living in a spacious apartment on the lower level of a house in Richmond Hill.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\nStories like Harriott\u2019s may be one reason Ontario\u2019s 13.9 per cent low-income rate was the second lowest in the country in 2010, as reported in Statistics Canada\u2019s 2011 National Household Survey, released Wednesday.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\u201cI\u2019m the poster child for Ontario\u2019s efforts to reduce poverty,\u201d said Harriott, who lost everything when she fled an abusive spouse in 2005.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\nAbout 4.8 million Canadians, or almost 15 per cent, were living in low-income households in 2010, according to the survey, which replaced the long-form census.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\nOil-rich Alberta had the lowest rate at 10.7 per cent, said the survey.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\nStatistics Canada considerers individuals to be living in low income when their income falls below 50 per cent of the median household income, after taxes. The so-called Low Income Measure (LIM) in 2010 for a single person was $19,460, after taxes. For a couple with two children, it was $38,920.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\nDue to the voluntary nature of the survey, Statistics Canada says the survey findings cannot be compared to low-income data from other years.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\nHowever, this \u201csnapshot in time\u201d suggests Ontario weathered the 2008 recession better than most provinces, said economist Armine Yalnizyan.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\nWhen the global economic crisis hit, Ontario was in the process of raising its hourly minimum wage to $10.25, noted Yalnyzian, who works for the left-leaning Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. The province also introduced a child benefit of up to $1,100 a year per child.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\nNew federal initiatives introduced since 2006, such as the $100 monthly child-care benefit and the Working Income Tax Benefit, worth up to $925 a year for low-income workers, also seem to have kept many Ontario households afloat, she said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\n\u201cThe story is public policy has made the difference,\u201d she said. \u201cHowever, public policy can only do so much if the labour market isn\u2019t creating good jobs with decent incomes.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\nThe nature of Ontario\u2019s job losses was also a factor. Even though Ottawa gutted Employment Insurance, most Ontario workers whose jobs evaporated were long-term employees in the manufacturing sector who still qualified for EI, Yalnizyan said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\n\u201cThe provinces are doing most of the heavy lifting in the fight against poverty,\u201d she said. \u201cThe feds are conspicuously absent.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\nOntario, which is drafting its second five-year poverty reduction strategy this fall, can\u2019t afford to rest on its laurels, said social policy expert John Stapleton.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\nThe province\u2019s minimum wage has been frozen for three years, increases to the child benefit have been delayed and research shows precarious, low-wage work is on the rise, he said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\nHarriott hopes Ontario continues to make fighting poverty a priority.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\u201cAnybody can fall into poverty at any time,\u201d she said. \u201cBut with social support to navigate the many barriers people face, I\u2019m proof it is possible to escape.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\nHarriott credits Working for Change, a small Parkdale non-profit agency that helps people with histories of homelessness and mental illness advocate for themselves. Harriott is now the program co-ordinator.<\/strong><\/p>\nCredit: Toronto Star<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
National Household Survey 2011: Ontario making progress fighting poverty Ontario rates of low-income suggest provincial efforts to reduce poverty are paying off. Laurie Monsebraaten Sep 11 2013 Dawnmarie Harriott was on welfare and living in a downtown Toronto rooming house… Continue Reading
Dawnmarie Harriott was on welfare and living in a downtown Toronto rooming house during Statistics Canada\u2019s 2006 Census.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Today, the 42-year-year single mother of two is earning $45,000 a year and living in a spacious apartment on the lower level of a house in Richmond Hill.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Stories like Harriott\u2019s may be one reason Ontario\u2019s 13.9 per cent low-income rate was the second lowest in the country in 2010, as reported in Statistics Canada\u2019s 2011 National Household Survey, released Wednesday.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cI\u2019m the poster child for Ontario\u2019s efforts to reduce poverty,\u201d said Harriott, who lost everything when she fled an abusive spouse in 2005.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n About 4.8 million Canadians, or almost 15 per cent, were living in low-income households in 2010, according to the survey, which replaced the long-form census.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Oil-rich Alberta had the lowest rate at 10.7 per cent, said the survey.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Statistics Canada considerers individuals to be living in low income when their income falls below 50 per cent of the median household income, after taxes. The so-called Low Income Measure (LIM) in 2010 for a single person was $19,460, after taxes. For a couple with two children, it was $38,920.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Due to the voluntary nature of the survey, Statistics Canada says the survey findings cannot be compared to low-income data from other years.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n However, this \u201csnapshot in time\u201d suggests Ontario weathered the 2008 recession better than most provinces, said economist Armine Yalnizyan.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n When the global economic crisis hit, Ontario was in the process of raising its hourly minimum wage to $10.25, noted Yalnyzian, who works for the left-leaning Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. The province also introduced a child benefit of up to $1,100 a year per child.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n New federal initiatives introduced since 2006, such as the $100 monthly child-care benefit and the Working Income Tax Benefit, worth up to $925 a year for low-income workers, also seem to have kept many Ontario households afloat, she said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cThe story is public policy has made the difference,\u201d she said. \u201cHowever, public policy can only do so much if the labour market isn\u2019t creating good jobs with decent incomes.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The nature of Ontario\u2019s job losses was also a factor. Even though Ottawa gutted Employment Insurance, most Ontario workers whose jobs evaporated were long-term employees in the manufacturing sector who still qualified for EI, Yalnizyan said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cThe provinces are doing most of the heavy lifting in the fight against poverty,\u201d she said. \u201cThe feds are conspicuously absent.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Ontario, which is drafting its second five-year poverty reduction strategy this fall, can\u2019t afford to rest on its laurels, said social policy expert John Stapleton.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The province\u2019s minimum wage has been frozen for three years, increases to the child benefit have been delayed and research shows precarious, low-wage work is on the rise, he said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Harriott hopes Ontario continues to make fighting poverty a priority.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cAnybody can fall into poverty at any time,\u201d she said. \u201cBut with social support to navigate the many barriers people face, I\u2019m proof it is possible to escape.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Harriott credits Working for Change, a small Parkdale non-profit agency that helps people with histories of homelessness and mental illness advocate for themselves. Harriott is now the program co-ordinator.<\/strong><\/p>\n Credit: Toronto Star<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" National Household Survey 2011: Ontario making progress fighting poverty Ontario rates of low-income suggest provincial efforts to reduce poverty are paying off. Laurie Monsebraaten Sep 11 2013 Dawnmarie Harriott was on welfare and living in a downtown Toronto rooming house… Continue Reading