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The resources on the PovNet site are general information only, and should not be regarded as legal advice.
If you need specific help about your own legal situation, consult a qualified advocate in your own community.
Friday August 29th 2008
Ontario - NewsOntario food banks' plan to cut povertyAugust 25, 2008 - 9:48am
The Ontario Association of Food Banks (OAFB) has released a report, Our Choice for a Better Ontario: A Plan to Cut Poverty in Half by 2020 (in PDF). The report includes thirty concrete recommendations including:
For more information read two stories in The Star, "'Time to be bold' in poverty fight" and "Ontario food banks seek 'guerrilla war' on hunger." ( categories: News | Ontario | Foodbanks & Food | Poverty Research )
Disability activist wins apology from restaurantAugust 13, 2008 - 5:30pm
A disabled activist and member of the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty has received an apology from a Toronto restaurant who discriminated against him. The manager at the Everest restaurant had told Aaron Shelbourne's assistant that they were not welcome back after they had finished a meal because wheelchairs could damage the newly renovated restaurant. Read a more, watch a video, and see some pictures of Aaron's campaign on the OCAP website. ( categories: News | Ontario | Disability | Organizing )
Human rights and housing in OntarioJuly 13, 2008 - 10:11pm
The Ontario Human Rights Commission has released a report, Right at home: Report on the consultation on human rights and rental housing in Ontario (in PDF) that focuses on housing as a human right, and sets out a framework for collective action to identify, remove and prevent discrimination in rental housing. You can read more about the report on the Wellesley Institute blog, "Powerful historic report links housing rights to housing action" and read a number of backgrounders on the Ontario Human Rights Commission site. ( categories: News | Ontario | Housing | Human Rights )
Invisible homeless men: FTMs in Toronto sheltersJuly 13, 2008 - 10:00pm
The Wellesley Institute has sponsored an innovative research report by the FTM Safer Shelter Project Research Team about the unique needs of homeless trans men (female to male (FTM)/ Transgender/Transsexual) in the Toronto shelter system. It was a collaborative, community-based research project led by and for our trans communities, with the aim to radically improve access to shelters and housing for trans men (female-to-male) in and around Toronto. Download the Full Report - Invisible Men: FTMs and Homelessness in Toronto. ( categories: News | Ontario | Homelessness | LGBTQ )
Submit to the Ontario poverty reduction strategyJuly 13, 2008 - 9:32pm
You or your organization can make submissions to the Ontario Government's poverty reduction strategy on the Growing Stronger Together website. See an earlier PovNet story for more information about poverty reduction strategy. ( categories: News | Ontario | Economic Policy )
Colour of Poverty framework for actionJuly 6, 2008 - 8:34pm
Colour of Poverty Campaign is trying to ensure the Ontario government's poverty reduction strategy begins to address the reality that people of colour are disproportionately living in poverty in comparison to other groups and face specific barriers because of issues like discrimination and racism. Read about their demands below and the attached Shared Framework for Action: Dear Colour of Poverty Network Members and Supporters May 2008 As you know, the Provincial Cabinet Committee on Poverty Reduction has begun its consultation process. The approach adopted by the Committee would appear to be to avoid addressing the particularly harsh experiences of historically and dispropor-tionately disadvantaged groups & communities - racialized persons, aboriginal peoples, persons with disabilities, newcomers or lone-parent families - and to conduct closed door invitation only sessions - which will exclude most members of the concerned public. It is important for members of racialized communities as well as other marginalized groups to find a way to be most meaningfully engaged in this critical discussion - and to try to make sure that the realities and issues impacting our communities are on the table. In order to help mobilize and support members of our communities to best participate in this process, *Colour of Poverty* has created a *Shared Framework for Action.* The *Shared Framework for Action* is a short priority list of the policies and measures as put forward by members of the various racialized groups and individuals who were able to take part in our over 30 local workshops and neighbourhood conversations - held in communities across the province over the past 6 months - which culminated in the *Colour of Poverty Provincial Forum* held on April 28-29, 2008. This *Shared Framework for Action* focuses on the specific measures that participants felt would best address & redress the realities & the particular challenges characteristic of racialized poverty in Ontario. We are calling upon all community groups and individuals concerned about these issues to engage in one or more of the following *ACTIONS* -
HURRY! The Cabinet consultation process ends soon. We need to act now & act together !! *For more about the Cabinet consultations - www.Ontario.ca/GrowingStronger
( categories: News | Ontario | Organizing | People of Colour )
Monitoring Ontario's poverty reduction strategyJune 28, 2008 - 8:49pm
Various community groups are keeping a close eye on the ongoing consultation of the Ontario Cabinet Committee on Poverty Reduction. For a variety of informed viewpoints on Ontario's poverty reduction strategy and consultation, read the following:
( categories: News | Ontario | Economic Policy | People of Colour | Poverty Research )
Toronto supports instead of criminalizing panhandlersMay 22, 2008 - 12:42pm
According to the Wellesley Institute blog, the Toronto City Council's Executive Committee has adopted a panhandling strategy that ensures panhandlers have access to housing, supports and income. This buckles the trend of legislation that has tried to criminalize panhandling including Ontario's Safe Streets Act and BC's Safe Street Act. In 2007, the city conducted a Panhandling Pilot Project (in PDF) to provide social services to people panhandling and to educate the public about urban poverty. The pilot project found that generally panhandling was unobtrusive, that many panhandlers experienced social isolation and loathed the fact that they had to panhandle. The project also found that an intensive social service response was more successful then criminalization. You can read a personal story about the Panhandling Pilot Project on the Toronto City website - "A story to tell : Retirement from Adelaide and York". ( categories: News | British Columbia | Ontario | Panhandling )
Anti-poverty activist tells senators what poverty is really likeMay 22, 2008 - 12:17pm
Read an article in the Toronto Star, "Poverty 'steals from your soul'" about a board member of the National Anti-Poverty Organization (NAPO) travelling to Ottawa to describe to the senators what it is like to live in poverty in Toronto's Regent Park neighbourhood. ( categories: News | Ontario | Organizing )
More funding for Ontario Rent BankMay 21, 2008 - 11:53am
Thanks to lobbying by anti-poverty advocates and activists, the Ontario government has invested $5 million dollars into rent banks to help renters who are facing eviction stay in their homes ("Families in need get help with rent"). A Rent Bank gives a short term loan or grant to eligible renters who are facing eviction. The Ontario Rent Bank Network has more information about the program. ( categories: News | Ontario | Housing | Tenants' Rights )
Predatory Payday LoansMay 14, 2008 - 1:10pm
A payday loan is a short-term high-interest loan, typically marketed as easy cash to cover costs until the borrower’s next payday. Payday lenders have popped up all over Canada in the last decade. They often charge exorbitant interest rates for small loans and typically target poor neighbourhoods and working poor people.
( categories: News | Ontario | Canada | Consumer/Debt )
Deaths by HomelessnessApril 21, 2008 - 12:41pm
In Toronto, three army reservists accused of killing a homeless man were allowed to plea guilty to reduced charges. The soldiers were originally charged with second degree murder in the beating death of a man in a Toronto park. One solider was apparently overheard saying that he hated homeless people. Read more in a CBC article, "Reservists plead guilty in fatal beating of man" and in the Toronto Star article, "Guilty pleas in homeless man's death". While in Vancouver, according to the Tyee, at least 56 homeless people have died in the last two years. This is at least 19% higher than the general population. Read more, "BC's Homeless Death Toll: 56 or More in Two Years." ( categories: News | British Columbia | Ontario | Homelessness | Poorbashing )
Fourth Report Card on Ending Homelessness in OttawaApril 3, 2008 - 1:46pm
The Alliance to End Homelessness in Ottawa has released its Fourth Report Card on Ending Homelessness. The Alliance found in 2007: more children in families were in shelters, on average there were longer shelter stays, average rents in Ottawa increased, the Action Ottawa program built 73 low income housing units, there was a decrease of households on wait lists for supportive housing, and 9567 households at risk of losing their housing were helped. Download the Fourth Report Card on Ending Homelessness - Highlights English, in Français (in PDF), the Full Report Card in English or Français (in PDF). ( categories: News | Ontario | Bilingual | Homelessness )
2008 Ontario Budget ResourcesMarch 26, 2008 - 10:50am
( categories: News | Ontario | Economic Policy )
Ontario Poverty Reduction Strategy ResourcesMarch 19, 2008 - 1:48pm
Ontario's provincial government has announced a new poverty reduction strategy including a dental plan for low income residents, enhancement to the Student Nutrition Program and $100 million to repair affordable housing units. Follow the links for more information:
( categories: News | Ontario | Economic Policy )
Toronto's Three CitiesJanuary 2, 2008 - 9:22pm
The City of Toronto is becoming increasingly divided by income, ethno-cultural characteristics, and socio-economic status, says a new report, The Three Cities within Toronto (in PDF), issued by the Centre for Urban and Community Studies (CUCS) at the University of Toronto. No longer a “city of neighbourhoods,” the study calls modern-day Toronto a “city of disparities.” In fact, Toronto is now so polarized it could be described as three geographically distinct cities made up of 20 percent affluent neighbourhoods, 36 percent poor neighbourhoods, and 43 percent middle-income earner neighbourhoods and that 43 percent is in decline. ( categories: News | Ontario | People of Colour | Poverty Research )
Housing not warNovember 29, 2007 - 2:13pm
The Toronto Disaster Relief Committee (TDRC) and the Canadian Peace Alliance (CPA) have launched a Housing Not War campaign to demand that funding the federal government has directed towards war and militarism go instead towards housing and a "1% solution." TDRC says that if an additional 1% of the federal budget was allocated towards social housing, it would bring spending up to $4 billion per year. You can sign the Housing not War Declaration online. ( categories: News | Ontario | Canada | Economic Policy | Housing )
Toronto's hot housing planNovember 14, 2007 - 11:52am
The City of Toronto released a draft 10-year housing strategy called Housing Opportunities Toronto (HOT) on which outlines a plan is to create 209,000 new and renovated affordable homes over the next decade. The Wellesley Institute has a in-depth "Backgrounder on Toronto's 10 Year Housing Strategy" (in PDF). Read the original draft plan and press release on the City of Toronto's Housing Opportunities Toronto (HOT) site. ( categories: News | Ontario | Homelessness | Housing )
Homeless Families in New York IncreasingJuly 27, 2007 - 1:59pm
In 2004, Mayor Bloomberg declared that he would reduce homelessness in New York City by two-thirds, but according to an article in the New York Times, "Homelessness: Tackled, Not Beaten, by a Mayor With Formidable Goals," that despite some new initiatives and a reduction of people using shelters, the number of homeless families has reached an all time high. This should be alarming to Canadians because cities in Canada are looking to the New York example to solve our own problems with homelessness. In Vancouver, the police are advocating the New York solution to solving Vancouver's "street disorder problem." Politicians in Toronto have also looked to New York, read more on the Wellesly Institute Blog and to see how New York homeless activists are fighting homelessness in their city see: Coalition for the Homeless and Picture the Homeless. ( categories: News | British Columbia | Ontario | United States | Homelessness )
Poverty Reduction Strategy for OntarioJuly 16, 2007 - 1:18pm
The Ontario Campaign 2000, a campaign to reduce child poverty has released a report called: A Poverty Reduction Strategy for Ontario (in PDF) that calls on all Ontario political parties to committ to poverty reduction. Canadian Social Research Links has a couple of links to articles on the strategy for Ontario. ( categories: News | Ontario | Children/Youth )
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