In the past week, the Ontario government introduced anti-poverty legislation aimed at reducing child poverty by 25 per cent in five years. The bill won't make it a law for Ontario to reduce poverty by 25 per cent within five years or include any penalties for missing the target.

On February 13th, 2009, after holding consultations in thirty different communities across Ontario, the 25 in 5 Poverty Reduction Network released A Blueprint for Economic Stimulus and Poverty Reduction in Ontario. The blueprint lays out a plan that could reduce the number of poor Ontarians by 15 per cent and reduce the number of poor children by 19 per cent within the next three years. The plan suggests immediately implementing a healthy food supplement and housing benefit for people on welfare, and increasing child care spaces and affordable housing.