A promised two percent raise in welfare rates in Ontario will kick in for December cheques but according to an article in The Star this will boost payments to a level recommended in 1988. The two percent increase gives single people only $5 more to spend on basic necessities.

A new report from Toronto Public Health links health and income, and shows that people with low income experience greater risk of illness, higher rates of disease and death at an earlier age than people with higher income. The report shows the relationship between income and health in Toronto is not just about the extremes of wealth and poverty. Most of the indicators show a gradient of health relative to income such that health status improves through each income increment.

The 25 in 5 Network for Poverty Reduction, a coalition of over 100 organizations across Ontario is urging the premier of Ontario to follow through on his promise of reducing poverty in the province. The network has put forth a plan that focuses on ensuring sustaining employment, so that people who work don’t live in poverty; reforming social assistance, so that people who can’t work get the support they need; and providing for strong community supports, to give opportunity and inclusion to all.