"The rest of us don't like being in poverty either"

Deb Matthews – Ontario Minister of Children and Youth Services and Chair of the Cabinet Committee on Poverty Reduction – was in town this week for a community conversation on the Ontario Poverty Reduction Strategy. The meeting was hosted by local MPP Yasir Naqvi at the McNab Community Centre.

Admittedly, I had contemplated taking a pass on the event, in an effort to remain squarely focused on what needs to be done at the federal level.

But I went and I am so glad that I did.

There were some people there, like me, from national organizations, interested in listening and learning in order to better inform policy positions. There were others representing community service organizations in the areas of housing, mental health, people of colour, among others. And, there were regular people from the community, some concerned citizens, but most battling their own personal battle against poverty.

It was useful to hear what Deb Matthews had to say, not because there was really anything new in what she was saying, but because I was able to situate the Ontario PRS highlights she was presenting in the context of the recent federal budget. A provincial recognition that more needs to be done, that the focus on child poverty is just the first step, juxtaposed against the federal failure to even acknowledge that there is a problem. I know that there were many there in the room that were not at all impressed by Minister Matthews or her strategy. I also know that the Ontario strategy isn’t perfect. Yet, it represents an effort to address a critical issue and it is part of a bigger process: other provincial strategies, other provincial consultations, more and more municipal strategies, and, an ongoing push for federal action.

That said, it was far more interesting to hear from members of the local community. They wanted to know “what is being done to assist poor people as they become seniors?” “will the rates of the Ontario Disability Support Program be increased so that my daughter and I have more than $13,000 a year to live on?” “is there a timeline for moving beyond child poverty?” “is the racialization of poverty being acknowledged and addressed?” “are there supports and protection for at-risk youth ages 16-21?” “what about the structural barriers being put up by professional trade associations that limit the employability of immigrants?” and, “what is being done right now so that families are not in a position of having to send their children to school with crackers for lunch?”

The personal stories that accompanied these questions were incredibly distressing. The struggles, the frustration, the anger, the reality.

Everyone there knew that there is an expressed government focus on addressing child poverty in Ontario, but as one participant so clearly stated, “the rest of us kind of don’t like being in poverty either.”

So, yes, Minister Matthews, the Ontario PRS is a positive step, but we have a long, long way to go.