Hampton supports call for economic fairness
for Ontario families
Queen’s Park - NDP Leader Howard Hampton today signaled his support for Campaign 2000’s call for a poverty reduction strategy and is calling on Dalton McGuinty to make it a priority.
“While ordinary Ontario families are struggling to get by, Dalton McGuinty’s priority is to give himself a $40,000 pay raise instead of helping Ontario families who work hard and play by the rules but are falling through the cracks,” said Hampton.
The Campaign 2000 report says low income families are living in deeper poverty now than during the early 1990s. The poverty rate for children and families remains as high as it was 20 years ago - above 17 per cent. Each month 132,000 children in our province rely on food banks.
Hampton said economic fairness measures are smart investments. Evidence from around the world shows they mean increasing health, wealth and prosperity for everyone, not just the poor.
Economic fairness strategies in the United Kingdom and Ireland have already seen tremendous results. With a targeted strategy, Ireland has brought its poverty rate down from 15 per cent in 1994 to below five per cent today, and has set the goal of bringing it to zero. In Canada, Quebec and Newfoundland and Labrador are leading the way in closing the prosperity gap between the people at the top and the rest of us through the kind of practical plan Campaign 2000 proposed today.
The NDP has offered a number of proposals to increase economic fairness for Ontario’s children and families, including:
· Raising the minimum wage to $10 an hour - Dalton McGuinty gave himself a $40,000 raise for himself but is making families wait three years for a $10 minimum wage - if you believe his promises.
· An immediate end to the clawback of the National Child Benefit Supplement, a promise Dalton McGuinty made in 2003 but didn’t keep.
· “Ontario Smiles,” the NDP’s practical plan for free dental care for children and low-income Ontarians.
· More affordable non-profit child care - The McGuinty Liberals failed to follow through on $300 million in provincial funding they promised to create new affordable child care spaces.
“Working families deserve fairness today. That means real action on family priorities like a living wage, affordable housing, and affordable quality education. It’s only fair,” said Hampton.
