For the full text of the session see http://www.ontla.on.ca

POVERTY

Mr. Howard Hampton (Kenora-Rainy River): My question is for the Premier. In May, the United Nations released a report on poverty in Ontario and Canada. The report says that too many aboriginal people, too many African Canadians, too many immigrants, too many youth, too many women, too many single moms with kids and too many of our disabled are living in poverty. But instead of addressing poverty in Ontario, the McGuinty government is spending millions of dollars of public money on self-serving ads to promote itself.

1440h (2:40 p.m. EST)

Premier, today is the United Nations' International Day for the Eradication of Poverty. Why is the McGuinty government wasting millions of dollars on TV ads promoting itself and telling the people everything is okay in Ontario when one in seven Ontarians live in poverty?

Hon. Dalton McGuinty (Premier, Minister of Research and Innovation): There's an important, substantive issue here, but first of all let me say -- as the leader of the NDP knows, even though he voted against the legislation -- that there's a new law on the books in Ontario that says all the advertising has to be vetted by the Provincial Auditor. He voted against that, but we thought it was a good law and we will continue to respect that law.

Let me say something about the issue of poverty. Without a doubt, there is more work to be done in that regard and, we will not rest until we've done as much as we possibly can to help provide better supports to people who are affected by poverty in Ontario.

An important question is whether we're making progress, and I think by any objective measure we are. We are building 15,000 new affordable housing units. We have an agreement with the federal government and our municipal partners: 15,000 new affordable housing units, and we're going to provide 5,000 rent supplements. We provided a 5% increase for our homelessness programs and emergency shelters. We have free vaccinations for children: Over one million children have received vaccinations. That saves families up to $600 per child.

Those may not be the kinds of things that the leader of the NDP thinks constitute progress, but we think we're moving in the right direction.

Mr. Hampton: I think what we just heard is that you think it's a good idea to spend millions of dollars of public money promoting your government while people live in poverty.

You talk about objective measures. Under the McGuinty government, one in four workers in this province still falls below the poverty line. They work every day, but at the end of the month they still fall below the poverty line, under your government. Low-wage work, temporary work and on-call work is increasingly the economic reality for new immigrants, for women, for workers of colour and even for young graduates trying to pay off their student debts. These jobs mean people fall below the poverty line, Premier.

My question again: Instead of spending millions of dollars of public money promoting yourself, why don't you invest some of that money to try to make life better for the thousands of families living below the poverty line?

Hon. Mr. McGuinty: Something else the leader of the NDP is uncomfortable acknowledging is that we've increased the minimum wage three times now on our way to $8 per hour. Also, 84,000 more children are being served through our student nutrition programs. We're the first province in Canada to fund insulin pumps for children. We have doubled our child care investment. We are waiving cost-sharing on new child care funding, which saved municipalities $140 million ove r four years. By the end of this year, we will have created 15,000 new child care spaces.

All of those speak to our continuing commitment as a government to help Ontarians who are less fortunate and who are in need of a bit of assistance, and we are proud to provide it.

Mr. Hampton: The Premier talks about child care spaces. You haven't invested one cent of provincial money in child care. That's all federal money that's created child care spaces.

Premier, it takes a split second to fall into poverty. You lose a good manufacturing job, you get sick or you're injured or you lose your home because you can't pay the escalating property taxes. You have to quit work because there aren't enough child care spaces.

Premier, under your government -- the McGuinty government -- 118,000 good-paying manufacturing jobs have been lost, and many of those families are now struggling in poverty. The Royal Bank says Ontario's economy is dead last in Canada.

I say again, Premier: With the situation this serious, why are you spending millions of dollars of public money on television ads to promote your government while so many people live in poverty and many more are falling into poverty?

Hon. Mr. McGuinty: Again, as the leader of the NDP knows, even though it's a law that he voted against, all government advertising now, for the first time in Ontario -- and I believe the first time in Canada -- is subject to approval by the Provincial Auditor.

Let me tell you about some of the other things we've done to help our most vulnerable: We're investing $276 million in new places to live and for supports and services for Ontarians with a developmental disability. We've put in place a $100 monthly work-related benefit for ODSP recipients, to help with extra costs relating to work -- in particular, transportation. We're investing $28.2 million to help universities and colleges provide services for students with disabilities. In post-secondary education, as the leader of the NDP well knows, we've brought back provincial grants. Some 60,000 students from our poorest families in Ontario, this September, are receiving outright grants; they don't have to pay us back. Again, I think there is more to do, but I also think it's fair to say we're making some real progress.

The Speaker (Hon. Michael A. Brown): New question.

Mr. Hampton: To the Premier: You want to talk about your record. You promised compassion for low-income Ontarians, but the reality is, when you factor in the cost of living, the lowest-income Ontarians are actually worse off under your government than they were under the former government: Hydro rates have escalated by 55%; rents for lowest-income people haven't come down; the cost of heating has gone up.

Premier, you went on the attack when a former Conservative minister suggested that poor people should buy tuna in dented cans, but then your government cut sick people off their special diet supplement, and you told someone with Lou Gehrig's disease to buy a blender.

Premier, the question again is this: What happened to your promise to help low-income and vulnerable Ontarians? Are they less important than the millions of dollars of public money you spend on TV ads to promote yourself?

Hon. Mr. McGuinty: To the Minister of Community and Social Services.

Hon. Madeleine Meilleur (Minister of Community and Social Services, minister responsible for francophone affairs): When parents succeed, children succeed. Since taking office, our government has created 254,000 new jobs. In 2003, we inherited not only a fiscal deficit but a compassionate deficit. We are making good investments to help our most vulnerable families. We are investing, this year, $10.3 billion for family and social services. We have increased the minimum wage two times, and we are in the process of increasing it for a third time. We are investing $40 million to improve the Family Responsibility Office, and we have invested $68 million for the domestic violence action plan.

Mr. Hampton: It's no surprise that the Premier doesn't want to answer these questions, but this is another one of the Premier's promises: Three years ago, Premier, you made a promise to 171,000 of the poorest children in Ontario. You promised to stop clawing back the national child benefit supplement. You said, "The clawback is wrong, and we will end it." Then, you forgot all about it. As a result, over 178,000 of the poorest kids in Ontario go without breakfast. They go, in some cases, without proper winter clothing. They go, in some cases, without a place to live. Today is the day for you to stand up and do something meaningful for the poorest people in Ontario.

I ask you, Premier: Will you end your waste of public money on those self-serving television ads and put the money into ending the national child benefit clawback?

Hon. Mrs. Meilleur: Again, I'm going to reiterate what we have done for our children: Since we took office, we have increased social assistance by 5%. That party voted against it, I want to remind everybody. What we have also done is made certain that all increases to the national child care benefit stay in the hands of the people who need it the most.

1450h (2:50 p.m. EST)

When we took office, we ended the clawback of national child benefit supplements going forward. This means that families with children in receipt of social assistance will have received an additional $56 million in supplements from the federal child benefit supplement. And the McGuinty Liberals have already created 14,000 new affordable child care spots. Is there more to do? Yes, there is more to do. We are making progress, and we will continue to do more --

The Speaker: Thank you. Final supplementary.

Mr. Hampton: Premier, here is your record: You promised 20,000 units of new affordable housing; in fact, your government has provided less than 10% of that. You promised $300 million of provincial money for child care, but you failed to deliver on that too. You promised to stop taking federal money away from the poorest kids in Ontario, and you failed in that. And today, one in four Ontario workers continues to fall below the poverty line.

Premier, I ask you again, when is the McGuinty government going to stop wasting millions of dollars of public money on your self-serving television ads promoting your government? When are you going to put some money towards ending the national child benefit supplement clawback, so the poorest kids in Ontario can get back the money that belongs to them?

Hon. Mrs. Meilleur: Again, I want to say to the leader of the third party that when we took office, we ended the clawback of the national child care benefit supplement going forward. We are investing more and more every year for the children. We have invested in the school breakfast program; we have invested in the energy bank, so if a family cannot afford the increase in the electricity rate, we are there to help. I want to remind the leader of the third party that when they were in power, one in five children in Ontario was on social assistance, so this is not a record that they want to talk about. It's not a record that we want to leave the province with, so we will continue to work with investments in child care, investments in education, investments --

The Speaker: Thank you.

-----

1510h

DISABILITY BENEFITS

Mr. Michael Prue (Beaches-East York): My question is to the Minister of Community and Social Services. Last week, I had a special diet client referred to me by a backbench Liberal MPP who can't get the special diet supplement for his constituent. The MPP asked me to try; I might have more success.

Your first job as minister was to cut, worthy of Mike Harris. You slashed the average special diet allowance by 30%, over $50 a month, right out of the mouths of disabled people. The special diet is supposed to help people get proper, nutritious food. Why are you forcing them to use food banks, which are ill-equipped for special-needs diets?

Hon. Madeleine Meilleur (Minister of Community and Social Services, minister responsible for francophone affairs): I appreciate the question and the concern of the member of the third party.

Last year, we saw a dramatic increase in the number of people accessing the special diet allowance. This increase was a result of a certain advocacy group encouraging people to apply for a special diet allowance whether or not they had a specific medical condition that required a special diet. The allowance has always been intended for people who require a special diet as a result of a medical condition. The member opposite knows that very well. Any misuse of our social assistance programs jeopardizes those programs for everyone. So the need for a special diet must be confirmed by an approved health professional, and we have worked with health care professionals to draw a list of medical conditions that need special diets.

Mr. Prue: Minister, you've forced people to go to the tribunal, where almost all of that is overturned. The fact remains that thousands of sick Ontarians have had a third of their food money taken away from them. That's the reality of your policy. You did nothing for a man by the name of Brian Woods, even though we asked in this House many times, and you were shamed into reinstating the special diet for George Goodwin. You'll remember him. He is the ALS patient who you told he could have no money and you gave him $75 to buy a food blender as a final payment. Can we add what you're saying today to the McGuinty poverty hall of fame; that is, your government's idea of healthy eating is dented tuna mixed with a blender?

Hon. Mrs. Meilleur: I'm very sorry to see a member of this House use a particular individual as a political football in this House. I want to assure the member of the third party that when someone needs a special diet because of a medical condition, that person will receive the amount he or she needs for a special diet.

As an example, it was raised in the House at one point that someone with ALS was not receiving the special diet. This condition was reviewed by the expert committee and was added to the list. I wanted to say to this House that everyone who has a medical condition that requires a special diet will get it.

-----

SOCIAL ASSISTANCE

Mr. Gilles Bisson (Timmins-James Bay): My question is to the Minister of Community and Social Services. I want to bring to your attention a case in my riding that I think clearly demonstrates just how bad the policies of the OW office are when it comes to young people and poverty in general. A young woman in my riding, 14 years old, was sexually assaulted, raped, and as a result of that rape, gave birth to a young boy. She has now got her life back together and is trying to return to high school so that she can provide for her son in years to come, and not have to rely on assistance or her parents to be able to survive.

She appeared before the OW office and was refused even an application form, because she was under 18. She was told that because of the Liberal McGuinty government policies, somebody under 18 years old can be refused an application. Our office has since assisted her, but there are still more roadblocks in the way.

I want to ask you this question: You said earlier in this House that when parents succeed, children succeed. You tell me how that policy is going to help this young woman and her son to succeed.

Hon. Madeleine Meilleur (Minister of Community and Social Services, minister responsible for francophone affairs): I thank the member from the third party for this question. Yes, I understand your concern about the policy. This is a very sound policy. But when someone comes for social assistance and wants to have the benefits apply to their case, the people are there to explain to them what is the process and what is not the process. We know that for people under the age of 18, there are certain conditions attached to their receiving social assistance.

I cannot talk about individual cases, but I will say to you that if this person is not satisfied with the answer that she got, she can contest it; she can appeal it. So I would say to you --

The Speaker (Hon. Michael A. Brown): Thank you.

Mr. Bisson: How do you appeal when you can't even get the application? But we'll deal with that. The condition is this: This young woman was raped and she's trying raise her son and get her life together. She'd constantly at our office because she's at wit's end. We've got an agreement for interim assistance. The OW office wouldn't pay even after we won an interim assistance award. Now, to make matters worse, your ministry people, because of your policy, are telling the OW people that she now has to go after support from the father, who raped her. You know what that means. This young woman is going to have to come in contact with the very person who raped her, and the OW office is saying, "This is a condition for you to receive assistance." Minister, that is unacceptable, and I say it again: What are you going to do to fix this problem so young women like this don't have to be in the situation that she is in?

Hon. Mrs. Meilleur: It's very disturbing, but I will say to you, we will discuss the case. I cannot discuss a case in this House. I'm not at liberty. The member of the opposite party knows about it, so I will say to you, let's talk after question period, and let's hope that we will be able to resolve such a case.

(above file from Gwyneth Pearce, Staff Lawyer, Clinic Resource Office, Legal Aid Ontario)

Useful Links

• www.gillesbisson.com
  
  
• Ontario NDP home page www.ontariondp.com
  
  
  
  

Back to main page.