Latest news with #Maytree
CTV News
18-07-2025
- General
- CTV News
98% of Canadian households tracked receiving social assistance live below poverty line: report
A report published Thursday found that poverty in Canada remains widespread among those receiving social assistance. The report, titled 'Welfare in Canada, 2024″ and published through Maytree, analyzed social assistance support across Canada. Looking at each of the 10 provinces and three territories, the report looked at welfare incomes of four types of households, with an additional one in Alberta and Manitoba and two in Quebec. The four primary example households are: Unattached single who is considered employable Unattached single with a disability Single parent with one child aged two Couple with two children aged 10 and 15 The report found that 98 per cent of households tracked remained below Canada's poverty line in 2024. In addition, 73 per cent of households tracked were living in 'deep poverty,' which is defined as having incomes below 75 per cent of the poverty threshold. 'It's not just that people are poor, it's that they are deeply poor,' Jennefer Laidley, lead author of the report told 'In a country as rich as Canada, we should all have a social safety net for our income security that provides us with enough income to live above the poverty line at the very least, no matter where we live in the country.' Notably, the report found that unattached single individuals, including those with disabilities, lived in greater poverty than attached households. Laidley the reason is that attached households receive additional federal and provincial benefits for children. 'That makes a huge difference in inadequacy of incomes,' Laidley said. 'The social assistance systems in provinces, territories and federally really need to step up, particularly for single adults who need a lot more support and who make up the majority of people on social assistance.' Geographic disparities Along with disparities in household type, Laidley said geographic disparities were also apparent in the findings, particularly, varied social assistance adequacy across Canada. The poverty lines across Canada, which is calculated via the 2018-base Market Basket Measure (MBM) methodology, also vary. According to Statistics Canada, the approximate poverty lines for a single person monthly across Canada in 2024 are: Newfoundland and Labrador $2,194 Prince Edward Island $2,211 Nova Scotia $2,213 New Brunswick $2,180 Quebec $1,964 Ontario $2,221 Manitoba $2,083 Saskatchewan $2,163 Alberta $2,381 British Columbia $2,272 Yukon $2,682 Northwest Territories $3,265 Nunavut $4,319 According to the report, social assistance income varied from household type and location. For example, social assistance income for single parents with one child was the least inadequate in Nova Scotia, at 57 per cent of the poverty line and 76 per cent of the deep poverty threshold. Meanwhile, Ontario was at 58 per cent of the poverty line and 78 per cent. The household with the most adequate social assistance income for single parents with one child was in Prince Edward Island at 84 per cent of the poverty line. For an unattached single person with a disability, the household with the least adequate social assistance income was the Alberta household receiving Benefits for Every Albertan (BFA), followed by households in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. The household with the highest incomes relative to the poverty line were in Newfoundland and Labrador, while households in Alberta receiving Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped (AISH). 'The issue around geography is that you're going to be better or worse cared for, better or worse supported, depending on where you live,' Laidley said. 'But really, the primary issue is that no matter where you live in Canada, you're not going to be supported to the level of even the poverty line '..." so geography matters, but it matters less than the depth of the poverty that people on social assistance experience." More support needed While social assistance income varies across Canada and by household type, poverty remains persistent, the report highlights. In Canada, 10.2 per cent of the population — approximately four million Canadians — lived below the poverty line in 2023, according to Statistics Canada. According to the report, while 59 per cent of households saw social assistance incomes rise above inflation, most increases ranged from 2.5 per cent to 11.4 per cent, leaving households still below the poverty line. While some provinces and territories have made progress in social assistance support, with the introduction of some new benefits and investments in current ones, Laidley says more needs to be done. She says higher benefit amounts, more sources of income and better tax credits are some changes Laidley noted needed to help improve financial security in those living on social assistance income. 'I don't think people really understand the depth of poverty that people who are on social assistance have to live with,' Laidley said. 'There's a lot of work to be done and it's not just investing in the economy, it's about investing in people.'
Yahoo
15-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Ontario spending on homelessness 'stagnate' while problem worsens, new report says
A new report on homelessness across Ontario says the problem is getting worse while spending to address it has "stagnated," as the province's political parties offer differing solutions on the campaign trail. The new data comes from the Maytree, a foundation committed to reducing poverty, which looked at publicly available spending figures on homelessness and contrasted them with recently released reports on the growing number of people experiencing homelessness in Ontario. Government spending on low income housing and homelessness has remained largely unchanged over the last decade, even when adjusted for inflation, said Alexi White, Maytree's director of systems change. "Spending has stagnated in real dollars," White said. "We really aren't spending any more than we were 10 years ago on housing and homelessness … We need a real plan, a real investment, a real time horizon, and a real goal that says we're going to solve this thing." The report says that when adjusted for inflation, spending was around $1.3 billion in 2013-2014 and is estimated to come in under $1.5 billion in 2024-2025. The notable exception was spending during the first year of the pandemic, which shot up to over $2 billion in 2020-2021. White says Maytree crunched the numbers during the provincial election in hopes of generating more debate over the worsening problem. Whoever forms the next provincial government must spend $11 billion over the next decade to dramatically increase the number of supportive and deeply affordable housing units, he said. "More and more people are not only homeless, but are staying homeless for long periods of time," White said. "And that's really the canary in the coal mine (suggesting) that things are going to get a lot worse, really quickly."81,000 Ontarians homeless in 2024: report Maytree says its report was compiled using the province's own financial data, analysis by Ontario's fiscal watchdog the Financial Accountability Office and a recent report on homelessness released by the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO). That AMO study found that more than 81,000 people in Ontario were homeless last year, a number that's up 25 per cent over two years. AMO, which represents 444 municipalities across the province, declined to comment on the issue during the election period, but last month said a different approach is needed to tackle the crisis, prioritizing housing solutions over temporary measures. "We are at a real tipping point," said Robin Jones, AMO president and the mayor of Westport, north of Kingston. "Without concrete action it is only going to get worse." White says the majority of the $11 billion needed over the next decade should be used to build affordable and supportive housing. The province shouldn't depend on the private sector to build market homes, hoping that it will free up space for more affordable housing, he said. "The government should get back in the game of specifically funding the building of non-market housing," he said. Ontario's four main party leaders all have plans to address homelessness. They are, from left: PC Leader Doug Ford, Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie, NDP Leader Marit Stiles and Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner. (CBC) Parties pitch spending on housing, emergency shelters Ontario's Progressive Conservative Party says it will spent $3 billion over the next three years on affordable housing, anti-homelessness and emergency shelter supports. PC Leader Doug Ford has defended his government's record on the issue, including a $44 million announcement in December aimed at clearing encampments and bolstering enforcement in community park spaces. "I've got to keep telling you, there's never been more of an investment in homeless folks than what we've invested," Ford said at his campaign launch in early February. All of the opposition parties have been critical of Ford's plan to crack down on encampments, accusing him of criminalizing homelessness and having no plan to provide addictions treatment. Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie has spoken often during the campaign of her own father, who experienced homelessness and died in a Toronto shelter. The party has not yet said what it would spend to address the issue, but has committed to building more housing and enhancing addictions services. "It has to be affordable housing and it needs to be supportive housing for those individuals who are living on the streets, some of them facing some vast mental health challenges, some addiction issues," Crombie said during a campaign stop in Hamilton. NDP Leader Marit Stiles announced a platform plank aimed at solving chronic homelessness. The party says it will build 60,000 new supportive housing units, upload all shelter costs from municipalities to the province, and provide more housing benefits that help people move out of shelters and into homes. "Homelessness is about housing," she said. "So we need not only shelters in the immediate, but we actually need deeply affordable, permanently affordable solutions." Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner has promised to build 310,000 affordable homes, including 60,000 permanent supportive homes. The party says that will cost taxpayers $2.75 billion over four years. "We will address the deep unfairness in this province that over 81,000 people are experiencing homelessness by having government get back into building affordable and deeply affordable nonprofit cooperative supportive housing," Schreiner said at a campaign stop.
CBC
15-02-2025
- Business
- CBC
Ontario spending on homelessness 'stagnate' while problem worsens, new report says
A new report on homelessness across Ontario says the problem is getting worse while spending to address it has "stagnated," as the province's political parties offer differing solutions on the campaign trail. The new data comes from the Maytree, a foundation committed to reducing poverty, which looked at publicly available spending figures on homelessness and contrasted them with recently released reports on the growing number of people experiencing homelessness in Ontario. Government spending on low income housing and homelessness has remained largely unchanged over the last decade, even when adjusted for inflation, said Alexi White, Maytree's director of systems change. "Spending has stagnated in real dollars," White said. "We really aren't spending any more than we were 10 years ago on housing and homelessness … We need a real plan, a real investment, a real time horizon, and a real goal that says we're going to solve this thing." The report says that when adjusted for inflation, spending was around $1.3 billion in 2013-2014 and is estimated to come in under $1.5 billion in 2024-2025. The notable exception was spending during the first year of the pandemic, which shot up to over $2 billion in 2020-2021. White says Maytree crunched the numbers during the provincial election in hopes of generating more debate over the worsening problem. Whoever forms the next provincial government must spend $11 billion over the next decade to dramatically increase the number of supportive and deeply affordable housing units, he said. "More and more people are not only homeless, but are staying homeless for long periods of time," White said. "And that's really the canary in the coal mine (suggesting) that things are going to get a lot worse, really quickly." WATCH | The NDP's plan to end homeless encampments: How Ontario's NDP plans to end homeless encampments 9 days ago Duration 2:26 On the provincial election campaign trail, Ontario's NDP leader has promised a bold plan to tackle homelessness — though details are still limited. As CBC's Lorenda Reddekopp explains, it's a clear contrast to the recent encampment plan by the previous PC government. 81,000 Ontarians homeless in 2024: report Maytree says its report was compiled using the province's own financial data, analysis by Ontario's fiscal watchdog the Financial Accountability Office and a recent report on homelessness released by the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO). That AMO study found that more than 81,000 people in Ontario were homeless last year, a number that's up 25 per cent over two years. AMO, which represents 444 municipalities across the province, declined to comment on the issue during the election period, but last month said a different approach is needed to tackle the crisis, prioritizing housing solutions over temporary measures. "We are at a real tipping point," said Robin Jones, AMO president and the mayor of Westport, north of Kingston. "Without concrete action it is only going to get worse." White says the majority of the $11 billion needed over the next decade should be used to build affordable and supportive housing. The province shouldn't depend on the private sector to build market homes, hoping that it will free up space for more affordable housing, he said. "The government should get back in the game of specifically funding the building of non-market housing," he said. Parties pitch spending on housing, emergency shelters Ontario's Progressive Conservative Party says it will spent $3 billion over the next three years on affordable housing, anti-homelessness and emergency shelter supports. PC Leader Doug Ford has defended his government's record on the issue, including a $44 million announcement in December aimed at clearing encampments and bolstering enforcement in community park spaces. "I've got to keep telling you, there's never been more of an investment in homeless folks than what we've invested," Ford said at his campaign launch in early February. All of the opposition parties have been critical of Ford's plan to crack down on encampments, accusing him of criminalizing homelessness and having no plan to provide addictions treatment. Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie has spoken often during the campaign of her own father, who experienced homelessness and died in a Toronto shelter. The party has not yet said what it would spend to address the issue, but has committed to building more housing and enhancing addictions services. "It has to be affordable housing and it needs to be supportive housing for those individuals who are living on the streets, some of them facing some vast mental health challenges, some addiction issues," Crombie said during a campaign stop in Hamilton. NDP Leader Marit Stiles announced a platform plank aimed at solving chronic homelessness. The party says it will build 60,000 new supportive housing units, upload all shelter costs from municipalities to the province, and provide more housing benefits that help people move out of shelters and into homes. "Homelessness is about housing," she said. "So we need not only shelters in the immediate, but we actually need deeply affordable, permanently affordable solutions." Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner has promised to build 310,000 affordable homes, including 60,000 permanent supportive homes. The party says that will cost taxpayers $2.75 billion over four years.
