Forwarded Message:
From: Malcolm Shookner <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Thu, 16 Oct 1997 19:21:23 -0400
Subject: Quality of Life Report to be Released
To: [log in to unmask], [log in to unmask]

                         MEDIA RELEASE

            QUALITY OF LIFE IN ONTARIO IS DECLINING!

The quality of life in Ontario has declined since 1990! This
is
the result of a  new Quality of Life Index (QLI), created to
monitor key indicators of the social, health, environmental
and
economic dimensions of the quality of life in Ontario.

The twelve indicators reveal progress in some areas and
setbacks
in others. On the environmental front, there is significant
improvement in air quality, waste diverted for recycling,
and a
reduction in effluent spills.

However, on the economic front, there are major problems.
There
is a dramatic increase in the number of bankruptcies due to
the
prolonged recession of the early  90s. The number of people
who
are unemployed has increased significantly.

The social indicators reveal problems due to the present
economy:
lack of access to public housing, large numbers of people
forced
onto welfare, and an increase in the number of children
being
cared for by child welfare authorities. These social
problems sow
the seeds for long-term problems which cannot be ignored.

On the health front, we are seeing a serious increase in the
number of low birth weight babies born. This is not only a
marker
for poverty, it is also a warning sign about the number of
children who are at risk of a host of problems which would
prevent their healthy development over the rest of their
lives.

Access to information for the Quality of Life Index also
raised a
number of problems and issues. It was difficult to obtain
information about QLI indicators from some public
institutions,
governments and government-funded non-profit organizations.
There
are fewer resources and staff available in these
organizations to
collect, organize, and distribute this information as a
result of
significant reductions in the Ontario government's public
spending in the 1990s. In the case of some government
sources, it
has been necessary to file Freedom of Information requests
to
receive information that was once routinely available.

The quality of community life in Ontario is changing
dramatically
as we approach the 21st century and governments at all
levels are
making major changes in public policies. How will these
changes
affect our quality of life? This Quality of Life Index
provides a
new way for communities to monitor and measure these changes
and
focus on issues which affect them. The Index has been
designed
and tested by social development organizations across
Ontario.
These organizations have decades of experience in social
research
and reporting. The Index is now being used in this first
report,
"The Quality of Life in Ontario - 1997."  The report is
being
released on Friday, October 17, 1997, at 11 AM, at the
Social
Planning Council of Metro Toronto, 2 Carlton St.,  Ste.
1001, to
mark the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty.

Contact:  Malcolm Shookner
          Ontario Social Development Council
          Tel: (416)345-8561       Fax: (416)345-8904
          Net: [log in to unmask]
          http://www.lks.net/~cdc/spno/qli.html


                    QUALITY OF LIFE INDEX
                         REPORT SUMMARY

Major changes are taking place in Ontario which are having
dramatic effects
on the health and well-being of residents. They include:

      economic re-structuring and high unemployment
      government cuts in social programs
      devolution of responsibilities to the provinces and
municipalities
      reduced roles of governments in economic and social
development
      increasing poverty, especially for young families

The Quality of Life Index was conceived in this environment
as a community
development strategy to monitor the living and working
conditions of Ontarians.

Quality of life is defined as:

     "The product of the interplay among social, health,
economic and
environmental conditions which affect human and social
development."

The purpose of the Quality of Life Index (QLI) is to provide
a tool for
community development which can be used to monitor key
indicators that
encompass the social, health, environmental and economic
dimensions of the
quality of life. The QLI can be used to comment frequently
on key issues
that affect people and contribute to the public debate about
how to improve
the quality of life in our communities and our province.

The following indicators are included in the Quality of Life
Index for 1997:

SOCIAL: Children in care of Children's Aid Societies; social
assistance
recipients; social housing waiting lists.

HEALTH: Low birth weight babies; elderly waiting for
placement in long term
care facilities; suicide rates.

ECONOMIC: Number of people unemployed; number of people
working; bankruptcies.

ENVIRONMENTAL: Hours of poor air quality; environmental
spills; tonnes
diverted from landfill to blue boxes.

The Quality of Life Index has been calculated for 1997.
Based on these
calculations, the quality of life has declined in Ontario
since 1990. A
closer look at the twelve indicators reveals progress in
some areas and
setbacks in others. Access to information has raised a
number of problems
and issues which are discussed.

Quarterly updates of the Quality of Life Index will be
produced in the
coming months, along with an annual report in the fall of
1998.



  ***************************************************
  From new transmitters came the old stupidities.
  Wisdom was passed on from mouth to mouth.
            -Bertolt Brecht
  ***************************************************

Dennis Raphael, Ph.D.
Associate Professor and Acting Director,
Masters of Health Science Program in Health Promotion
Department of Public Health Sciences
Graduate Department of Community Health
University of Toronto
McMurrich Building, Room 101
Toronto, Ontario, CANADA M5S 1A8