received from Dennis Raphael

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Interfaith group's book reveals shocking story of poverty in Ontario

Ontario's poorest citizens have seen their incomes plummet by 34 percent
since 1995.  A quarter of the children whose families use food banks and
depend on social assistance go hungry at least once a week. Twice as many
parents go hungry. Yet the provincial government still "claws back" the
federal Child Tax Benefit supplement from them.

These are a few key findings in Lives in the Balance, a hard-hitting new
book about poverty in Ontario based on consultations involving 1500 people
across the province by the Interfaith Social Assistance Reform Coalition
(ISARC).  The coalition, which includes Ontario's major faith communities,
held 15 consultations from Thunder Bay to London, to assess the impact of
the Common Sense Revolution, to see whether Ontario is living up to its
commitments under UN human rights covenants, and to see how faith
communities are coping as they try to fill the gaps in our shredded social
safety net. The book was edited by Murray MacAdam, who represents the
Anglican Church on ISARC.

Ontario faces a worsening social deficit of poverty, hunger and
homelessness. More than 300,000 citizens rely on food banks. Many are
people on social assistance, battered by the 21.6% cut in social assistance
rates by the former Harris government in 1995 and inflation since then, for
a total loss in income of 34%. Deepening poverty is taking its toll on human
health. Meanwhile the housing crisis is so bad that it is actually breaking
up families, with a growing number of children being taken into care by
Children's Aid Societies, whose parents cannot find decent shelter for them.

"Ontario's poor have subsidized prosperity over the last decade," says
London city councillor and ISARC member Susan Eagle. "They and their
children have paid a terrible price. In our wealthy province, there is
enough for everyone. We could raise an additional $1.25 billion by asking
average-income citizens to pay about $2.50 per week more in income tax - the
price of a coffee and donut at a coffee shop."

While charting the terrible human costs of the Harris Government's Common
Sense Revolution, Lives in the Balance also challenges the McGuinty
Government to carry out its election promises. While the government has put
lots of energy into high-profile issues like health and education, and
fretted constantly about the fiscal deficit, it has paid scant attention to
the social deficit.

"We chose our report's title because people's lives are at stake," says
Archbishop Finlay. "We call on the provincial government to keep its
election promises. The true test of the government is how well it responds
to people in desperate need, not to those blessed with abundance. Will the
government respond?"

The book combines first-hand stories and photos from people in poverty,
analysis of issues like hunger, health and homelessness, and articles by
social policy experts such as Growing Gap author Armine Yalnizyan, Dennis
Raphael, Dow Marmur and Michael Shapcott. A closing chapter lists
recommendations for provincial government action.

"This book makes a compelling case for immediate action to redress the
costly social deficit resulting from cutbacks to the social security
system," says Dennis Howlett, executive director of the National
Anti-Poverty Organization. "Very readable and highly recommended."

Lives in the Balance sells for $19.95 and can be ordered directly from the
publisher Pandora Press, at

http://www.pandorapress.com/cgi/bookshop2003.pl?searchstring!0973550503@SEAR
CHTYPE!ISBN

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