Ontario ACORN Gives Provincial Budget Failing Grade

For Immediate Release: March 23, 2007

Toronto - The 2007 provincial budget fails to meet the needs of low and
moderate income Ontarians in three key areas, says Ontario ACORN. In the
areas of affordable housing, minimum wage, and social assistance, Ontario
ACORN says the McGuinty government is failing the people of Ontario, 1.6
million of whom live in poverty. Despite the claims of Finance Minster
Greg Sorbara that the 2007 budget will provide “new resources for
Ontario's children” and that “helping children must be a top priority for
us”, the McGuinty government is taking a “three steps backward, one step
forward” approach to solving poverty in Ontario.

MINIMUM WAGE

“It only took the Ontario government eight days to give themselves a 25%
raise. Yet they expect Ontario's most impoverished to wait 3 years for
20%,” says Butt. “Surely, they could act quickly if they wanted to. ACORN
is calling on the government to raise the minimum wage before the next
election.”

ACORN disputes the claims of widespread job loss if the minimum wage is
raised immediately. For the study these claims are based on, the Ontario
government paid an economist $24,000 (50% more than someone on minimum
wage makes in a year) for the answer they wanted to hear: that raising the
minimum wage is scary.

In contrast to the 1 economist consulted by the Ontario government, there
are hundreds more economists who disagree. In a statement signed by 86
Ontario economists on raising the minimum wage, the point was made that
“higher minimum wages are associated with enhanced employment and income
opportunities for low-wage workers.” In the US, over 650 economists
(including 5 Nobel Laureates) supported raising the minimum wage there,
noting the same positive effects on the economy.

AFFORDABLE HOUSING

In February 2007, Premier McGuinty first announced the recycling of $392
million in federal funding for affordable housing, though he would not
specify when. In the budget, there is an additional $127 million to
municipalities for affordable housing, bringing the total to $519
million... eventually. Ontario ACORN says this funding is not enough, and
not soon enough. The McGuinty government's housing supplement fails to
take seriously the reality of the affordable housing crisis in Ontario.
While it provides for an additional 27,000 low income families (bringing
total up to 35,000), the remaining 85,000 Ontarians in urgent need of
affordable housing are being left out in the cold – in some cases this
could be quite literally, as 67,000 Ontarians are faced the prospect of
eviction in 2006.

While the $519 million for affordable housing is needed, it falls almost
$1.4 billion short of the $1.9 billion for affordable housing called for
in the Ontario Alternative Budget 2007. ACORN Canada is calling in Premier
McGuinty to release the full $1.9 billion, and to release it now. Several
reports from the United Nations, the most recent in May of 2006, have
condemned the actions of government in Canada for “violations of
fundamental human rights, including the right to housing – especially
towards women, children, Aboriginal people and poor people.“ The reports
have made clear the “legal obligations” of governments to ensure that
affordable housing is available. It is time Premier McGuinty took his
legal obligations seriously.

SOCIAL ASSISTANCE RATES

Premier McGuinty's solution to his "heightened sense of urgency" to tackle
poverty is to hurry up and wait. Social assistance rates were cut by 22%
over ten years ago, which has been compounded by inflation of 26% since
then. The reality is that the 2007 Ontario Budget's 2% increase to social
assistance rates barely scratches the surface. Even with the recent
increase of 5% to social assistance rates, they are still 15% less than
what they were ten years ago.

-30-

For More Information:

www.canada.acorn.org

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