Advocacy News
Letter to Editor – National Council on Welfare Annual Report
Wednesday, August 30, 2006
On August 29, OASW sent letters to 37 major Ontario newspapers in response to the Annual Report issued by the National Council on Welfare. The letter read as follows:
The National Council on Welfare’s recent annual report makes clear that the levels of poverty across Canada are staggering, this despite a prosperous economy in many provinces. Ontario is currently faced with a child poverty rate of 16 per cent, which means that the devastating impact of living below the poverty line will reverberate over generations. Where are our politicians on this issue? It is a well-documented fact that lifting people out of poverty is essential to achieving health and education goals, and yet little attention is paid to this aspect of the equation.
The federal and provincial governments must take immediate attention to overhaul the outdated Employment Insurance (EI) system (which can currently be accessed by only a small percentage of the unemployed), to reform social assistance to support the most vulnerable (including low-income parents and persons with disabilities), and to raise the minimum wage to make it a true living wage.
The Ontario Association of Social Workers calls upon all Canadians to demand action from our politicians. In Ontario, with a provincial election scheduled for October 2007, we must demand that all three parties address poverty in their election platforms.
(Signed) Beverley J. Antle, Ph.D, RSW
President
About OASW
The Ontario Association of Social Workers (OASW) is the voice of social workers in Ontario. OASW is a voluntary, provincial, non-profit bilingual association for social workers. All practising members have a university degree in social work at the bachelor's, master's or doctoral level. Incorporated in 1964, OASW has over 3,800 members and 15 branches across the province.
Contact: Pina Simonetta
Phone: 416-923-4848
Email: info@oasw.org
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