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Tackling poverty a 'litmus test' for city’s greatness, Tory says
Mayor agrees the city must strive to improve the quality of life for all, but stops short of endorsing a “living wage” rule, saying senior governments must help.
Toronto Mayor John Tory (open John Tory's policard) has welcomed the city’s interim poverty reduction strategy, released Tuesday, calling efforts to tackle the problem “one of the fundamental litmus tests of whether this city wants to be great.”
“It will be, I think, quite determinative in deciding whether we can stay on the top . . . and say we’re the best place in the world in which to live,” he told reporters after a lunchtime speech to business leaders at the Toronto Region Board of Trade.
As the sweeping 48-page report notes, Toronto has become the child poverty capital of Canada, with more working poor as well as the fastest growing inequality gap. Youth unemployment tops 20 per cent and newcomers face poverty rates as high as 46 per cent.
The plan includes 24 recommendations and 74 actions to make Toronto a prosperous city for all residents by 2035. It calls on the city to help ensure “access to good jobs, adequate income, stable housing, affordable transportation, nutritious food and supportive services.”
Tory said good jobs and wages are key to improving the quality of life for people in an expensive city like Toronto.
But he hesitated to embrace the report’s recommendation to declare the city a “living wage” employer – meaning all city workers would be paid wages ensuring a modest standard of life – and require city subcontractors to follow suit.
“The city operates within a marketplace,” Tory told reporters. “You have to do whatever you do with great care because you can end up having a negative effect on the very people you are trying to help.”
Tory also cautioned that many of the report’s recommendations couldn’t be fulfilled without help from Ottawa and Queen’s Park.
“We are only going to succeed at this if the governments and non-profits and businesses and labour unions all combine their efforts together,” he said.
In an open letter to the mayor and city council, an advisory committee of more than two dozen community leaders and activists applauded the interim strategy as an “important step forward.”
Cities can play a leadership role in poverty reduction through their employment practices, public investments, public services and tax policies. They can also rally public support, lead public opinion and advocate for provincial and federal action, said the letter, released Tuesday.
More than 40 cities across Canada are developing or implementing poverty reduction strategies, it noted.
“Building prosperity for all must become a political and community priority,” said the letter. “Leaders of all levels of government and all sectors of society need to join with residents of all backgrounds to reduce and eliminate the growing divide in our city.”
If the strategy is approved by the city’s executive committee next week and by council in July, city staff will consult with the community to develop clear timelines, measurement tools, and a multi-year funding plan. A final plan is expected to go to council in October or November, in time for the 2016 budget.
Laurie Monsebraaten
Social justice reporter
23 June 2015
