Parts of Hamilton have 22 per cent child poverty rate
POVERTY RATES in Hamilton are edging down, with one troubling exception.
The amalgamated city’s poverty rate dropped by about 16 per cent between the 2011 and 2016 censuses, according to the poverty roundtable’s figures. But the number of children living in poverty doesn’t appear to be dropping — more than 22,000 Hamilton children in poverty, the roundtable estimates.
Again, and not surprisingly, there are huge differences across Hamilton.
The poverty rate in the lower former city is nearly 22 per cent, compared to just over 3 per cent in Flamborough and Glanbrook.
Cooper expects improvements by the next census, thanks to improvements in the child benefit formula, the increase in Ontario’s minimum wage, pharmacare extensions to people under 25 and the possibility of reduced tuition for some.
“Where we haven’t seen much movement — and we’re trying to push it as much as we can — is really around social assistance reform,” Cooper said. “There’s been precious little done to reform the social assistance system in 22 years.”
There are almost 50,000 people in Hamilton who rely on either Ontario Works or the Ontario Disability Support Program, Cooper said. A single person on Ontario Works is paid $721 per month.
“That comes nowhere close to meeting the actual costs of rents or purchasing food, getting utilities, let alone participating in community life,” said Cooper.
“The government has left a small but significant portion of our population living in deep poverty.”
The next census could also show what impacts gentrification has had on the city, as people from elsewhere in the Greater Toronto Area have flocked to the lower city to take advantage of cheaper real estate prices.
“It’s really really tough to find affordable housing right now in Hamilton,” said Cooper.
“I’m pretty sure people are being priced out of their communities and being forced to move.”