Windsor’s household income plunges
Windsor has had the largest decline in median income among Ontario metropolitan areas over the past decade — a drop of 6.4 per cent, according to the 2016 Census.
Statistics Canada analyzed income data and released numbers Wednesday that compared figures from 2005 to 2015.
The median household income in Windsor was $65,983 while Chatham-Kent was $58,264.
Among Ontario metropolitan areas, only Tillsonburg had a comparable decline in income over the same time period as Windsor — a drop of 5.7 per cent.
The numbers were somewhat surprising given that there’s been signs of an improving economy in the Windsor area, said Frazier Fathers, manager of community impact at United Way Centraide Windsor-Essex County.
“The information is two years old, so there is a bit of a lag,” he said.
“But these are concerning numbers. The reality is how it points to an income decline.”
Some people “get a little emotional” when they see some of their belongings being tossed in and then crushed in the back of the packer, especially highly personal items such as family photo albums, said Brown.
On Wednesday, 10 garbage trucks were dedicated to flood debris pickup in the city, said Albidone. Additionally, a number of contracted private and municipal front-end loader/dump truck teams were tackling some of the heavier-hit streets.
“I’ll take any additional garbage trucks I can get,” said Albidone. While the cleanup will continue again this weekend, city officials didn’t know Wednesday whether they’ll get all or some of the 26 extra GFL Environmental garbage truck crews brought in from Toronto last weekend.
The Aug. 29 flood was so disruptive, and the response so large (insurance adjusters and private cleanup and restoration crews from across Canada have been brought in), that local hotel space is at a premium.
Those Toronto GFL weekend waste collection crews had to be bused in from overnight accommodations in St. Thomas.
Brown and Marchand are based out of a downtown Windsor hotel, but it’s hardly a working holiday.
“They’re long days,” said Marchand. “We work, go for dinner, crash, sleep and then do it all again.”
Marchand said they’ve encountered quite a few Windsorites tossing out flooring, furniture and other household items that were only recently acquired after last September’s record storm that hit the city.
“One guy said, one more of these and he’s leaving Windsor,” said Marchand.
“Perhaps one per cent of the time you get a grumpy person,” said Salamone, part of a crew tackling Arthur Street and a section of Ward 5 on Wednesday. It was her third day away from her home in Toronto on a weeklong assignment in Windsor.
She said the days are long and the physical work non-stop, flinging cabinets, couches and sodden carpets into her packer.
“Everything but cars,” said Salamone, who sported a cheery demeanour despite the hard slog through heavy piles of household debris.
Wards 6 and 10 — the two hardest-hit areas in Windsor — along with Ward 1, have all received a first “full sweep” by the city’s cleanup crews, said Albidone.
Wards 4 and 5 are probably in as bad a shape as Ward 1, she said, adding all areas already covered will be revisited during a cleanup expected to last another several weeks.
Almost triple the 1,600 tons collected off city curbs after last year’s storm has been disposed of so far,
said Albidone. The difference this time, she added, is that most of last year’s 2,740 flooded homes were concentrated in Riverside and East Windsor, whereas this year’s flooding was widespread across the municipality.