Region of Peel commends throne speech for anti-poverty moves

Region of Peel welcomes the McGuinty government's broad-based focus on tackling poverty in last week's speech from the throne and the announcement to establish a new anti-poverty cabinet committee chaired by Children and Youth Services Minister, the Hon. Deb Matthews.

"We welcome the initiatives outlined in the throne speech targeting poverty and have identified dental care for the working poor as a priority, however, there's more to be done," said Peel chair Emil Kolb. "In Peel, poverty is hidden, growing and very real."

Other poverty reduction initiatives in the throne speech include increasing child care spaces, implementing the Ontario Child Benefit, providing more affordable housing, and calling for one percentage point of the GST to invest in infrastructure and public transit.

"Peel is one of the fastest growing municipalities in Canada. With an average increase of 34,000 new residents per year and a reliance on property taxes to fund our human services programs, we face challenges sustaining the high levels of services to our community," said Kolb.

Ontarians who call Peel home face many povertyrelated challenges that the Region is eager to work with the provincial government to address, including:

- Peel residents experience an average wait time of 21 years for social housing; 4.5 years for subsidized seniors housing.

- Peel spends nearly $10 million annually on homelessness funding to help our most vulnerable citizens.

- 150 children with disabilities are waiting for child care and 200 families are waiting for support through Peel's Healthy Babies Healthy Children program.

- Peel property taxpayers support a provincial funding shortfall of $9.2 million to provide essential health services to residents.

- Peel property taxpayers also compensate for a provincial funding shortfall of $12.4 million for Ontario Works to provide services designed to help individuals become self-sufficient.

Peel council and staff are committed to working in partnership with the provincial government to eliminate poverty and establish a more adequate and equitable planning process between municipalities and the province to implement the shift of human service funding from property tax to income tax within a fixed time frame.

"This throne speech demonstrates that the provincial government understands some of the issues facing municipalities," added Kolb. "We eagerly await some early decisions on the provincialmunicipal review that will help alleviate not just the financial burden on Peel taxpayers but improve the quality of life for Peel residents."

The Region also recognizes the province's commitment to maintaining a healthy environment and supporting the manufacturing industry as investments for the future.

For more information on the Region of Peel, please call 905-791-7800, or visit their Web site at www.peelregion. ca.