BACKGROUND – Recommendations made in the report ‘The Cost of Poverty in Ontario’ 10 Years later. October 2019 by Lee and Briggs notes that poverty in Ontario has a big price tag. Poverty is estimated to have cost the residents of Ontario $27.1 billion to $33 billion in 2019 – the equivalent of 5.5 per cent to 6.6 per cent of provincial GDP. Most of this cost is borne by the 1.9 million households with the lowest incomes. Ontarians who live in poverty all face increased income disparity with the income gap between the poorest 10% and richest 10% of Ontarians growing by 10% between 2000 and 2016. The loss of tax revenue and increased health and justice system expenses reflects the economic cost incurred by poverty. Those experiencing low incomes have even greater difficulties affording their most basic needs each month (Lee and Briggs, 2019).
Economies can only grow themselves by investing in poverty reduction to allow for maximum participation by the population, including those living in poverty. Case studies in Canada (BC. Poverty Reduction, Manitoba Mincome, Ontario Basic Income Pilot Project), the US and UK show that for each of health, justice and opportunity costs of poverty, there may be economic benefits associated with poverty reduction such as savings in health, crime and opportunity costs that may pay for themselves, as well as improved quality of life (Mendelsohn, 2019).
The Vulnerable and Precarious Workers Report by the Law Commission of Ontario notes that women are more likely to be in part-time work (i.e., less than 30 hours per week) and casual work (i.e., hours that vary from one week to the next) (Law Commission Of Ontario, 2012). The Ontario Human Rights Commission submission to the Ministry Of Labour Changing Workplace Review September 18, 2015 notes that nearly 70% of part-time workers in 2013 were women, a proportion that has not changed significantly over the past three decades (Ontario Human Rights Commission, 2015).
Mendelsohn (2019) reports adults in poverty who have no children and are not in the disability stream face especially inadequate levels of social assistance.
Disproportionate challenges are faced by women in the continuing evolution and fundamental changes to the workplace and the labour market given the rise in precarious employment, self-employment, and increases in the gig economy.
The case to combat increasing disparity is to give working women the tools to raise themselves out of poverty. A proposed Living Wage policy may build on the success of minimum wage policies by providing more consistent and predictable support in the context of today’s dynamic labour market.
The report, ‘Lessons from Ontario’s Basic Income Pilot’ by Mendelson (2019) suggests a Basic Income project must be designed to be periodic, paid monthly; payment such that those who receive it may decide what they spend it on; paid to individuals in lieu of households; be universal and unconditional; with enrollment of a random sample of households, eligibility criteria should include low income.
A new program, Living Wage, is recommended to include a minimum basic income guarantee based on eligibility, an income test which accounts for income fluctuation, a reduction rate, and monitoring and measurement of reduction rate over a period of time.
