The current state of affairs in Toronto in terms of child poverty is quite bleak. There are a number of problems associated with poverty in Toronto’s urban center, but the problem of poverty as it is associated with children and childcare is of particular interest for the future of the city. Toronto, as a city, has been experiencing serious problems associated with childhood poverty for decades; indeed, since the 1980s, Toronto has consistently been the Canadian city with the worst record on youth poverty (D, 2016; Mangione, 2015).
Not all of the children living in poverty in Toronto are homeless; many of these children are living in low income housing and other assisted living situations (Mangione, 2015; Monsebraaten, 2016). The Toronto Children’s Aid Society states that 29 percent of the children in Toronto in 2013— approximately 144,000 individuals under the age of eighteen— are living in low-income housing situations within the Toronto urban center (Mangione, 2015). Indeed, the level of poverty in Toronto’s youth population has been largely unchanged since 2007 (Mangione, 2015). Race plays a very significant role in determining whether or not a child will fall under the poverty threshold as it is defined in Toronto, and there seems to be continuously changing opportunities available for these individual children and families (Monsebraaten, 2016). Toronto’s rate of child poverty is fully four percent higher than the rate in Montreal, which is the next poorest city in Canada (Monsebraaten, 2016).
Canada as a whole has been struggling with the problem of poverty associated with the youth population, particularly in indigenous populations (Nicholl, 2016; Monsebraaten, 2015). Part of the problem is that there have been significant cuts to social programs that are designed to protect children from the harshest aspects of poverty (Mangione, 2015; Nicholl, 2016). Individual families in which both parents are working or single parent households require very specialized assistance; one particular need is the need for affordable daycare.
Daycare and early-life education systems can make a significant change in the life of a child growing up in a poverty-ridden situation (Nicholl, 2016). Nicoll (2016) suggests that the government of Toronto continues to postpone decisions about the child care system in Toronto, and that a failure to act is actively hurting the children of the city that are living in poverty. Interestingly, Canada as a whole does not have a minimum “floor” that designates a poverty threshold (Nicholl, 2016). Instead, each city has a different standard that determines when a family or individual child can receive assistance from the local government (D, 2016; Nicholl, 2016). Toronto’s inability to structure an appropriate assistance program is a significant problem for the city as a whole (Mangione, 2015; Monsebraaten, 2015).
Unfortunately, child poverty rates are outpacing other poverty rates in Toronto, and experts have been unable to determine the reason why these rates are increasing so exponentially without any sign of slowing (Monsebraaten, 2016). Even as policies and programs are designed to intervene, the problem continues to plague inner urban center of Toronto and the surrounding suburban sprawl areas. Race and disability are significant predictors of poverty in the Toronto area; further study is necessary to determine the best and most effective interventions for developing a solution to the rising poverty rates in these vulnerable populations (Monsebraaten, 2015; Mangione, 2015; D, 2016).
References
D, M. (2016). Childcare and Child Poverty: 1 in 7 Kids Still Live in Poverty | BASICS Community News Service. Basicsnews.ca. Retrieved 31 January 2016, from http://basicsnews.ca/childcare-and-child-poverty-1-in-7-kids-still-live-in-poverty/
Mangione, K. (2015). Toronto is the child poverty capital of Canada: report. CTVNews. Retrieved 31 January 2016, from http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/toronto-is-the-child-poverty-capital-of-canada-report-1.2607087
Monsebraaten, L. (2016). Toronto ‘desperately’ needs more affordable daycare spaces, councillor says | Toronto Star. thestar.com. Retrieved 31 January 2016, from http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2016/01/26/toronto-desperately-needs-more-affordable-daycare-spaces-councillor-says.html
Monsebraaten, L. (2015). Toronto holds onto its shameful title: Child poverty capital of Canada | Toronto Star. thestar.com. Retrieved 31 January 2016, from http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2015/10/13/toronto-holds-onto-its-shameful-title-child-poverty-capital-of-canada.html
Nicholl, D. (2016). Ending child poverty top of my holiday wish list. rabble.ca. Retrieved 31 January 2016, from http://rabble.ca/blogs/bloggers/doreen-nicoll/2015/12/ending-child-poverty-top-my-holiday-wish-list
