Hamilton poverty report

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A local anti poverty group has released a report that claims both the country and the province are not fulfilling their obligations to the city’s most vulnerable.

10 years ago, the Hamilton Roundtable for Poverty Reduction researched and presented a study to the United Nations on the growing level of poverty in Hamilton and what it called the failure of government to provide an adequate standard of living.

Lawyer Craig Foyle says although there have been some improvements since then, such as the increase in minimum wage, improvement in child benefits and social assistance rates are woefully inadequate.

“The shelter allowance is hundreds of dollars below what it actually costs to rent an average apartment in the city of Hamilton. People on social assistance get evicted all of the time. ”

Starting at the end of February the UN will be reviewing the international covenant on economic, social and cultural rights that includes the right to an adequate standard of living. Canada has signed the covenant, but this report concludes those standards are not being met here in Hamilton.

Craig hopes the report will help the UN with their their analysis of Canada when the country meets with the committee at the end of the month.