A new report by the Social Planning Council and others says poverty among children has reached epidemic proportions in Toronto. According to the document released ahead of a mayoral debate on the subject of child poverty on Thursday (August 28), 29 per cent of Toronto’s 507,810 children under 17 live in poverty. That’s 10,200 more than in 2010. Toronto is now tied with Saint John, News Brunswick, for the highest poverty rate among children of all major Canadian cities. The report says Toronto residents of African, Asian, Middle Eastern, Caribbean and Latin American background are much more likely to be poor.
- 15 Toronto neighbourhoods with child poverty rates of more than 40 per cent
- 40 Toronto neighbourhoods with child poverty rates of more than 30 per cent
- $38,920 The after-tax low-income threshold for a four-person household
For a full view of the above map, click here.
FINER POINTS OF MAYORAL DEBATING
With a little help from cowardice and attrition, we finally got to see what an all-substance, no-showmanship mayoral debate would look like in the Heritage Toronto faceoff at the St. James Cathedral Centre on August 21. Rob Ford withdrew a few days beforehand, and Karen Stintz dropped out of the race that morning. We were left with something approximating what such a forum should be: a dull wrangling over the finer points of planning policy. Full story here.
SPEAKING OF KAREN STINTZ
The mayoral wannabe officially pulled the plug on her bid last week when cash ran out, ending one of the worst mayoral runs in recent memory. Stintz’s other problem: her main supporters jumped to hated rival John Tory, the last guy she wants to see become mayor.
LOBBYISTS GET OFF
The top City Hall lobbyists of the Lastman and Ford eras are in trouble this week, publicly shamed by the lobbyist registrar in reports to council detailing their improper activities. Jeffrey Lyons, chased out of City Hall amidst the MFP scandal, poked his head up recently, only to find that his old ways of doing business are no longer tolerated. Meanwhile, Sussex Strategy Group’s Jamie Besner broke rules by conducting unregistered lobbying activities, among other transgressions. What’s their punishment? They’re being asked to attend a training session on the bylaw. The six-month time limit for prosecution had run out.
BIEBER’S BORDER CROSSING
Two Canada Border Services Agency officers say a chief at the Niagara Falls border crossing was fired over allegations that she accepted up to $10,000 worth of backstage passes in exchange for allowing some of Justin Bieber’s buddies to enter the country. The incriminating internal email at here.
PRIDE DIRECTOR’S RESIGNATION FLIES UNDER THE RADAR
Pride Toronto announced on August 19 that Kevin Beaulieu has resigned his position as executive director after three years on the job. The Pride board says a recruitment drive for his replacement will be started in the next few weeks. Few local news outlets covered the development.
Compiled by NOW staff with files from Jonathan Goldsbie and Tom Godfrey.
