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(Update)
There’s been a growing concern about the rate of poverty in Ontario recently. So much so that the provincial government has established a “minimum wage advisory panel” to consider an increase to the province’s minimum wage.
Tuesday night, a group of local anti-poverty advocates gathered at Hamilton’s Central Library to discuss ways to support that effort, and to work toward a permanent solution to chronic poverty.
While there seemed to be a consensus that “something” needs to be done, what exactly ‘that’ is remains a matter of debate.
The group that gathered here Tuesday night covered a lot of varied ground, everything from globalization to food banks. And while there were plenty of opinions, there didn’t seem to be a lot of agreement on the root cause of poverty in our society. Despite that, it was not simply a night of talking and a vent for frustration. The group did make some tentative plans to carry the conversation to the streets of Hamilton, later this month. Here’s a little bit about what organizers are aiming for and why they’ve settled on the figure of 14-dollars an hour, as a fair minimum wage:
Deena Ladd is with the Workers Action Centre: “People may disagree a little bit about the strategy, but at the end of the day, if you ask people what is it that they want for their families, I think most people would say I want a decent job, I want to be able to raise my children, have a decent standard of living and not to be worried about constantly paying the bills.”
Adam Vasey is with the Advisory Panel: “There hasn’t necessarily been a benchmark to bring it up to or above the poverty line, so I think what you’re hearing now with this $14 campaign is people saying were advocating a benchmark should be above the poverty line so we don’t have to keep having this debate over and over again.”
Vasey, a member of the provincial panel studying a possible increase in the minimum wage, and will help to shape the final report to Premier Kathleen Wynne. And he will have another chance to hear the concerns of Hamilton residents Saturday, December 14th. That’s when the Social Planning and Research Council, the Hamilton Roundtable on Poverty, and other social action groups plan to hold a rally, and information demonstration at Jackson Square, here in the city.
That rally is tentatively scheduled to go from 11am to 1pm on the 14th, and anyone interested in helping to organize that event, can contact the Social Planning and Research Council or attend a special meeting on the issue on December 12th.
