In a media release today, Todd Smith, Minister of Children, Community and Social Services said the Ontario government wants to hear from people across the province about what they want to see in the next poverty reduction strategy.

Every five years, Ontario consults on and develops a new Poverty Reduction Strategy to identify opportunities for action and to measure and report on progress more effectively. 

To inform the new Strategy, the government will be asking Ontario residents how we can encourage job creation and connect people to employment; provide people with the right supports and services; and lower the cost of living and make life more affordable.

Organizations and individuals can provide written submissions to [email protected] beginning today. An online survey will be posted on Ontario.ca in January 2020 for approximately 60 days where organizations and individuals are encouraged to submit feedback.

“One in seven people in Ontario lives in poverty, and that is too many,” said Minister Smith, acknowledging that people at heightened risk of poverty include Indigenous people, single mothers, people with disabilities, seniors, recent immigrants, and racialized communities.

Smith continued, “Our government remains committed to protecting the most vulnerable people of Ontario by continuing to make investments to make life more affordable, while proposing new strategies to meet their needs.”

source: media release, Community and Social Services