Poverty increasing in Toronto, report says

From EndCanadianPoverty.ca

• Date: November 26th, 2007
• Source: CBC News
• Link to article: Poverty increasing in Toronto, report says

"The number of families living in poverty in Toronto is increasing sharply, a report released Monday suggests.

The United Way of Greater Toronto says 30 per cent of Toronto families, amounting to about 93,000 households, are living in poverty. A similar study in 1990 showed about 16 per cent of families in the same situation.

The United Way study, called Losing Ground, reports that more than half of all single-parent families were low-income in 2005. It also shows the poverty rate in Toronto is growing faster than in other parts of the country, where prospects are stabilizing or improving.

"The numbers confirmed what we were sensing in our work in the community," said Francis Lankin, head of United Way of Greater Toronto. "But it was much more startling and it, to me, is a wake-up call.""