The Poor Keep Getting Poorer. Minimum wage is only $8.00 in Ontario, that’s only $16,640 per year working full time. 175,000 GTA residents need to use food banks every month. Over 30,000 people seek shelter every year in Toronto of which 50% are families and almost 15% are children. Half the world, about 3 billion people live on less than $2 US a day. One quarter of the world, that’s 1 billion men, women and children live on less that $1 US a day. Join the $10 minimum wage campaign! Please follow this link: www.labourcouncil.ca

Women Keep Getting Poorer. Canadian average wage for a woman is $24,800 per year compared to $39,100 for men. That’s only $11.32 per hour average for women vs men at $18.80 per hour, a difference of $14,300 per year or $7.48 less earned by Canadian women for every hour worked. Aboriginal women and women with disabilities earn on average only $13,000 per year, while women of colour earn only $16,621. Of the 29 most developed nations, Canada has the 5th largest female-vs-male full-time wage gap. Many women are kept from full-time and good paying jobs due to the lack of affordable childcare. Over 16,000 families in Metro Toronto, are on the childcare waiting list. Of these, over 5,000 parents would take a job immediately if they had access to childcare.

Children Keep Getting Poorer. In our very own city of Toronto, 1 in 3 children go hungry at least once a day. Aboriginal, immigrant and visible minority kids are 3 times poorer than the national average. Worldwide, over 1 billion children live in poverty, that’s 1 in 2. Every day, 30,000 children die in our world because they are poor.

Immigrants Keep Getting Poorer. Toronto’s popuation includes 48% of immigrants, yet immigrants constitute 57% of Toronto’s poorest.

Families Keep Getting Poorer. Incomes have dropped significantly since the 90’s by 12%, even though inflation has skyrocketed.

Violence Against Women Continues. In Canada, 51% of women have been assaulted. 29% of women have been assaulted by their spouse. More than 1 million children in Canada have witnessed violence against their mothers. 1,397 sexual assaults occur every day in Canada, that’s 1 woman or child every minute. In Canada, 4 out of 5 spousal murders are women murdered by men. Worldwide, it is estimated that 40% to over 70% of female homicides are committed by their intimate partners, often the result of an abusive relationship.

A National Childcare Program NOW! Just last year, our new conservative government decided to scrap the national daycare program. Although thousands depend on subsidied childcare, now we are left with only $100 per month per child, barely enough to pay for two days of daycare. Join the campaign to help bring back our National Childcare program now! www.buildchildcare.ca

Stop The Wars United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan said in 2004 that the US lead Iraq war was an illegal act contravening the UN charter, yet the war goes on as does the price tag. Today, it is estimated that the world has spent close to one trillion dollars on military operations. Human casualties in Iraq are unknown, but it is estimated that at least 42,500 civilians were reported wounded in the first two years alone. 24,865 civilians have been reported killed of which 20% are women and children. Today, our own soldiers are fighting a war in Afghanistan started by the US. Our Canadian military should be used for peacekeeping and rebuilding infrastructure, not war.