From: THE HAMILTON SPECTATOR, Tuesday, January 6, 1998 Page N4
Government urged to help 'suffering'
Social safety nets falling to deficit slashing moves
By CRAIG SUMI
The Spectator
The executive director of the Halton Social Planning Council has appealed to all levels of governments to give more attention to the ever-growing "social deficit" in Canada. Joey Edwardh said governments -- through deficit-fighting policies the last five or six years -- are "systematically destroying the country's social safety net. "They've waged this war against the
deficit at the expense of the most vulnerable in our society. Governments have to ask themselves what their roles are," she said. "If they have the responsibility to consider the well-being of people, then they have to begin investing in social programs and policies that help people, not hurt them." The social planning council recently released a report which concludes the quality of life in Halton has declined by almost 20 per cent since 1990. The report, based on a Quality of Life Index monitoring key social, health, economic and environmental indicators, suggests a community that is quietly suffering. "There's the perception that Halton is an affluent community, but clearly, beneath the surface, there are people who are hurting," she said. The report found that, since 1990, social assistance caseloads are up 60 per cent, the number of children in care of the Children's Aid Society is up 23 per cent, and the waiting list for social housing has increased by 30 per cent. The indicators show the waiting list for long-term care beds for the elderly has jumped 27 per cent and the number of low birth weight babies are up slightly. The report also found that bankruptcies in Halton are up almost 30 percent. Definitive unemployment statistics for the region were not available. Edwardh said planners will take the next few months to analyze the findings looking for solutions. "I think this study is a red light to show that we have the same problems as in other communities," she said. She admitted that when you see the crowded shopping malls at this time of year, it's easy to conclude that all is well
economically and socially. But she said Halton is becoming a community of haves and have-nots. The sick, the elderly, and the unemployed often suffer in silence, relying on food banks or relatives to get by. "We are increasingly becoming polarized -- a group which is doing well and has access to goods and services, and a growing group on the outside, the marginalized and the dispossessed. This divisiveness is not healthy." The report was not all doom and gloom. Environmental indicators showed improvements in air quality, reduction in spills, and amount of waste diverted to recycling. The social planning council is a government-funded agency mandated to identify social issues and community needs and improve the life of Halton residents.