Torontos Social Landscape: 10Year Trends

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Torontos Social Landscape10-Year Trends

• John Campey
• Executive Director
• Social Planning Toronto
• October 14, 2009
• Health Equity Council

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About Social Planning Toronto

• Community, non-profit agency engaged in research,
  policy analysis, advocacy, community engagement,
  capacity building work to improve the quality of
  life of Toronto residents
• Work under the broad umbrella of poverty
  reduction with a focus on labour markets and
  income security, housing and community
  infrastructure and education and human development

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Torontos Social Landscape 10-Year Trends

• Partnership with the Social Planning Network of
  Ontario each social planning council creates its
  own local profile and comes together in the
  second year to create a provincial profile
• Data is drawn mostly from the 1996, 2001 and 2006
  Census

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Toronto by the Numbers

• 2.5 million people live in Toronto
• Population growth of 4.9 between 1996 and 2006,
  under 1 between 2001 and 2006
• Ontario population growth 19.9 and Toronto CMA
  at 13.1 between 1996 and 2006

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Major Trends Seniors Population Growth

• 353,445 seniors, 65 years and older, live in
  Toronto
• Toronto seniors on the rise 10.5 between 1996
  and 2006 vs. overall population growth just 4.9
• Largest growth among eldest seniors
• 27 of all seniors living alone
• Toronto seniors before-tax poverty 21
• 50 higher than national average
• Recent immigrant seniors 34
• Aboriginal seniors 31
• Seniors from racialized groups 31
• Seniors with activity limitations 24

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Major Trends - Immigrant Population Growth

• Half of Torontos population are immigrants born
  outside of Canada
• Torontos immigrant population growth at 10.1
  compared to -1.2 for non-immigrant population
• More than 1 in 10 Toronto residents are recent
  immigrants (2001-2006) 267,855 people
• Almost 1 in 5 Toronto residents arrived in Canada
  between 1996 and 2006

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Major Trends Non-Permanent Resident Population
Growth

• Non-permanent residents include work and student
  visa holders and refugee claimants and their
  families
• 54,610 non-permanent residents in Toronto, up by
  33.7 since 1996
• Massive expansion of temporary foreign worker
  program
• CIC data show increasing numbers of temporary
  foreign workers and fewer new permanent residents
  in Toronto CMA between 2003 and 2007

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Unemployment and Housing

• Toronto unemployment rates Rates have climbed
  from September 2008 (7.69) to September 2009
  (10.48)
• 23 of unemployed workers in Toronto receive
  Employment Insurance
• 46.6 of tenant households in Toronto pay 30 or
  more of household income on rent

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Toronto Average 24.5
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Implications for Health Equity

• Torontos Social Landscape speaks to social
  determinants of health
• Distribution of money, resources and power
• Income, employment, education, housing
• Public policy and the social safety net
• Racialized groups, immigrants, Aboriginal
  community, lone mother families, women, children,
  seniors, people with disabilities

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Health Equity Continued

• Diversity of population shapes health care
  provision culturally-appropriate services,
  linguistic considerations, outreach practices,
  health services for the non-insured
• Need for systemic change to reduce poverty and
  inequality, ensure safe and affordable housing
  for all, fix the social safety net
• Investments that make good economic sense

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Moving Forward on Health Equity

• Improving the provincial poverty reduction
  strategy
• Expand provincial targets to reduce poverty by
  25 in 5 years for ALL Ontarians
• Independent panel to set OW and ODSP rates to
  reflect the cost of living, evidence-based
  process
• Live up to UN commitment to human right to food
• Review ODSP access/barriers in social assistance
  review
• Update employment standards
• Set minimum wage above the poverty line, index to
  inflation/the industrial wage

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Moving Forward Continued

• Introduce national poverty reduction strategy
• Introduce provincial and federal housing
  strategies with concrete targets and timelines
• Track progress for specific populations,
  introduce customized plans to achieve equitable
  outcomes and make reports public on regular basis
• Restore employment insurance as a universal
  program for unemployed workers

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Moving Forward Continued

• Improving Health Care Access
• Increase CHC funding
• Expand dental, vision, drug coverage
• Ensure language interpreter services
• Introduce peer-to-peer health ambassador programs

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Taking Action

• Colour of Poverty, Colour of Change Campaign
  www.colourofpoverty.ca
• Ontario Coalition for Social Justice
  www.ocsj.ca
• Medical Reform Group www.medicalreformgroup.ca
• Health Providers Against Poverty
  www.healthprovidersagainstpoverty.ca
• Good Jobs for All Coalition www.goodjobscoalitio
  n.ca
• Housing Network of Ontario www.stableandaffordab
  le.com
• Housing Action Now Ann Fitzpatrick,
  416-924-4646 x3482
• ODSP Action Coalition www.odspaction.ca
• Toronto Coalition for Better Child Care
  www.childcaretoronto.org
• Campaign 2000 www.campaign2000.ca
• Campaign for Public Education
  www.campaignforpubliceducation.ca

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Related Research

• Social Planning Toronto, U of T, Wellesley
  Institute
• Poverty is Making Us Sick Sick and Tired The
  Compromised Health of Social Assistance
  Recipients and the Working Poor in Ontario
  www.socialplanningtoronto.org
• Toronto Public Health
• The Unequal City Income and Health Inequalities
  in Toronto www.toronto.ca/health/map/pdf/unequalci
  ty_20081016.pdf
• World Health Organization
• Closing the Gap in a Generation Health Equity
  through Action on the Social Determinants of
  Health www.who.int/social_determinants/thecommissi
  on/finalreport/en/index.html

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Thanks and Contact

• Thanks to
• Richard Lau (SPNO), Harvey Low (City of Toronto)
• Lavenya Rajendra (SPT)
• Toronto Community Social Research and Data
  Consortium
• Funders
• City of Toronto, United Way Toronto, Trillium
  Foundation, Metcalf Foundation
• Contact
• Beth Wilson, Senior Researcher, SPT
  beth_at_socialplanningtoronto.org or [phone]
  x257
  www.socialplanningto
  ronto.org