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As economic times darken and the poorest feel the pinch, relief might be on the way with the introduction tomorrow of Ontario's long-awaited poverty reduction plan.
Premier Dalton McGuinty announced the plan to release the strategy tomorrow after NDP Leader Howard Hampton told the Legislature yesterday the Liberals had no concrete plans to fight poverty, only "talk, talk, talk."
It's one thing to move forward on the poverty front in good times, but it is quite another to make that "heroic effort" in difficult economic times, McGuinty said.
"We're going to do that," he said. "I'll be asking for the support of (Hampton) and his party as we find ways, find the necessary funding, invest new resources, put in place targets and a strategy to help us achieve those targets."
More than a million Ontarians are estimated to be living in poverty. There has been a 13 per cent increase in the number of people turning to food banks since last fall, says a new report by the Ontario Association of Food Banks.
