Home

Income Security: Collective Responses for a Prosperous Toronto Region

Greater Toronto Summit 2011 Breakout Session

The Challenge: Income security is the result of a set of policies and programs that are often referred to as the “social safety net” for all people as they transition through life’s different stages. For senior citizens and children, great strides have been made over many decades of program improvements. Yet our income security system for working age adults is out-dated. Developed in the 1960s, this system still assumes that many working-age adults, including lone parents and persons with disabilities, may not be part of the labour force. Even as more adults choose to work and the face of poverty becomes less predictable and homogeneous, our outdated income security system fails to deliver on its commitment to the people of the Toronto region: to ensure that losing one’s livelihood is not catastrophic.

Our challenge is to create a strong income security system that will support those at the low end of the labour market, buffer unemployment, and provide a baseline income to the most vulnerable to ensure that our region and all its residents are able to flourish and prosper.

Find the backgrounder for Income Security: Collective Responses for a Prosperous Toronto Region here. (Short version also available.)

Income Security Roundtable proceedings document available here.

Moderator: Carol Goar, The Star

Speakers

  • Frances Lankin, Co-Commissioner, Ontario’s Social Assistance Review
  • Faduma Mohamed, Executive Director, Labour Community Services
  • Linda Coltman, Member, Voices From the Street & Coordinator, Toronto Community Housing Tenants' Speakers Bureau
  • Derek Burleton, Vice President, Deputy Chief Economist (Canada), TD Bank Financial Group



Questions for Discussion:
  1. What opportunities for action hold the greatest potential for cross-sectoral support as well as political traction? What might CivicAction and its partners do to support collaboration to drive these opportunities for action forward?
  2. In which areas could CivicAction lead new initiatives, or assist other groups to advance?
  3. Income security is an issue which is central to the functioning of a modern, competitive economy, yet this area remains one of limited private sector engagement.
    • What should be the private sector’s role in relation to the opportunities for action listed above?
    • What is needed to increase private sector engagement in these issues?
    • What could CivicAction do to support this increased engagement?