After looking through several google suggested sites and finding nothing interesting I checked out a news article on how Ontario is lacking in assisting those in need, and there is an alarmingly large number of those in constant need are women and children. This article is giving light to the fact that as well developed as our country is, we are still leaving many people out in the cold (Monsebraaten, 2012). There are plans to increase the amount of child tax benefits that parents get to support their children, however the amount of support an adult receives is considerably lower then the average for provinces in Canada. This issue alone makes it difficult for a single parent to afford adequate housing for their families, preventing them from finding a safe and stable environment to raise their children. Other services that support the public are also being cut by the masses, “Ontario has the least amount of public funding and have the fewest hospital beds per person, while the proportion of out-of-pocket health care costs are the highest in the country.” (Monsebraaten, 2012).
This is caused from our extreme neo-liberal ideologists and greedy corporations, as we see globalization take shape in to a demanding world market, those without the money to support them selves are left in harm's way. We know that poverty is an oppression that has a very tight hold on society today, as the rich-to-poor gap grows, we are finding our selves in more of depression similar to the 1930's. The cuts are effecting education, and support services for those in need. There is much to be said by the statement “having deliberately emptied its cupboards, the Ontario government’s commitment to reduce child poverty by 25 per cent by 2013 is being swept aside.” spoken by reporters discussing the many cuts to the public sector (Monsebraaten, 2012).
After digesting these findings I wanted to see how many people were using food banks through-out Ontario this year, and what I found was that this year was higher then any other year, including the 2008 recession. Every month it seems that over 400,000 people are having to turn to food banks in Ontario alone, and only 40% of these people are on Social assistance. There are also equal amounts of people with jobs that have had to seek assistance from food banks this year, and over 9% of all of these people are coming for the very first time (Ontario Association of Food Banks, 2012). This is truly a sad moment in Canadian history, as we are being forced in to a mass society with the globalization movement, we are forgetting how many people are suffering through this transition. There may be more wealth in the world today, however, there are also many more people starving and dieing due to the lack of healthy living conditions. If we have all the technology and more then enough supplies to go around, then why are there such small groups of people doing great. The more educated I become, the more I think that maybe those who are considered “conspiracy theorists” have some actual knowledge of what is happening in the world, that the rest of us are simply unable to comprehend.
With what we are facing today, without change, our children have no healthy future. I am personally trying to help make changes on how we consider food, as I feel that it should not be something we have to pay for. I believe that our ancestors had less issues with poverty because they supported their basic needs without relying on mass production, if they needed something they didn't have, they would trade something to get it. This bartering method seems much more sustainable then our current method of gaining what we require with credit, having to constantly compete with other people not only creates tension where but it also keeps people apart. Human beings are social creatures for a reason, we began taking care of our selves by gardening together in small groups, and helping our neighbors in times of need. This togetherness, this sense of connection, is highly important for our mental state as well as our physical state, community was created with this important factor in mind.
Our children need to be taught these important methods of sustaining a healthy life, before it is lost completely in the world of capitalist beliefs. There are many situations that we cannot control, although this one may be a difficult one, it is something that we have the power to control. Simply having the knowledge means that we are capable of actively creating change, if we choose not to then we are allowing our children to continue to be oppressed and possibly face worse conditions in their futures. I personally cannot imagine a world where my children suffer any more then they already have, that is why I am trying to be apart of the changes that need to happen, like educational edible gardening for our younger generations. I hope to see less people struggling to live within my life time, as that would give me faith in my children's future without me.
Elizabeth
Refrences:
Monsebratten, L. (2012, August 29). Ontario dead last in terms of inequality, poverty and funding for public services. TheStar.com. Retrieved from http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/politics/article/1248577--ontario-worst-province-in-terms-of-inequality-poverty-and-funding-for-public-services
Hunger Count 2012, Provincial Report. The Ontario Association of Food Banks. Retrieved from
http://www.oafb.ca/2012hungercount
As a mother, I often think about our children and their future esp. in Ontario which is where I would like to raise my kids cause I was raised here as well. With that being said I think there needs to be more focus on our children's future. Society's views are rapidly changing and affecting our childrens guidance. Its influence that frightens me when it comes to thinking about our childrens future. Society needs better views and influences for our children.
ReplyDeleteSheri