9/7/2023 0 Comments Be with you 2018![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Access to Library Resources and Services.Holding Space: A national conversation series with libraries.ALA Upcoming Annual Conferences & LibLearnX.Related Groups, Organizations, Affiliates & Chapters."They're competing with minimum wage workers and with everyone else.Dealing with censorship challenges at your library or need to get prepared for them? Visit our Fight Censorship page for easy-to-access resources. "We don't have enough social housing in the country for all the folks who are presently receiving social assistance, and a large and increasing share of social assistance recipients rely on the private rental market for housing," he said. Tranjan says if they had taken a closer look, the results would have been even more bleak. The report did not look extensively at those on social assistance and disability supports, but those subsidies were found to be even less than provincial minimum wages. ![]() Meanwhile, in Toronto and Vancouver, the report suggests that even two full-time minimum wage workers can't afford a one-bedroom unit without spending more than 30 per cent of their income, let alone a two-bedroom unit. In B.C., the rental wage for a two-bedroom unit is more than twice as much as the minimum wage, with Ontario's just under double the minimum wage. But what's needed for a national housing movement? As rents soar, tenants organize local protests.Politicians point fingers on housing crisis, but calls growing for more co-operation.Using the rental calculation, the report also found that minimum wage workers could only afford one-bedroom units in three cities, all in Quebec. And even there, where rents are comparatively more affordable than in other parts of the country, researchers say the trend is "worrisome" as workers still need to earn more than minimum wage to be able to rent an affordable unit. Using provincial and federal data from 2022, they found the rental wage for a one-bedroom unit is higher than the minimum wage in most major cities across the country. The co-authors say a lack of affordable housing isn't just a problem in huge urban centres. Rent outstripping minimum wages across Canada Macdonald says things are rapidly getting worse due to rising interest rates and the high cost of construction, while Tranjan pointed to provincial legislation exacerbating market conditions, including Ontario's move to remove rent control for new units and Quebec's attempt to end lease transfers. The researchers attributed the gap between minimum wage and what's needed to afford rentals to three main factors: wage suppression policies, such as using temporary foreign workers as a way to fill vacancies instead of raising wages to attract domestic workers a low supply of rent-controlled housing and poor regulation of the housing market that prioritizes "profit-making over housing security." Macdonald says this means many workers are spending too much on rent, while Tranjan says the high cost of rent can ultimately mean that people making minimum wage are at risk of becoming homeless. "It's sad to say, but at this point I don't even look at the numbers or how much they're paying me because … it's not going to cover my bills," said Orellana, 23. "I almost ended up in the hospital because of all of this stress."Ī new report released Tuesday by Ottawa think-tank Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives suggests Orellana isn't alone.Įconomists David Macdonald and Ricardo Tranjan, the report's authors, found that while minimum wages rose compared to the 2018 data in the centre's last report, they aren't rising as fast as rental rates. That's because her rent - just over $1,700 per month - takes up a significant amount of her income, and she says she routinely relies on family and friends to help. Toronto resident Sylvana Orellana, who earns minimum wage, says paying for her and her two-year-old son's expenses often means sacrificing some bills in order to pay others. ![]()
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