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Vital Signs: Ottawa offers the good life, but not for all
Mohammed Adam, The Ottawa Citizen
Published: Wednesday, October 04, 2006
Ottawa is a vibrant, healthy and prosperous city where most people enjoy a good life, but an underbelly of poverty and a growing gap between rich and poor are thwarting many residents' dreams, says a new report to be unveiled today.
Ottawa's Vital Signs, a report by the Community Foundation of Ottawa, says city residents are quite well-off, with an average household income of more than $75,000, and almost nine in 10 residents -- 86 per cent -- saying their quality of life is good.
But calling Ottawa a city of "two realities," the report says the top earners are making 12 times more in after-tax-income than those at the bottom end, and the gap is growing wider than the national average.
The report doesn't provide income figures for the two solitudes, but Statistics Canada's low-income cutoff, generally regarded as the poverty line, shows that in 2003, the after-tax poverty line in Ottawa was $16,348 for an individual, $19,948 for two people and $31,424 for a family of four.
The report says the capital is home to a large number of people who are living on the edge of poverty. And the number of the "working poor," people who have jobs, but still can't afford most of the bare necessities, is increasing as well. In addition, the number of people who use food banks went up seven per cent in the past three years to 38,691 last year, from 35,957 in 2003. Children made up 39 per cent of the users. Significantly, the report says, rural residents are less happy with their quality of life.
"Along with Ottawa's prosperity has come an increasing gap between rich and poor in the city, which has surpassed the national average and is steadily worsening," the report states.
"We are a city of two realities, with an increasing number of high-income earners and a large number of low-income residents."
The report says finding a job is "not necessarily a ticket out of poverty," noting that in 2001, 13 per cent of unattached individuals and 11 per cent of families were among the working poor.
The community foundation is a 19-year-old charitable organization that manages philanthropic endowments now standing at about $87 million.
Ottawa's Vital Signs, the first of its kind in Ottawa by the foundation, is likened to an annual checkup of the city's socio-economic health.
It measured 11 key issues that are central to quality of life to determine how people feel about themselves and the city.
The issues include the gap between rich and poor, crime and literacy rates, support for the arts, community health, participation in civic affairs, housing, jobs and transportation. The full report will include the other findings. It is the first in a series of reports that the community foundation will launch every year to take the pulse of Ottawa and tell residents and policy makers how the city is doing and provide insight into the future.
© The Ottawa Citizen 2006
Mohammed Adam, The Ottawa Citizen
Published: Wednesday, October 04, 2006
Ottawa is a vibrant, healthy and prosperous city where most people enjoy a good life, but an underbelly of poverty and a growing gap between rich and poor are thwarting many residents' dreams, says a new report to be unveiled today.
Ottawa's Vital Signs, a report by the Community Foundation of Ottawa, says city residents are quite well-off, with an average household income of more than $75,000, and almost nine in 10 residents -- 86 per cent -- saying their quality of life is good.
But calling Ottawa a city of "two realities," the report says the top earners are making 12 times more in after-tax-income than those at the bottom end, and the gap is growing wider than the national average.
The report doesn't provide income figures for the two solitudes, but Statistics Canada's low-income cutoff, generally regarded as the poverty line, shows that in 2003, the after-tax poverty line in Ottawa was $16,348 for an individual, $19,948 for two people and $31,424 for a family of four.
The report says the capital is home to a large number of people who are living on the edge of poverty. And the number of the "working poor," people who have jobs, but still can't afford most of the bare necessities, is increasing as well. In addition, the number of people who use food banks went up seven per cent in the past three years to 38,691 last year, from 35,957 in 2003. Children made up 39 per cent of the users. Significantly, the report says, rural residents are less happy with their quality of life.
"Along with Ottawa's prosperity has come an increasing gap between rich and poor in the city, which has surpassed the national average and is steadily worsening," the report states.
"We are a city of two realities, with an increasing number of high-income earners and a large number of low-income residents."
The report says finding a job is "not necessarily a ticket out of poverty," noting that in 2001, 13 per cent of unattached individuals and 11 per cent of families were among the working poor.
The community foundation is a 19-year-old charitable organization that manages philanthropic endowments now standing at about $87 million.
Ottawa's Vital Signs, the first of its kind in Ottawa by the foundation, is likened to an annual checkup of the city's socio-economic health.
It measured 11 key issues that are central to quality of life to determine how people feel about themselves and the city.
The issues include the gap between rich and poor, crime and literacy rates, support for the arts, community health, participation in civic affairs, housing, jobs and transportation. The full report will include the other findings. It is the first in a series of reports that the community foundation will launch every year to take the pulse of Ottawa and tell residents and policy makers how the city is doing and provide insight into the future.
© The Ottawa Citizen 2006
