Toronto Region: Toronto

Working Poor Dept: Between 2000 and 2005, the area s working poor grew by 42 per cent, to 113,000 people, according to a groundbreaking report based on Statistics Canada labour and income data, according to The Star. Working many hours and holding full-time, year-round employment is no longer a guarantee of escaping poverty, says the report, entitled: The Working Poor in the Toronto Region; Who they are, where they live, and how trends are changing and the legions of Toronto area workers pouring coffee, cleaning toilets and otherwise toiling for low wages in office towers and factories is growing dramatically. Across the region, they accounted for 6.4 per cent of the working-age population. But inside the city of Toronto, they surged to 8.2 per cent of the workforce, or 70,700 people, says the study by the Metcalf Foundation , released on Saturday. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.