Premier Kathleen Wynne and Ontario

Ontario: Once an economic giant, Ontario now has one of the largest debt-loads of any sub-national government in the world. And on a day-to-day basis for many, Ontario is a province in crisis. Forty per cent of those who suffer food insecurity in Canada live in Ontario. A job in the province no longer protects against poverty a full 10 per cent of those using food banks are gainfully employed. Immigrants, newcomers and other vulnerable groups are over-represented in precarious employment, often working multiple part-time jobs and still not earning enough to make ends meet. Social assistance recipients are living at least 40 per cent below any accepted poverty line , and thousands of people, including many youth, are homeless , living in shelters or on the streets, according to The Star. In her throne speech and in this weeks budget, Premier Kathleen Wynne provided us with a road map for the future that refreshingly acknowledged these challenges. While a number of commentators have focused on the fact that she intends to spend money and lots of it I was struck by something else: three concise sentences expressing her unequivocal belief in the important role for government in improving living conditions for Ontarians and These are tough times in Ontario. These are not the living conditions we expect in one of the most advanced democracies and one of the richest countries in the world. So what is a premier to do? (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.