FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

March 22, 2006

The Board of Health for the Thunder Bay District Health Unit is urging the provincial government to review the adequacy of Ontario Works, Disability Support Program and minimum wage rates from a health perspective before it tables its budget later this week.

At yesterday’s meeting, the Board heard that provincial allowances for food do not reflect actual current costs for food.  Because both assistance-based and minimum wage‑based families do not make enough to cover basic needs, food becomes the only flexible item that they can cut back on. This makes families in these categories vulnerable to the health, learning and other societal problems associated with poor diets.

In addition to the province-wide issue, the annual Nutritious Food Basket Survey shows that food costs for a reference family of four in the Thunder Bay area are consistently $60 higher than the rest of the province.

“People on a low-income don't get enough vegetables and fruit, making them more susceptible to infectious diseases. These families are vulnerable to higher rates of obesity, chronic diseases, low birth-weight babies and birth defects. Children who are malnourished struggle with learning in school,” points out Connie Bryson, Chair of the Board of Health for the Thunder Bay District Health Unit. “It is important to recognize that these diseases and problems require more tax dollars to treat and manage than would be needed to prevent them with adequate incomes.”

The Board of Health passed a resolution supporting the proposal that “All low income and social assistance recipients get an increase for food in addition to the special diet requirements related to any medical condition.”

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