TORONTO - A re-elected Liberal government would set hard targets for reducing poverty within a year of its new mandate, Liberal Leader Dalton McGuinty vowed Monday at Toronto's food bank warehouse.
The Liberals would work with poverty workers to figure out how best to measure poverty and what targets to set, McGuinty said.
"It's absolutely necessary,'' he said after packing a few boxes of food with volunteers at the Daily Bread food bank.
"Targets act as powerful magnets for collaboration . . . It's really important that as a society we begin to recognize that there is poverty, let's agree on some telling indicators, let's measure those on a regular basis and let's put in a focused strategy so we can show we're making progress. If we're not making progress, we'll be held to account.''
McGuinty shyed away from aggressive targets suggested by anti-poverty activists, saying he wants to consult with experts first before committing to any real timeline.
"We're going to talk to experts,'' he said. "Don't be afraid to talk to Ontarians. They've got a lot of wisdom.''
The vow was welcomed by Gail Nyberg, executive director of the Daily Bread food bank.
She said she would like to hear all politicians commit to ending child poverty within a generation, but Nyberg said she's encouraged to hear McGuinty talking about putting food banks out of business.
"We will have the measures, the targets and the timelines within one year of election day,'' she said. "I heard that and you can be sure I'll hold him to it.''
The Liberals will spend the day touting their anti-poverty agenda, visiting a dental clinic in the afternoon to talk about the party's plan to subsidize dental care for some low income children.
The NDP argue the Liberals stole this plank from their party's platform and have ignored the issue of poverty for four years while they were in government. If the Liberals were serious about eradicating poverty, the NDP says they wouldn't have voted in a 25 per cent pay increase for themselves and would immediately raise the minimum wage to $10 an hour, rather than waiting until 2010.
