TORONTO - Ontario is promising to "lift 90,000 children out of poverty" with a five-year plan that includes increased benefits for low-income families and improved public education programs.
The Liberal government's strategy includes $300 million in new initiatives, and commits the government to reducing the number of children living in poverty by 25 per cent over five years.
It includes a $230-million annual increase in the provincial child benefit by the end of the five-year plan, which will provide up to $1,310 for each child in a low-income family.
Another $10 million will fund an after-school program for children in high needs neighbourhoods, and $6 million will be used to triple the number of parenting and family literacy centres in Ontario.
There will be $7 million a year to develop what the government calls a community hub program around schools to help respond to local needs on poverty reduction.
The plan also includes the previously-promised full-day learning for four- and five-year-olds, and more skills training and mentorship programs for kids in priority neighbourhoods.
