Advocacy

The third week of October marks YWCA’s Week Without Violence™, a globally-recognized, week-long series of community events that focus on creating a violence-free world. Individuals across Canada recognize this annual initiative aimed at making gender-based violence a thing of the past.

Activities throughout the week focus on raising awareness, promoting attitude changes, and enabling individuals and organizations to begin positive actions towards ending violence in their communities.

Gender-based violence remains a global concern. We know that not all violence is acknowledged or responded to equally. Some survivors of violence go unrecognized, unheard, and unanswered. We also know that Indigenous, racialized, and newcomer women experience higher rates of violence, and are less likely to report their perpetrators.

To learn more about planning a Week Without Violence™ event in your community, visit YWCA Canada’s campaign headquarters.

Each year, YWCA Hamilton joins representatives from YWCA member associations from across Canada to meet with Federal representatives in Ottawa as part of YWCA Canada’s Day in the Hill. Together, we advocate for increased investments in women and gender-diverse people.

Our 2024 request:

• Increasing funding for the Women and Children Shelter and Transitional Housing Initiative, which provides funding for unique evidence-based housing approaches and supports for women, gender-diverse people and families rebuilding their lives after fleeing violence.

Previous requests include:

• Dedicating 25% of National Housing Strategy funds for permanent and transitional housing, shelters, and wraparound supports for women, gender-diverse people and families.
• Investing in women’s economic security to promote inclusive prosperity.

YWCA Hamilton, in partnership and solidarity with YWCA Canada and other member associations, have successfully advocated for funding at Day on the Hill, as well as creating meaningful and collaborative relationships with Members of Parliament and Senators.

YWCA Ontario Coalition

The YWCA Ontario Coalition is an advocacy group formed by YWCA member associations across the province, including YWCA Toronto, YWCA Cambridge, YWCA Kitchener-Waterloo, YWCA Muskoka, YWCA Sudbury, YWCA Niagara, YWCA Peterborough, and YWCA St. Thomas/Elgin. Together, we engage in systemic advocacy to advance gender equity in our province. Combined, we serve more than 50,000 people every year across Ontario.

Hamilton is Home

Hamilton is Home is an alliance of community housing providers sharing their knowledge and experience and advocating for new funding to maximize public benefit and address the growing need for affordable housing.

The collective was launched by the seven active affordable housing developers in Hamilton:  YWCA Hamilton, Indwell Community Homes, Sacajawea Non-Profit Housing, Good Shepherd Non-Profit Homes, Victoria Park Community Homes, East Hamilton Non-Profit Homes, and CityHousing Hamilton. These organizations began to formally meet in early 2020 around the idea of pitching a group of projects to the Federal government for funding from the Co-Investment Fund, the flagship program of CMHC’s National Housing Strategy.

Under the banner Hamilton is Home, the collective of affordable housing developers has articulated the goal of building 3,000 new affordable units in the next three years and has advocated for funding to make this a reality.

As organizations committed to supporting and empowering survivors of gender-based and sexual violence, and advocating for systemic change grounded in care, dignity and justice, YWCA Ontario extends our unwavering solidarity to E.M. as she endures the ongoing Hockey Canada Trial.  

Survivors of sexual violence too often endure intense public scrutiny, victim-blaming, and judgement. When survivors of sexual violence come forward, they should not be met with suspicion and relentless questioning of their character, but rather with the care and compassion they deserve.   

This type of treatment is unjust and dangerous. It reinforces a culture of silence and fear that isolates survivors, telling them that speaking out will cost more than staying silent. Survivors should be met with belief, compassion and support – never scrutiny or doubt – and their safety and healing must always be prioritized.    

We know that coming forward takes extraordinary courage – we recognize and honour E.M. ‘s strength during this process, and offer our strength and support to her, as we do all survivors.  

We also affirm that every survivor’s path is their own. Safety and healing look different for every individual, and no one should feel forced to disclose.  

Victim-blaming has no place in our communities or our courtrooms. The path towards safer, thriving communities begins with treating survivors of violence with the dignity and respect they deserve.   

We urge all members of our respective communities, media outlets, and institutions to move forward in this moment with care, empathy and a commitment to survivor-centred justice.  

To E.M. and all survivors, we believe you and you are not alone.   

In solidarity,  

YWCA Ontario Coalition 

Safer Drug Use Sites Save Lives: Repeal the closures and recommit to harm reduction.

The YWCA Ontario Coalition is deeply concerned by the provincial government’s decision to close Consumption and Treatment Service(CTS) Sites service sites and its refusal to permit new programs to open.

Supervised consumption and treatment services/sites play a critical role in our communities, providing essential support and resources for those using substances. These sites are facilities where trained professionals provide support, healthcare, counselling and deep compassion.  

For the many women, especially those who may be vulnerable to violence or exploitation, CTS sites are the only indoor spaces where they can experience community, safety, and respite without fear of judgment. Without CTS sites, they will be pushed further into isolation and face increased risk of violence, exploitation and harm. 

The ability to choose when, where and how to access treatment options remains the best way to ensure successful outcomes and life beyond drug use. More people can be encouraged to choose treatment through time, trust, and increased options – all available through CTS sites across Ontario.

The supportive housing dollars dedicated through HART hubs are a welcome assistance for those transitioning from encampments and shelters and looking to rebuild their lives after both addiction and/or homelessness. These additional addiction services are essential, but cannot replace supervised consumption sites. CTS sites play a vital role in addiction management and treatment strategies and any viable supportive housing model must include widely accepted models of harm reduction.
 
As advocates for women, families and children, we want to be clear – the safety of children is not at odds with harm reduction spaces. A CTS site offering supervised and supported use near children’s spaces is much safer than any unregulated or unsupervised use in public spaces. Without safe, sanitary facilities for use and disposal, more drug use will occur in public spaces, increasing not just the visibility of drug use but also danger through potential exposure to community members, including children.  

 We know that the government shares our goal to create safer communities, a reduction in toxic drugs, better treatment options and the preservation of human life.  Safe and supervised consumption options are one intervention along a continuum of necessary services that work in tandem to address this dire public health priority.  

With the legislature’s fall session beginning this week, we urge the government to work in good faith through meaningful dialogue with experts and the communities that will be most affected by these closures, including those who operate these sites.

We ask the government to consider the following: 

1. Keep all Consumption and Treatment service sites open.  
2. Reevaluate the need to move these sites outside of a 200m radius of childcare facilities and schools.  
3. Ensure that HART Hub programs follow expert recommendations in harm reduction. 
4. Create a sustainable supportive housing operations fund with provisions for addictions and mental health and gender-based violence support services.  
5. Denounce involuntary treatment as a regressive policy. 

June 20, 2025 – World Refugee Day 

As organizations in Hamilton working with refugees, immigrants and survivors of gender-based violence, we are deeply concerned about Bill C-2, the Strong Borders Act. 

We are also members of the Hamilton Coalition for Refugee Claimants which is made up of organizations serving thousands of claimants annually. We work collaboratively to support claimants to find safety and to build meaningful lives integrated into our communities in Hamilton. We are deeply concerned about Bill C-2, the Strong Borders Act.  

This Bill, introduced in early June, could seriously impact the most vulnerable people who come to Canada to seek safety, including refugee claimants, women fleeing abuse, Two-Spirit LGBTQIA+ individuals, and people without permanent status. 

If passed, Bill C-2 would:   

• Introduce a one-year ban on refugee claims for many people – regardless of the risks they face; block people who have been in Canada for more than a year from accessing the Immigration and Refugee Board for a hearing, retroactive to June 2020.  

• Increase this and future federal governments’ power to cancel/end refugee status for whole groups of people;  

• Eliminate the 14 day window for people crossing the border to make a refugee claim; 

The title of this bill suggests that it will ’strengthen’ Canada’s border system. Yet it does not strengthen safety, justice or human rights. Instead, it would strengthen mechanisms to exclude, detain and deport people who need support.  

Just two months ago on Refugee Rights Day (April 4), we gathered with community members to celebrate the historic 1985 Singh Decision by the Canadian Supreme Court, and Canada’s commitment to protecting the rights and dignity of people fleeing hardship, violence and many forms of human rights abuses. We also celebrated our pride to live and operate agencies in a country where people fleeing these circumstances could find safety, stability and opportunities to contribute to our communities.   

In Hamilton, our coalition is ready to welcome people fleeing danger and to connect them to the supports they need to find safety, belonging and ways to contribute their skills here.  

Bill C-2 narrows and further undermines the pathway to safety, leaving more people at risk.      

We call on the Government of Canada to:   

• Withdraw Bill C-2;  

• End the Safe Third Country Agreement;  

• Ensure no one is denied protection due to how or when they arrive;  

We strongly recommend that the Government of Canada works with frontline organizations and those with lived experience to strengthen access to refugee protection and supports for newcomers rather than putting up policy walls that risk keeping people in unsafe situations.   

Signed,   

Good Shepherd  

Hamilton Immigration Partnership Council  

Emergency Support Committee for Refugees 

Micah House  

Open Homes Hamilton  

Refuge Newcomer Health  

Wesley  

YWCA Hamilton   

As a coalition of YWCAs across Ontario, we are deeply concerned that Bill 60 will erode tenant protections and increase housing instability throughout the province. Collectively, YWCAs provide thousands of women, gender diverse people, and families with affordable housing, emergency shelter, and support services that foster safety, stability, and long-term independence. Comprised of 10 member associations across the province, from Niagara Region to Sudbury, we see the impacts of precarious housing and homelessness in every corner of Ontario.

Bill 60 poses changes that will lead to greater rates of homelessness, and housing and economic precarity. Reducing the time and means available for tenants to pay rental arrears and shortening the window to dispute or appeal eviction decisions will lead to more evictions. Removing the one month’s rent compensation for tenants displaced when the landlord or their family members move into the unit leads to financial instability, especially for renters who may already be facing significant financial challenges.
Across Ontario, nearly every woman we serve who is experiencing homelessness is also a survivor of violence. From our front-line experience, we know that secure housing and strong tenant rights are fundamental to preventing homelessness and gender-based violence.

The proposed amendments to the Residential Tenancies Act will have far-reaching impacts on women and gender diverse people, including:

• An escalation in homelessness: Women and gender diverse people are already overrepresented among those without housing. Shortened eviction timelines and reduced opportunities to appeal decisions will force more families into unsafe situations or onto the streets, placing additional strain on already stretched shelter systems as well as on emergency and medical services.
• Deeper economic insecurity: Rising costs, stagnant wages, and a shortage of affordable rentals are pushing low-income tenants to the edge of precarity. For women-led households, unstable housing disrupts employment, child care, and education. These are key pathways to economic stability. Curtailing notice periods and compensation for evictions removes what little security these families have left.
• Increased risk of violence: Housing instability and gender-based violence are inextricably linked. When survivors are unable to secure safe, affordable housing, they are often forced to remain in abusive homes or face homelessness. Weakening rental protections strips away critical safeguards that help survivors rebuild their lives in safety.

These harms will fall most heavily on Indigenous, racialized, newcomer, and disabled women and gender diverse people –those already confronting systemic inequities in housing access. Bill 60 will deepen poverty, heighten vulnerability to violence, and undermine the economic and social wellbeing of communities across Ontario.

Bill 60 and all public policies must be shaped by the voices of those most affected by them. This includes tenants, individuals experiencing homelessness and the community organizations that strive to support them. These stakeholders hold critical insights and lived experiences that, when taken seriously, can help avoid legislative shortfalls and harmful unintended consequences. Similarly, municipalities play a key role in addressing housing challenges and should be consulted meaningfully about any provisions in this Bill. We urge your government to reconsider Bill 60 and to take action to strengthen tenant protections. Stable housing is the foundation of safety, economic participation, and gender equity. We encourage the province to collaborate with frontline organizations like YWCAs across Ontario, who work every day to build safe, inclusive, and resilient communities, and we welcome the opportunity to meet with you about this critical issue. If you would like to book a meeting, please contact Daniela Giulietti, YWCA Hamilton Director of Public Affairs at dgiulietti@ywcahamilton.org.

YWCA Hamilton 2025 Federal Budget Submission

At YWCA Hamilton, we believe that thriving communities are built through bold, strategic investment – especially in times of complex and overlapping crises. Over the past year, we have witnessed the growing need for safe housing, health equity, and economic advancement for women, gender-diverse people and their families across Hamilton and all of Southwestern Ontario.

Women and gender-diverse people continue to be disproportionately affected by housing insecurity, underemployment, and gender-based violence. In the face of these challenges, YWCA Hamilton continues to do what is necessary to keep communities safe, reduce barriers to opportunity and foster lasting economic resilience.

This year, YWCA Hamilton supported over 11,000 people through a full continuum of services – from shelter and transitional, to permanent affordable housing, addiction and mental health programs, employment services, infant and child care to youth and senior supports.

YWCA Canada represents 29 member associations across 330 communities. We are proud to be:

• The largest operator of women’s emergency shelters in Canada
• The largest provider of employment and counselling services for women
• The second-largest provider of child care in the country.

Our recommendations for budget 2025 are grounded in this frontline experience and expertise in gender equity. With strategic federal investments, we can support the government’s goals to:

• Bring down costs for families: through affordable childcare
• Keep communities safe: with gender-based violence support services
• Build a stronger, more resilient Canadian economy: through an inclusive workforce
• Invest in proven, community-driven solutions which support fiscal responsibility.

Our 3 recommendations:

1. Sustainable Core Funding for WAGE & Gender-Based Violence Prevention
2. Increased Child Care Infrastructure & Workforce Development
3. Dedicated Housing Funds for Women & Gender-Diverse People.

Recommendation #1: Safeguard WAGE & Strengthen Gender-Based Violence Prevention through Sustainable Core Funding

Women and Gender Equality (WAGE) is more than a ministry or funding body – it represents Canada’s commitment to gender equity and is a cornerstone of our national identity. The strides our country has made toward advancing women’s rights, supporting survivors and building inclusive communities have been hard-won and recognized globally.

As we witness a woman’s right to choose being eroded in neighbouring counties and face rising femicide rates in Canada, it’s clear that now is not the time to retreat, it’s time for Canada to lead.

The National Action Plan to End Gender-Based Violence (NAP GBV), launched in 2022, was a critical investment in safety and dignity for survivors and 10-year roadmap to the safety and dignity of survivors and an important step in prevention services.

These investments have begun to support the sector to rebuild, and the news of potential cuts to WAGE are alarming, when we have only begun to rebuild after the decade before 2015, when Status of Women Canada’s budget was cut by nearly 40 percent. The ongoing delivery of GBV services remains fragile and fragmented due to short-term, project-based funding models.

Organizations like YWCA Hamilton, who deliver frontline violence prevention and survivor support services, continue to operate without long-term, predictable funding. This impedes our ability to retain skilled staff, build programming capacity, and respond to the increasing complexity of survivors’ needs.

We are eager to learn the government’s plans to safeguard WAGE and women’s programs in general from austerity.

Recommendation:

• Expand WAGE funding, indexed to inflation, to reflect rising costs and increased demand
• Establish multi-year core funding agreements for women’s organizations who support GBV survivors.

These investments will strengthen Canada’s social safety net while upholding our shared commitment to gender equity and fiscal responsibility through long-term planning.

Recommendation #2: Invest in Non-Profit Child Care Infrastructure and Workforce Development

The Canada-Wide Early Learning and Childcare system is one of the most transformative social policies in a generation – bringing down costs for families and supporting workforce participation for primary parents, especially mothers. It has become critical infrastructure that Canadians rely on. It must be protected and expanded.

In the last 20 years, the workforce participation gap between mothers with young children and the general population has narrowed by over 10 percent in the last two decades.

But critical gaps remain. Rising infrastructure costs, strained workforce, and long waitlists are threatening the long-term sustainability of the historic initiative.

YWCA Hamilton operates licensed, affordable, high-quality child care programs for over 400 children daily, yet we continue to see urgent demand for new spaces, especially in underserved communities. Like many organizations, YWCA Hamilton has hundreds of families on waitlists and hundreds of parents, unable to dedicate time to their careers.

Recommendations:

a) Strengthen the Child Care Workforce

• Increase federal transfers to support fair, equitable wages for early childhood educators
• Develop a national workforce strategy with pathways for equity-deserving groups
• Establish a living wage floor for child care professionals

b) Expand Capital Funding for Non-Profit Providers

• Increase infrastructure investments exclusively for non-profit/public providers
• Prioritize equity-deserving and underserved communities

These strategic investments will ensure CWELCC continues to support a strong, inclusive economy, while helping parents – especially women – to fully participate in the workforce.

Recommendation #3: Ensure Women and Gender-Diverse People Are Considered in Canada’s Housing Plan

Safe, affordable housing is the foundation of economic security, and women, gender-diverse people and survivors of violence face disproportionate barriers to access in multiple ways. With shelters at or over capacity and low vacancy rates across the country, a growing number of women are left with nowhere safe to go.

As a leading shelter and housing provider, YWCA Hamilton brings deep expertise in trauma-informed, wraparound housing solutions that promote long-term stability and economic resilience.

We welcome the federal government’s Build Canada Homes initiative and urge you to ensure this plan reflects gender equity in specific and measurable ways. YWCAs across the country are ready to contribute our expertise to this plan.

Recommendation:

a) Consult Women’s Housing Experts in Policy and Program Design

• Engage YWCA Hamilton and other YWCA associations as expert advisors for Build Canada Homes and related programs
• Establish a federal consultative table on gender-equitable housing, including non-profit providers, Indigenous organizations, and Two-Spirit LGBTQIA+ advocates.

b) Establish a Dedicated Housing Fund for Women and Gender-Diverse People

Create a fund prioritizing non-profit, women’s housing under the Build Canada Homes framework to provide:

• Transitional and supportive housing for women and gender-diverse people
• Permanent housing for survivors of violence, women with disabilities, and Two-Spirit individuals. Ensure this fund:
  • Removes burdensome financing and equity requirements
  • Prioritize non-repayable capital grants

c) Embed Gender Equity in Canada’s National Housing Strategy

• Reaffirm and operationalize the 25% commitment to women and gender-diverse people in Build Canada Homes, translating it into a clear monetary target and annual reporting
• Mandate gender- and equity-based targets across all NHS investments
• Increase forgivable contributions

Conclusion

As we look ahead to this government’s mandate, we urge you to build on your commitments by investing in proven, community-driven solutions that advance gender equity, economic resilience and social inclusion.

YWCA Hamilton is ready to support the government to meet its gender equity goals and ensure that women and gender-diverse people can effectively contribute to a stronger, more equitable and economically sound Canada.

Addressing the Gendered Impacts of Poverty – YWCA Ontario’s Recommendations for Ontario’s Next Poverty Reduction Strategy

Executive Summary

As a coalition of multiservice nonprofit organizations serving women, girls, and gender-diverse people across Ontario, YWCA Ontario offers feedback to support Ontario’s next poverty reduction strategy. Writing from the frontlines of the housing, child care, and gender-based violence crises, we apply an intersectional Gender-Based Analysis Plus (GBA+) lens to the province’s recent poverty reduction efforts, while sharing concrete recommendations to move the dial on ending gendered poverty.

The 2020-2025 strategy, Building a Strong Foundation for Success, identified employment as a primary pathway out of poverty, not accounting for the systemic barriers: caregiving responsibilities, disability, and discrimination, that prevent many women and gender diverse people from accessing “meaningful employment.” Consequently, while job numbers have risen in some sectors, wages have not and deep poverty continues to intensify. The concept of “working poor” has become normalized, predominantly in fields dominated by women. Also unaccounted for in the previous strategy was a recognition that the foundation of poverty prevention must include a robust social safety net.

The following submission outlines the gains made, the critical gaps remaining, and our urgent recommendations for the next multi-year strategy.

Understanding the Circumstances

Poverty has profound and far-reaching consequences. It undermines individual well-being, restricts opportunities, and destabilizes families. It erodes the fabric of communities and places many women at heightened risk of unsafe circumstances. Deeply entrenched poverty is especially damaging, fostering a sense of hopelessness and contributing to adverse physical and mental health outcomes.  In Canada, women living with disabilities, single mothers, newcomers, trans, racialized and/or Indigenous women are more likely to live in poverty than white, able-bodied women, straight women and women living in two-income households.

Women, especially those from historically oppressed communities, are disproportionately represented among individuals living in poverty. Contributing factors include the persistent gender wage gap, caregiving responsibilities, and limited access to essential support services. These barriers are often further compounded by experiences of gender-based violence, creating significant challenges to achieving economic security and wellbeing.

• More than half a million children (550,080) under 18 are living in poverty, or nearly 1 in 5 children.^[1]
• 2024 saw an increase of 3.5% (over 100,000) of children living in poverty in one year, the largest increase on record.^[2]
• Female-led lone parent families with a child aged 0-5 faced poverty rates of 34.8%, the highest among all family types.^[3]
• 9% of Indigenous women living on reserve, and 11.5% of Indigenous women living off reserve live in poverty^[4]
• 4% of women who immigrated to Canada between 2016 and 2019 live in poverty.^[5]
• 1 % of low-income single mother-led households live in core housing need, as do 68.6 % of low-income women-led households in Ontario.^[6]
• The women’s shelter system is chronically underfunded and operating over capacity, with nearly 40,000 women and children turned away each month.^[7]
• 80% of children of lone parent households live with their mother, putting a greater emphasis on the experience of women in poverty, because child poverty often accompanies high rates of poverty among women.^[8]

Any comprehensive and effective strategy to reduce poverty must be informed by, and responsive to, the diverse experiences and perspectives of women, girls and gender-diverse individuals.

Part I: Assessment of Gains (2020-2025)

We acknowledge specific areas where provincial policy, often in tandem with federal agreements, has improved economic security for women in Ontario.

1. Implementation of the Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care (CWELCC) System

A significant poverty reduction tool for women in this cycle was the rollout of the national child care plan. Access to affordable, accessible and high quality child care is the single biggest enabler of women’s workforce participation.

• The Gain: Reducing fees to an average of about $22/day, with the goal of reaching $10/day, has saved families thousands of dollars annually, directly combating the cost-of-living crisis, enabling increased labour force participation, the establishment of new jobs, greater participation in the economy more widely, and also reducing child poverty.
• The GBA+ Lens: While affordability has improved, access remains unequal. Low-income women working non-standard hours (shift work in retail/healthcare) still struggle to find care, and waitlists effectively exclude many mothers from accessing child care and having the choice of returning to the workforce or working full-time.

2. 2. Indexation of ODSP to Inflation

We commend the government for indexing Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) rates to inflation in July 2023.

• The Gain: This shift helps make the purchasing power of people with disabilities (a demographic in which women are overrepresented) keep up with rising costs.
• The GBA+ Lens: While indexing stops the “bleeding,” it does not cure the wound. The base rate remains deeply inadequate, pushing recipients into deeper poverty rather than supporting them to escape it.

Poverty is not an individual problem; it is the outcome of an economic system that is failing its society. Without adequate social assistance rates that ensure the health and dignity of women and gender diverse people on low and fixed incomes, the province is failing to protect Ontarians who are most in need and offer the opportunity to prosper. Our economy is built on the unpaid care work of women, and this unpaid labour is a source of poverty for women. Social assistance programs must be tailored to meet recipients’ real needs.

3. Minimum Wage Increases

Raising the minimum wage to $17.60 (as of October 2025) was a necessary step, but it does not go far enough to meet the current cost of living.

• The GBA+ Lens: Women disproportionately hold minimum wage jobs. Regular increases provide a baseline of protection against inflation, but this only proves successful if increases meet the actual cost of living.

Part II: Critical GBA+ Assessment of Gaps

The 2020-2025 Strategy’s “work-first” approach ignored a fundamental reality: poverty in Ontario is increasingly structural. For those who cannot work due to disability or caregiving, or those working full-time in precarious, low-paying roles, the strategy offered little support. These un and underpaid roles are critical to our social fabric and to many families.

1. “Legislated Poverty”: The Stagnation of Ontario Works (OW)

The refusal to increase Ontario Works rates is the strategy’s most glaring shortcoming.

• The Data: A single individual on OW receives $733 per month, a rate frozen since 2018. This is less than half of the Market Basket Measure (MBM) for deep poverty. ODSP saw a modest 4.5% inflationary increase in 2024, with a maximum of $1,408, which is insufficient given the cost of housing, food and inflation in this province.
• GBA+ Analysis: Women are more likely to rely on social assistance as a transition mechanism when fleeing violence. Freezing OW rates effectively traps women in abusive relationships because they cannot afford independent housing. $733 does not cover the average rent for a room, let alone an apartment, anywhere in Ontario.

2. The Feminization of Housing Precarity

The 2020-2025 strategy relied on market-based housing solutions, which have failed low-income women.

• The Data:6% of single-mother-led households in Ontario are in “core housing need.” Waiting lists for affordable housing now exceed 268,000 households.^[9]
• GBA+ Analysis: Women experience “hidden homelessness” through, for instance, couch-surfing or trading sex for housing, more than men. The lack of gender-specific supportive housing means women with complex needs (trauma, mental health) could be discharged from shelters into unsafe situations, perpetuating the cycle of poverty and violence. Without adequate income supports, many never escape poverty: women are trapped in a cycle where economic vulnerability, gender-based violence, and inadequate social supports intersect, making it nearly impossible to achieve stable housing after discharge.

3. The “Care Economy” Crisis

The strategy focused on private-sector job creation but neglected the nonprofit “care economy” ( for example, child care, shelters, supportive housing) and unpaid care work, where the workforce is predominantly female and racialized. Underfunding this support system not only undercuts the possibility of improving circumstances for service-users, but has created a reality where those caregivers  living in poverty are serving others living in extreme poverty.

• The Data: Feed Ontario’s 2024 Hunger Report notes a 25% increase in unique food bank visitors, with one in four having employment income.
• GBA+ Analysis: When the government underfunds the nonprofit sector, it effectively suppresses women’s wages. YWCA staff support women and families made most vulnerable by precarious circumstances, yet many nonprofit workers are themselves accessing food banks due to stagnant sector wages.

Part III: Recommendations for the Next Strategy

The next poverty reduction strategy must shift from a “work-first” philosophy to a “human rights and equity” framework. This is not only a moral imperative, but the key to unlocking Ontario’s economic potential.

Recommendation 1: Modernize Income Security

We cannot “program” our way out of poverty if people cannot afford to eat or have a roof over their heads. Income security is a cornerstone of any effective poverty reduction strategy. Current Ontario Works (OW) and Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) rates fall far below the actual cost of living, leaving recipients unable to meet basic needs such as housing, food, and transportation. This gap perpetuates cycles of poverty and vulnerability, particularly for women and gender-diverse individuals.

• Action: We echo the calls by the Income Security Advocacy Centre (ISAC): immediately index Ontario Works to inflation and double the rates of both OW and ODSP.^[10]
• GBA+ Rationale: This provides support for women fleeing violence by reducing financial dependence and recognizes that caregiving (often unpaid) and disability often act as a barriers to traditional employment.

Recommendation 2: Invest in Gender-Specific, Deeply Affordable Housing

A poverty reduction strategy must include adequate affordable, supportive and transitional housing in order to succeed. Market-based solutions alone will not work for all in low-income brackets and in many cases, increase poverty.

• Action: Commit specific capital and operations funding to build women’s housing on a scale defined by need in each community across Ontario over the next five years. The provincial government must recognize safe, affordable, and dignified housing as a foundational component of any poverty reduction strategy. Innovative solutions are urgently needed to address the reality that countless women remain in shelters without a permanent home. Increased government action is essential to lift women out of poverty and guarantee access to secure, affordable housing for all.
• GBA+ Rationale: Women fleeing violence require housing that offers wraparound supports for trauma and gender-based violence (GBV) recovery.

Recommendation 3: Stabilize the Non-Profit Sector

The government relies on YWCAs and our sector partners to deliver its poverty reduction programs; we require stable funding to do so.

• Action: Implement “core funding” models for social service agencies rather than project-based grants, and ensure funding agreements include wage parity adjustments for the care sector.
• GBA+ Rationale: The nonprofit workforce is 80% women workers. Investing in the non-profit workforce is an investment in women’s economic equity and the broader economy. We cannot reduce poverty in Ontario while relying on the underpaid labour of women to deliver services.

Conclusion

Poverty is not a personal shortcoming; it is a systemic issue.

The 2020–2025 strategy laid important groundwork for those considered “job-ready,” but left behind those most in need. Over the past five years, income, housing, and health precarity, as well as gender-based violence, all contributing factors to poverty, have been exacerbated by the pandemic, economic recession, and a lack of targeted policy interventions.

Ontario’s next strategy must adopt a human rights based approach that places dignity, equity, and inclusion at its core. It must also include repealing measures that are inconsistent with a human rights lens and have punitive effects on people experiencing poverty. This includes laws that increase risk for middle-income renters and those facing housing precarity, including Bill 60.

A comprehensive, gender responsive approach, one that strengthens income security, tenant protections, and access to deeply affordable housing, is essential to achieve lasting poverty reduction.

Ontario’s next poverty reduction strategy can contribute to a future where everyone has access to stable housing, economic security, and the supports required to live with dignity. The YWCA Ontario Coalition urges the provincial government to ensure that the next strategy recognizes that there is no poverty reduction without gender equity.