0 1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000 5,000 6,000 7,000 8,000 9,000 10,000 11,000 12,000 13,000 14,000 15,000 16,000 1991 1996
Township of Addington Highlands Township of Loyalist Town of Greater Napanee Township of Stone Mills
1991 1996
Township of Addington Highlands 2,193 2,429
Denbigh, Abinger & Ashby 712 717
Kaladar, Anglesea & Effingham 1,481 1,712
Town of Greater Napanee 14,507 14,994
Adolphustown 886 946 Napanee 5,179 5,450 North Fredericksburg 3,183 3,258 South Fredericksburg 1,222 1,197 Richmond 4,037 4,143 Township of Loyalist 13,887 14,551 Amherst Island 401 399 Bath 1,257 1,389 Ernestown 12,229 12,763
Township of Stone Mills 6,656 7,229
Camden East 4,564 4,928
Newburg 712 729
33
People Living Below the Poverty Line
Using Statistics Canada low-income cutoffs (the most widely used measure of poverty in Canada), there are 5,725 people living in low-income households.
The original Town of Napanee had 1,825 individuals living in poverty, which is a 34% poverty rate. This population is now included in the Town of Greater Napanee which has a 19.9% poverty rate. A larger concentration of people live in poverty in the original Town of Napanee than in the other urban areas around Amherstview and Bath.
In northern L&A County, the Township on Addington Highlands has a poverty rate of 22.2%. The low-income population is 540 people.
The overall poverty rate for the area is 15%, compared to 18% for the province as a whole. Oddly enough, the incidence of poverty as a whole when compared to Ontario is higher in both urban and rural parts23 of L&A County. In rural areas, 12% live in poverty compared to 9% in all of Ontario. In the urban areas, 22% live in poverty compared to 19% in Ontario. 24
The breakdown by municipality is as follows:
LOW-INCOME POPULATION IN LENNOX & ADDINGTON COUNTY MUNICIPALITY LOW-INCOME POPULATION TOTAL POPULATION LOW-INCOME % OF TOTAL POPULATION
Township of Addington Highlands 540 2,429 22.2%
Town of Greater Napanee 2,980 14,994 19.9%
Township of Loyalist 1,535 14,152 10.8%
Township of Stone Mills 1,190 11,372 10.5%
Language and Literacy
Among the low-income population, 99% speak English at home.
Residents of L&A County have lower levels of literacy than the general Canadian population aged 16 and over. There is a larger fraction of the population at the lowest levels of literacy. There is a significantly smaller fraction of residents at the two highest levels of literacy.25
“The ability to understand and respond to written forms and communications is increasingly important for low-income residents. The legislative frameworks and policies that impact the low-income population, such as the Tenant Protection Act, Ontario Rental Housing Tribunal, Ontario Works, and the Social Benefits Tribunal, increasingly rely on written
communications, complicated procedures, and tight time frames. The increasing integration of Ontario Works recipients within the labour market makes numeracy skills increasingly important for understanding how paid work affects entitlements.”26
23
Stats Canada defines rural areas as small towns and villages with less that 1,000 people. Urban areas have minimum population concentrations of 1,000 and population densities of at least 400 per square kilometre.
24 This inconsistency is a statistical anomaly explained by “Simpson’s Paradox”. The more accurate reflection is the urban/rural
breakdown which is supported by the table entitled "Low-Income Population in Lennox & Addington County".
25
A great deal of additional data is provided in Appendix VI, A Profile of Lennox & Addington – Legal Aid Ontario.
Place of Birth, Immigration and Citizenship
Among the low-income population, 95% were born in Canada. Others were born in European countries, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The non-immigrant population is 95%; 99% of the low-income population identify themselves as Canadian citizens.
Ethnic and Aboriginal Origins
Among the low-income population, 4% identified themselves as having Aboriginal origins compared to provincial total of 2.1%. Among these, 35% are reported to be living below the poverty line compared to 14.9% of non-Aboriginals.
Family status
The low-income population is comprised of 37% children followed by 31% who are their parents; 10% are spouses or common-law partners without children at home and the remaining 23% are unattached individuals.
Education
Only a very small fraction of people living on a low income have attended university: 4% compared to 18% across Ontario. Furthermore, only 2% graduated with a degree, compared to 9% across the province. The percentage who attended non-university education was roughly the same as the province at 20%.
On the other hand, 13% of the low-income population had less than Grade 9 compared to 15% for Ontario; 57% had attended secondary school and 19% had graduated, compared to 43% and 14%, respectively, for the province.
Employment and Unemployment
It was not possible to use the LAO profile of L&A County to reach reliable conclusions about employment and unemployment levels and incomes.
Participation and Employment Rates and Earnings
The LAO profile cannot assist in understanding the situation in L&A County. We have provided other information from a local study later in the report.
Among the low-income population, 58% of individuals aged 15+ did not work in 1995 compared to 57% province-wide. Among these, 30% worked part-time or part-year
compared to 31% provincially, and 12% worked full-time, which is the same as the provincial statistic.
Although males were more likely to work than females, females appeared to earn more than males when they worked. Among those working full-time, full-year the average earnings were $4,902 compared to $8,663 provincially; $5,008 among females and $4,843 among males (versus $8,568 for females and $8,725 for males according to provincial statistics). According to the above statistics, low-income residents of L&A County earn approximately half as much as their provincial comparators.
35
Level and Sources of Income
• Unattached Individuals
The median total income among all low-income unattached individuals in L&A County was $9,856 in 1995 compared to $10,293 in the province.
Government transfer payments are the major source of income for about 75% compared to 63% in the rest of Ontario. Among unattached individuals, 33% in the province list wages, salaries, or self-employment earnings as their major source of income, but only 20% do so in L&A County.
• Families
Among families, 1,495 lived below the poverty line or 13% of all families in L&A County; 47% of these families were lead by single parents (although single parent families make up only 18% of all families in L&A County).
In husband-wife families, the median income was $48,513 in 1995 compared with $12,693 among poor husband-wife families.
In single parent families, the median income was $20,191 compared with $12,966 among low-income single parent families. Among these families, 34% had incomes under $10,000 and 64% had incomes under $15,000.
Government transfer payments as a major source of income were received by 53% of husband-wife families, 56% by male lone parent families (25 in total), and 81% of female lone parent families (430 in total).
Low-Income Tenants
Among tenants, 51% are spending 30% or more of household income on shelter costs in tenant-occupied households (1,665), which is substantially above the provincial average of 44%. Among households, 23% (3,260) rent compared to 36% provincially. The number of tenant-occupied households differs significantly by municipality. The majority of tenants live in the area south of the 401, with much smaller numbers in both the northern and central areas.