Updated: Mon Nov. 26 2007 6:49:06 PM

toronto.ctv.ca

Almost one in three families in Toronto is living in poverty, a "deeply troubling" statistic that makes the city the poverty capital of Canada, according to a new report.

The United Way of Greater Toronto says that number represents about 93,000 households raising children -- a figure that has doubled since 1990.

The poverty rate is almost 10 per cent higher than the national average, according to the report, entitled "Losing Ground."

The social services agency says despite economic prosperity, high employment and job growth in Ontario, working families in Toronto are struggling to make ends meet.

The United Way points to a number of symptoms for the rise in poverty, including:

• An increase in eviction applications
• An increased rate of insolvency
• The growth of payday loan companies targeting low-income communities.

The agency defines poverty as a family whose after-tax income is 50 per cent below the average in their community, taking family size into account.

Of the city's two-parent families, nearly one in five live in poverty, compared to one in 10 in the national, provincial and regional levels, the report says.

The agency says the median net income of a family in Toronto in 2005 is $41,500 after taxes, which is down 13 per cent from 1990. The income level is also:

• More than $10,000 below the national median of $51,800
• About $13,000 below the Ontario median of $54,300
• Almost $20,000 below the 905-region of $60,000 a year.

"I feel for the families that are behind these statistics," said Frances Lankin, president of the United Way of Greater Toronto.

"I'm talking a lot today about numbers, and the numbers are shocking, but it's because they represent real people."

Single mother Denise Power is one of thousands who depend on food banks every day.

"It's getting difficult each day to make the rent on time and make sure there's food on the table and clothes on the children," she said.

Michael Oliphant, of the Daily Bread Food Bank, says many residents he sees can't pay their rent or feed their children.

"It's really the cost of tax. It is so high in relation to people's income. The people that we see are paying 75 per cent on their income on rent alone," Oliphant said.

Commenting on the report, Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty said the province is working to reduce poverty rates.

"I think we've made, by any objective perspective, some progress, whether we're talking about minimum wage, or investments in public housing and child care, making schools available to communities, and the like," he told reporters.

"I think we've made some real progress, but obviously there's more to be done."

Lankin, who called the poverty numbers "deeply troubling," said families need help. She recommends:

• Developing a poverty reduction strategy for Ontario that takes into account the unique low-income challenges facing Toronto and sets clear poverty reduction targets and aggressive timelines for achieving those targets
• Ensuring the strategy involves all orders of government so that all components of the social safety net are considered, including policies and programs that impact housing security, employment security and child care
• Developing rigorous new regulatory measures to protect consumers from the payday lending sector, including setting interest rate caps, limits on fees and charges and other practices that trap consumers in a cycle of debt

A separate poverty report on Monday, by the lobby group Campaign 2000, said Ontario's child poverty rate is 12.6 per cent. The organization is urging the federal government to spend any savings from debt reduction to help revive a 1989 pledge to eliminate child poverty.