The western part of Centretown is among the Ottawa neighbourhoods with the highest poverty rates, according to a report released Tuesday.
Poverty is one of the key city issues cited in the latest Ottawa’s Vital Signs report commissioned by the Community Foundation of Ottawa.
“While progress is evident in a number of areas, many of the issues identified in previous Ottawa’s Vital Signs reports remain,” the report said.
The report, in its fifth year, notes western Centretown as one of the five neighbourhoods with the largest portion of the population below the low income cut-off. Statistics Canada considers the low income cut-off the point at which families may be strained financially.
Many of the poverty-related indicators in the report were given a rating of poor.
This includes the number of people using a food bank, the money a couple with two children can get from Ontario Works and the percentage of low income families who are considered working poor.
The ratings were determined, according to the report, “with the help of a wide cross-section of community graders.”
Despite some of the poor ratings, the report notes that there was a 25 per cent increase in food bank donations from the previous year.
It also describes the overall poverty rate as “neither poor nor good.”