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w at er lo oc hr on ic le .c a W at er lo o C hr on ic le | T hu rs da y, D ec em be r 20 ,2 01 8 | 8 ABOUT US This newspaper, published every Thursday, is a division of the Metroland Media Group Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Torstar Corporation. The Metroland family of newspapers is comprised of more than 80 community publications across Ontario. This newspaper is a member of the National NewsMedia Council. Complainants are urged to bring their concerns to the attention of the news- paper and, if not satisfied, write The National NewsMedia Council, Suite 200, 890 Yonge St., Toronto, ON M4W 2H2. 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Delivery For all delivery inquiries, e-mail customerservice@metroland.com or call 519-894-3000 OPINION TO LEARN HOW TO SUBMIT YOUR OWN CONTENT VISIT WATERLOOCHRONICLE.CA EDITORIAL Storm clouds are threatening economic growth in Ontario and Canada. On Wednesday, the central bank held interest rates amid slowing growth and fears of a major slowdown as early as 2020. The oil price crisis is hurting more than just Alberta's economy. Ontario's manufacturing sector has suffered a setback with news of GM's Oshawa pullout. Other automakers are similarly pinched and more job losses are widely expected. Growth forecasts for 2019 have already been reduced. Against this worrisome backdrop, consider these recent reports. The number of Ontario seniors needing to use food banks jumped an alarming 10 per cent last year. And that's not just because more people have achieved senior citizen status. That's a growth rate three times faster than the growth of the province's senior population, according to the authors of the report, the Ontario Asso- ciation of Food Banks. A half-million Ontarians rely on food banks. The growth trend is expected to continue. There are a host of reasons. The changing workforce in Ontario features a rise in part-time jobs, contract work and precarious employment. More and more peo- ple are having trouble and living below the poverty line. But, according to the report, housing costs are the single biggest driver of the crisis. It states that nearly 90 per cent of food bank users are rental or social housing tenants, and they spend the majority of their inadequate monthly income on housing. OAFB chair Michael Maid- ment says: "If rent consumes as much as 70 per cent of your income, there's little left over for anything else, like transit or food or even things like raising kids ..." Adding to this, the provincial government has re- moved rent controls on some kinds of rental units, meaning prices will continue to rise. If all this isn't worrisome enough, consider food pric- es. Canada's Food Price Report 2019 predicts an increase overall of about 3.5 per cent. Bakery, dairy, fruit and vegetables are forecast to get between three and six per cent more expensive. The average family grocery bill will grow by $400 next year. For many of us, that's an inconvenience. For low income citizens, it's much more. Consider the single social assistance recipient, receiving a little above $700 monthly, probably paying more than 70 per cent of that on housing. Or the single senior receiving the Old Age Security of $586 monthly. Or the CPP recipient getting the average of about $630, which when combined with OAS offers up about $1,200. For these folks, an extra $400 for food is not a minor glitch. It's a potential disaster. Governments can do something to mitigate these combined threats. They can expedite funding and policy around affordable housing. They can finally implement evidence-based rates for social assistance so they reflect the real cost of living. A national pharmacare program could make a huge difference. The federal government could pick up the Basic Income Pilot project killed by Ontario. The point is, there are opportunities to prepare for the storm pretty much everyone agrees is coming. Will we seize them, or sit back and wait? LOOMING ECONOMIC STORM THREATENS VULNERABLE CITIZENS I've always celebrated Christmas even though my family is Hindu. Trinidadi- ans are like that. I suppose it stems from growing up on a small island known for its di- asporas from India, Africa, China, England ... I could go on. This amalgamation of cultures happened long be- fore North Americans start- ed bragging about multicul- turalism. Eventually, when so many different people live together in one tiny country surrounded by water, every- one starts to share. My parents talked about Christmases with baked ham and home-made bread, curry goat and roti, macaro- ni pie, pastelles and fruit cake made with rum. They reminisced about listening to Parang, a Spanish folk music played at Christmas- time. And they recall various eggnog recipes. It's true, the menu is filled with dishes from various countries around the world and yet it's a pretty common Christmas menu of most Trinidadian households. And even when I visit rela- tives who live in Canada, the same items are always on the table in celebration of the holiday - whether you're Christian or not. So when we first came to Canada back in the '70s, we were anxious for the celebra- tion. We put up a small, fake tree and went to bed early in hopes that Santa Claus would arrive at our Parkdale apartment on Jameson Ave- nue, a common stop for new- comers in Toronto. For a while, this flurry of immigrants seemed to threatened the very exis- tence of Christmas to the point where we were all afraid to say the greeting when Dec. 25 rolled around. When I lived in a town- house years ago, I always had a tree in my window, rein- deer on my front lawn and Christmas cards for my neighbours. And still, the same neighbours were terri- fied to say 'Merry Christmas' to me, for fear of the offense it could cause. How were they to know that a brown- skinned woman would cele- brate the holiday that signi- fies Christ's birthday? But recently I've noticed we're becoming more relaxed. Peo- ple say the word Christmas, and it's OK to share gifts. Hooray - it will not be can- celled! I don't go to church dur- ing the holiday season, but my mother often talks about going to midnight mass just for the celebration. And why not? Churches welcome ev- eryone, as do temples, mosques and synagogues. It's really about community and, after all, we live in Cana- da. Merry Christmas. Priya Ramsingh is a Kitchener Post contributor, communications consultant and the author of the fiction- al novel, Brown Girl in the Room. She can be reached at priya@arkacomm.ca. YES, THAT 'BROWN-SKINNED WOMAN' CELEBRATES CHRISTMAS IMMIGRANTS AREN'T OUT TO CANCEL DEC. 25, WRITES PRIYA RAMSINGH PRIYA RAMSINGH Column