When:  Wednesday, July 9th from 7pm to 9pm

Where: Council Chambers, City Hall, 100 Queen St. W.

The City of Toronto will hold two public meetings in July to give Torontonians the opportunity to talk about poverty and how it can be reduced. Councillor Joe Mihevc, Chair of the Community Development and Recreation Committee, announced today that Community Conversations on Poverty Reduction will be held on July 9 and 10.

The public sessions come at a time when the Government of Ontario is conducting consultations on the development of a provincial poverty reduction strategy. The Province has said it intends to introduce its strategy by the end of the year.

“Because poverty affects us all, the City of Toronto feels it is essential to involve residents in a public discussion,” said Councillor Mihevc. “These Community Conversations will give people an opportunity to talk about their experience of poverty and to give us their views on what we should be doing as governments and communities to reduce it.”

The public meetings will be part of the City’s consultation process that will invite residents to express their views on poverty reduction. A website www.toronto.ca/povertyreduction will be launched soon to allow people to share their views online.

Toronto is Canada’s largest city and sixth largest government, and home to a diverse population of about 2.6 million people. It is the economic engine of Canada and one of the greenest and most creative cities in North America. In the past three years, Toronto has won more than 70 awards for quality, innovation and efficiency in delivering public services. Toronto’s government is dedicated to prosperity, opportunity and liveability for all its residents.