In fact, the wait list has set a new record every month since the recession of 2008. Toronto Housing Connections reports that there are 87,638 households on the city’s affordable housing wait list as of November 2012.

The Ontario Association of Food Banks reports 412,998 individuals lined up at food banks in March of 2012, with Food Banks Canada reporting 882,188 people used food banks across the country in that same month. Toronto’s Daily Bread Food Bank reports a total of 1,123,500 visits to food charities in the Greater Toronto area in 2012 – up 18% from the recession of 2008. Many thousands are in want of common necessaries hundreds of thousands are in want of common comforts, sir. Scrooge,” said the gentleman, taking up a pen, “it is more than usually desirable that we should make some slight provision for the Poor and Destitute, who suffer greatly at the present time. The words of Dickens follow, with notes from Toronto, Ontario and Canada in 2012 in italics. Charles Dickens, in his famous novel Christmas Carol, writes of a visit by two charity-minded men to the office of Ebenezer Scrooge. Dickens idealises the poor to show money does not equate to happiness 'Scrooge was. Scrooge prioritises money over comfort 'God bless us, everyone' (Stave 3/5) - inclusive personal pronouns show that the Cratchits who are poorer than rich Scrooge are more generous than him coal reminds us of his obsession with saving money and now prioritises comfort of workers 'darkness was cheap and Srooge liked it' (Stave 1) - darkness has connotations with coldness and being alone fires symbolise warmth and happiness and festivity contrast to his isolated and neglected childhood experience 'make up the fires and buy another coal-scuttle' (stave 5) - imperatives demonstrate redemption

angels happy because of virtue and goodness, Scrooge is already seeing effects of mindset change no longer weighed down by his obsession of money, contrast to Marley similes used by himself instead of the narrator to emphasise character development permanent change made from didactic messages of ghosts 'I am as light as a feather, I am as happy as an angel, I am as merry as a school boy' (stave 5) - repetition/anaphora suggests Scrooge is redefining the new person he has become in the Past, the Present and the Future' (stave 4) - making commitment to to be better person, more generous, loving, benevolent accusatory finger forces Scrooge to confront what he least wants to see 'I will honour Christmas in my heart. silence is uncomforting like dead graves

semantic field of death emphasised by dark clothes like mourning 'it was shrouded in a deep black garment which concealed its head, its face, its form and left nothing of it visible save one outstretched hand' (stave 4) - repetition of 'it' implies non-human and mysterious, like future which is unknown apart from death

The annotated christmas carol