Income Security Advocacy Centre

ISAC works to address issues of income security and poverty in Ontario

Public Education

To build public awareness and inform low-income Ontarians about the issues we’re working on, we create information sheets, backgrounders, and updates as required and circulate them electronically. We circulate these materials on social media, on our Updates page, and posted to our Publications page as well.

Each time the provincial government makes a change to the amount of money provided to people receiving Ontario Works (OW) and Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) benefits, we produce a new “rates sheet”.

Our latest rate sheet was released in July 2023. Click here to read the July 2023 rates sheet (PDF). You can find it in different formats and in French, as well as previous years’ rate sheets, by searching “Social Assistance Rates” on our Publications page.

ISAC staff provide trainings, info sessions, and workshops on a variety of topics for members and groups within the clinic system; for members of the legal community through accredited Ontario legal associations; for community groups and non-profit organizations; and for members of the public.

Recent topics have included:

  • Intersections between the ESA and the Ontario Human Rights Code
  • Upcoming changes to Ontario Works (OW) and the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP)
  • Improving access to CPP-D
  • GIS-CERB Interactions
  • Modernization of Social Assistance in Ontario

If you have an idea or a request for a training or workshop, please contact us.

Each year, ISAC provides information about Ontario’s provincial Budget and, in response to the Budget, an analysis of what it means for low-income Ontarians.

Check back later for more public education materials on the Ontario Budget.

Provincial and federal elections provide a good opportunity for people across Ontario to get a better understanding about where the various political parties stand on issues related to poverty, social assistance, and workers’ rights. 

Every provincial and federal election cycle, we develop and release educational materials and issue guides that people in local communities can use to raise issues with candidates and at all-candidates’ debates, and discuss with their friends, families, and the groups and organizations they are affiliated with.

We also provide information about where each of the parties stand on various poverty and social assistance-related issues. Our entire catalog of election-related materials is available on our Publications page, and related posts can be found on our Updates page.

More comprehensive income security law materials can be found on the following websites:

  • Community Legal Education Ontario (CLEO) produces clear, accurate and practical legal information to help people understand and exercise their legal rights.
  • Your Legal Rights is a project of CLEO, and is a website of free, practical, and easy-to-find legal information produced by hundreds of organizations across Ontario.
  • Steps to Justice / Justice pas-à-pas is led by CLEO and is a website that provides step-by-step guides and information on common legal problems; practical tools, such as checklists, fillable forms, and self-help guides; referral information for legal and social services across Ontario; and live chat and email support