On November 22, the Minister of Children, Community and Social Services, Lisa MacLeod, announced a number of changes to Ontario Works (OW) and the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP).
These changes include:
- changing the definition of disability in ODSP to make it more restrictive
- changing the amounts of money that people in both OW and ODSP can keep when they work
- simplifying the rates
- consolidating supplements and benefits in both ODSP and OW
- more emphasis on local service delivery
- giving people on OW wrap-around supports to employment
- and much more
ISAC is hosting a webinar to discuss the announcement, with support from CLEO’s Your Legal Rights.
The webinar will:
- review the proposed changes
- explore what they will mean for low-income people in Ontario
- talk about next steps that people in community can take.
Date: Thursday, December 6
Time: 10:00am – 11:30am
Register at this link: https://cc.readytalk.com/registration/#/?meeting=vjkazm7ltp9r&campaign=a5ymhg95rabg
Notes:
- If you are a group of people on social assistance or work with such a group, please consider setting up a group opportunity to watch the webinar together.
- The webinar will be taped for future viewing, for those who cannot participate live.
Resources:
- The Minister’s press release is here: https://news.ontario.ca/mcys/en/2018/11/ontarios-government-for-the-people-announces-plan-to-restore-dignity-independence-and-empowerment-to.html
- Background information about the Minister’s announcement is here: https://news.ontario.ca/mcys/en/2018/11/reforming-social-assistance.html
- Read our response to the Minister’s announcement here: http://incomesecurity.org/public-education/many-questions-few-answers-and-great-risk-for-people-with-disabilities/
