– la version française suit dessous – ISAC has completed a second submission to Ontario’s 2017-18 Budget public consultation process. Our first submission focused on investments that are required in social assistance. This submission makes recommendations on investments that the province should be making to protect and enforce the rights of all workers in Ontario. …
Provincial Budgets
2017 Pre-budget Submission: $1 billion for OW & ODSP / 1 milliard de dollars pour OT & le POSPH
– la version française suit dessous – ISAC recently spoke to the Ontario Legislature’s Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs, to support the call from the Interfaith Social Assistance Reform Coalition (ISARC) to invest $1 billion in social assistance in the 2017-18 provincial budget. $1 billion won’t resolve the poverty of people on social …
Bold steps on social assistance reform in Ontario Budget 2016, but incomes still grossly inadequate
Ontario’s 2016 Budget makes some significant commitments to social assistance reform as well as changes in other areas that will impact low-income Ontarians, including those on Ontario Works (OW) and the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP). But below-poverty incomes for people on social assistance continue to leave them in dire circumstances, particularly as food costs …
Ontario Budget 2016: ISAC Submission to Pre-budget Consultations
Ontario is wrapping up its pre-budget consultations this week. ISAC has made a submission to both the Minister of Finance and the Ontario Legislature’s Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs. Our submission includes recommendations on: Making social assistance incomes adequate, especially given rising food costs and other costs of living, and paying for identification …
Budget 2015: Not Much Assistance for Social Assistance
Ontario’s 2015 Budget provides very little assistance to people relying on the low incomes provided by the province’s two social assistance programs, Ontario Works (OW) and the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP). “For most people on social assistance, benefits will continue to be eroded by a rate increase that is below the rate of inflation,” …
Ontario Budget 2015: Pre-Budget Consultations
Ontario’s 2015 pre-budget consultations are about to start. ISAC will appear before the Ontario Legislature’s Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs on January 30th to present recommendations for Ontario’s 2015 budget. In addition to presenting our recommendations, we have prepared a written submission for the Committee.
Budget 2014 – Update and Medical Reviews
Budget Re-introduced: More Comment Required The new Ontario government re-introduced the 2014 provincial Budget yesterday – the same Budget that was originally introduced on May 1. The Budget includes a social assistance rate increase, with proportionally more going to singles on OW and a continuation on the freeze on rates for the family members of people …
Ontario Election June 12, 2014
What does it mean for social assistance? We wanted to follow-up to our email last week about the 2014 Budget and its implications for people receiving social assistance. That’s because we got some emails asking when people would start to get the social assistance rate increases that were in the Budget. In order for the Budget to …
Mixed Results for Social Assistance in Budget 2014
TORONTO (1 May 2014) – Ontario’s 2014 Budget takes important steps to reduce poverty in Ontario through investments in income benefits, housing and homelessness supports, and expanded health benefits for low-income children. However, the Budget provides mixed results for Ontarians relying on the province’s two social assistance programs. The 2014 Budget contains a 4.8% increase for …
Ontario Budget 2014: Pre-Budget Consultations
Only three weeks into the new year and already one round of provincial pre-budget consultations is complete.ISAC presented recommendations for Ontario’s 2014 Budget to the Legislature’s Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs on January 16. Our recommendations focused on: continuing to make positive reforms to social assistance; investing in positive reforms as a down-payment on Ontario’s …
Budget Changes to Social Assistance Began September 1
La version française suit. The 2013 Ontario budget included a number of changes to social assistance, most of which kicked in as of September 1, 2013. ISAC has prepared several fact sheets on these changes to provide information to people receiving support from Ontario Works (OW) and the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) and the …
Budget 2013: Changes to Social Assistance to Proceed
Positive changes to social assistance are slated to go ahead, following this morning’s announcement by opposition NDP Leader Andrea Horwath that her party will provide the support required in the Legislature for the 2013 provincial budget to pass. The provincial budget put forward a number of proposals that, taken together, signal an important direction for social assistance …
Budget 2013 Analysis
Moving Forward on Positive Social Assistance Reform Budget 2013 has begun to make positive changes to a social assistance system that has continued to impoverish and cause hardship for low-income Ontarians. The majority of these changes apply to the Ontario Works (OW) program. After the Commission’s social assistance review report, starting the process of reform …
Budget 2013: What can we expect?
Today is Budget Day in Ontario – later today the new Finance Minister, Charles Sousa, will introduce the next provincial budget in the legislature. What can we expect from this year’s budget? Ontario’s politicians have been urged to remember that good public policy and smart investments can make a real difference in the lives of Ontarians living …
Take Action on Budget 2013!
The new Wynne government and the Opposition parties have returned to the Ontario Legislature and the Throne Speech has been read. The next significant milestone will be the 2013 provincial budget. This year’s budget may be an opportunity for positive change for people receiving social assistance in Ontario and other Ontarians living on low incomes. …
Act Now to Save Housing Supports for People on OW and ODSP!
The 2012 provincial budget has eliminated two critically important programs for people on Ontario Works and the Ontario Disability Support Program. The Community Start-up and Maintenance Benefit is being cut. The Community Start-up and Maintenance Benefit (CSUMB) is important because: It is targeted to assist people on social assistance – people who rely on OW or …
Ontario Budget 2012
The Ontario budget will have a large negative impact on people on Ontario Works (OW) and the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP). Direct benefits to people on OW and ODSP are being cut by the largest amount since the current government was elected in 2003. The Budget process was different than usual this year, because …
Budget 2012 Analysis Update
Analysis After the Negotiations Now that the dust has settled after the 2012 Ontario Budget, we’ve updated our analysis of how the Budget will affect people on Ontario Works (OW) and the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP). We have done more research and analysis into both the Budget announcements and their impact. In addition, the …
Ontario Budget 2012: Have Your Say
The 2012 Ontario Budget is deeply disappointing for the nearly 900,000 men, women, and children in Ontario who currently rely on Ontario Works and the Ontario Disability Support Program for income and other necessary benefits. The Budget includes a freeze on social assistance rates and a delay in increasing the Ontario Child Benefit to the …
ISAC’s initial analysis of what Ontario’s 2012 Budget means for people on social assistance
The 2012 Ontario Budget is deeply disappointing for the nearly 900,000 men, women, and children in Ontario who currently rely on Ontario Works and the Ontario Disability Support Program for income and other necessary benefits. As previously announced, the Budget includes a freeze on social assistance rates and a delay in increasing the Ontario Child …
McGuinty Government Seeks Balance on the Backs of the Poor
TORONTO (26 March 2012) – Two days before the 2012-13 Ontario Budget, Premier Dalton McGuinty has chosen to break faith with the poorest in Ontario. The Premier has been quoted in all Ontario’s major newspapers as saying that social assistance rates will be frozen this year, and that the scheduled increase in the Ontario Child …
Take Action on Austerity
Join us and raise your concerns on the austerity agenda in Ontario – sign up TODAY to the e-action from Ontario Campaign 2000 and available on Make Poverty History’s website at http://www.makepovertyhistory.ca/act/an-ontario-that-works-for-everyone. The e-action gives every Ontarian an opportunity to send a letter to the Premier (cc’d to Andrea Horwath and Tim Hudak) expressing their …
Ontario Continues to Trap Social Assistance Recipients in Poverty
Yesterday’s 2011 provincial budget did nothing to free people relying on Ontario Works (OW) and the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) from the poverty traps built into those programs. Given skyrocketing food prices and continuing increases in energy and transportation costs, the budget’s 1% increase to OW and ODSP rates is more than disappointing and …
Special Diet Announcement Increases Insecurity for People on Social Assistance
Toronto – Ontarians on social assistance have every right to be concerned about today’s provincial government decision to create a new “nutritional supplementation” program to replace the current Special Diet Program. “The government has given no hard evidence to justify replacing the entire program,” said Mary Marrone, Director of Advocacy and Legal Services at the …
Ontario Must Move on Social Assistance Reform: Budget 2009
The McGuinty government’s budget has taken important steps to reduce poverty in Ontario. However, fundamental reform of social assistance remains a necessity, particularly as growing numbers of Ontarians lose their jobs.
