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Income Security Advocacy Centre

Income Security Advocacy Centre

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Working while on OW: What Minister MacLeod’s changes to income exemptions would mean

December 3, 2018

On November 22, Minister Lisa MacLeod announced a number of changes to Ontario’s social assistance programs.

One of these is a change to the way that earned income will be deducted from the benefits of people on Ontario Works (OW).

Our analysis shows that:

  • The proposed changes will improve the incomes of people on OW who earn less than $500 net each month, which will help those who have limited ability to work. But people will be worse off as they earn more. Those earning more than $500 net will have less total income than under the current rules, which will leave them with less money to pay for the things they need. This runs counter to the government’s stated goal of providing greater financial incentive to people to work.
  • People would “earn off” of OW sooner. This would leave them with lower income when they lose other benefits that they get through OW – like drug coverage – and therefore less ability to pay for much-needed services themselves.

Read our backgrounder here:

  • Earned Income Exemption Changes – Ontario Works – Dec 2018 – Updated

This is the first in a series of information bulletins that we will be circulating about the impact of Minister MacLeod’s proposed changes to social assistance.

And watch our webinar for more information on this and other proposed changes:

  • https://yourlegalrights.on.ca/webinar/changes-social-assistance-what-was-announced-what-it-means-and-what-s-next 

================================

Le 22 novembre 2018, la ministre Lisa MacLeod a annoncé qu’elle apporterait des changements aux programmes d’aide sociale ontariens. Ainsi, on modifiera la façon dont les gains seront déduits des chèques de prestations des bénéficiaires d’Ontario au travail.

Conclusions de notre analyse :

  • Les changements proposés amélioreront le revenu des prestataires du programme Ontario au travail qui touchent moins de 500 $ par mois (revenu net), ce qui aidera les personnes dont la capacité de travail est limitée. Cela dit, les bénéficiaires qui gagnent plus verront leur situation se détériorer. En effet, leur revenu total sera réduit, ce qui leur laissera moins d’argent disponible pour payer les nécessités de la vie. Cette décision contredit l’objectif explicite du gouvernement, qui est d’inciter financièrement les chômeurs à travailler.
  • Comme les prestations s’épuiseront plus vite, les bénéficiaires jouiront d’un revenu moins élevé après avoir perdu les autres avantages que procure le programme – l’assurance-médicaments, par exemple – et éprouveront donc plus de difficultés à payer les services dont ils ont tant besoin.

Lisez notre fiche d’information ici:

  • Ontario Au Travail – Exemptions De Gains – Dec 2018 – Updated

Et regardez notre webinaire pour plus d’informations sur cette modification et d’autres modifications proposées (en anglais uniquement) :

  • https://yourlegalrights.on.ca/webinar/changes-social-assistance-what-was-announced-what-it-means-and-what-s-next

Il s’agit du premier d’une série de bulletins d’information sur les répercussions des modifications proposées par le ministre MacLeod en matière d’assistance sociale.

Public Education, Social Assistance Reform

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1500 – 55 University Avenue, Toronto, ON M5J 2H7
Tel: (416) 597-5820 • Toll Free: 1-866-245-4072 • Fax: (416) 597-5821

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This site contains general legal information for people in Ontario, Canada. It is not intended to be used as legal advice for a specific legal problem. ISAC is a not-for-profit, non-partisan organization. ISAC is funded by Legal Aid Ontario (LAO). The funding for this website is also provided by LAO. The views expressed in any of ISAC’s publications (including written, oral, or visual) are the views of the clinic and do not necessarily reflect those of LAO.