Community consultations have been taking place across Ontario on the provincial government’s next five-year Poverty Reduction Strategy. ISAC has prepared a Toolkit for Community Legal Clinics to use to prepare for and participate in –…
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…
On December 27, 2012, the provincial government announced $42 million in one-time funding for local housing and homelessness initiatives. The announcement says that the money “will assist eligible municipalities as they develop and implement their Community Homelessness Prevention Initiative (CHPI) plans. Funds will be allocated to meet the needs of the most vulnerable Ontarians – including social assistance recipients – to ensure their stability through this period of transition as plans are developed.” The funds will be provided to municipalities for the period January 1, 2013 through March 31, 2014. What does this announcement mean?
Today marks the fourth anniversary of Ontario’s first-ever Poverty Reduction Strategy. The 25 in 5 Network for Poverty Reduction has issued its fourth annual progress report on poverty reduction – see below. The report notes that child…
The provincial government’s decision to eliminate the Community Start-Up and Maintenance Benefit (CSUMB) will have negative impacts – not only on housing, but also on people’s health. The Wellesley Institute and ISAC – along with ACTO, the AOHC, Street Health, and the Peterborough County-City Health Unit – have partnered to produce a new report, “The Real Cost of Cutting the Community Start-Up and Maintenance Benefit: A Health Equity Impact Assessment.” The report calls on the provincial government to halt the planned elimination of CSUMB and reinstate the $67 million in funding.
The Commission for the Review of Social Assistance in Ontario will issue its final report and recommendations next week. How will we tell if the report passes the test? How will we know if the recommendations…
On Friday, Sept. 28th take 5 minutes to tell your MPP to reverse the cuts to housing benefits for people on OW and ODSP! Every month, thousands of people in Ontario need the Community Start-up and…
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…
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.…
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…
Abandoning the Social Assistance Review process due solely to Drummond’s recommendations would be deeply counterproductive. Now is the time for people on social assistance, their advocates and allies to fight even harder for the kind of system that can and must be built in Ontario. But it’s going to take efforts in two distinct areas to get the job done.
The Income Security Advocacy Centre (ISAC), the ODSP Action Coalition and the Schizophrenia Society of Ontario created a Workshop Facilitator’s Guide for advocates to use to hold discussions with people on social assistance. A number…