The Divisional Court has found that the strict training and accreditation requirements for the Ontario Disability Support Program’s (ODSP) Guide Dog Benefit are discriminatory, on the basis of disability, contrary to Ontario’s Human Rights Code. On June…
*September 10, 2024, Update: Our recommendations for improving the Canada Disability Benefit (CDB) have changed slightly. To read the most up-to-date ISAC recommendations on the CDB, click here* Every federal budget cycle includes a period…
TORONTO, ON – Social assistance rates for Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) recipients will increase today, but Ontarians struggling to get by on Ontario Works (OW) will see no increase to their social assistance incomes…
Appeal rights are a necessary component of income support programs, writes former ISAC public health student Abby Taher. What would the ideal appeals process look like for the CDB? Abby has shared some ideas in…
The federal government has announced the next step in the Canada Disability Benefit (CDB) rollout. ISAC attended a public meeting on June 26, 2024, where Economic and Social Development Canada (ESDC) staff shared that they…
Nothing Without Us: An Action about the Canada Disability Benefit Join us at Matt Cohen Park (across from Chrystia Freeland’s Office) for a Community Gathering in Toronto to talk about the low proposed rates, access requirements,…
On June 12, 2024, the Income Security Advocacy Centre (ISAC) intervened in Ministry of Community and Social Services v. Robinson-Cooke at the Ontario Divisional Court. The case was about whether the strict training and accreditation requirements for…
When we posted our last update in February 2024, we were waiting to hear more about what the government was going to include in the first draft of the detailed rules on how the law…
Since its announcement, the 2024 Federal Budget has continued to generate much conversation, speculation, and expectation. Now that the dust has settled, let’s look at what the Budget offers and misses from an income security…
On Friday, April 26, ISAC sent the following letter to Minister Freeland and Minister Khera regarding the disappointing information announced about the Canada Disability Benefit in the 2024 Federal Budget. The letter was endorsed by…
The Ontario Court of Appeal granted the Income Security Advocacy Centre (ISAC) intervener status in Jacob v. Canada (Attorney General). This legal challenge concerns workers living with severe disabilities and their exclusion from receiving pandemic…
Last week, the Ontario government tabled a $214 billion budget for 2024-25, the largest in the province’s history. But if you are among the hundreds of thousands of low income working age Ontarians struggling to…