Income Security Advocacy Centre

ISAC works to address issues of income security and poverty in Ontario

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ISAC Annual Report / Rapport annuel 2017-2018

– la version française suit dessous – The past year has seen many development in the income security and employment landscape, with many more to come in the near future. Check out our annual report to see the key milestones of our work in 2017-2018, including: The release of Income Security: A Roadmap for Change …

What Changing the ODSP Definition of Disability Would Mean / Que signifierait changer la définition d’invalidité du POSPH?

On November 22, the Minister of Children, Community and Social Services announced proposed changes to the social assistance system in Ontario. One change would make the ODSP definition of disability more like definitions used in federal government benefit programs. This proposed change would result in many low-income people with disabilities in Ontario who would qualify …

Webinar: Changes to Social Assistance: What will they mean?

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 …

Many questions, few answers, and great risk for people with disabilities

Minister Lisa MacLeod’s announcement today about a new direction for social assistance in Ontario shows promising directions for Ontario Works, but leaves many unanswered questions and creates serious risks for people with disabilities. There is also no mention of addressing the most critical problem, which is improving the inadequate benefit rates for people on OW …

Bill 47 is a Step Back for Ontario’s Workers

On October 23, Ontario’s government tabled Bill 47, the Making Ontario Open for Business Act. The legislation, which will repeal portions of Bill 148 (the Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs Act), is a major setback for workers’ rights in Ontario. Bill 148, passed in November 2017, was the result of years of campaigning and advocacy for …

OW and ODSP Rates and the OCB 2018 / Les taux d’OT, du POSPH et de la POE 2018

– la version française suit dessous – Ontario Works (OW) and Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) rates are being increased later this month, as announced on July 31, 2018. As in past years, we have created a rates sheet to let people on social assistance, and people who work with them, know what these increases mean. …

Helping people with mental health disabilities access ODSP: An expert report on the complexity of mental health treatment in Ontario

– la version française suit dessous – People with mental health disabilities face particular barriers in accessing Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) benefits. A new report by a group of medical experts from University of Toronto’s Collaborative Mental Health Care Working Group will help applicants establish their eligibility for ODSP benefits. To qualify as a …

Ontario jobs numbers contradict fears about raising the minimum wage

This Labour Day weekend marks eight months since Bill 148, the Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs Act, came into effect. Bill 148 increased the minimum wage from $11.60 to $14.00 an hour, gave all workers access to ten job-protected personal emergency leave days (the first two of which are paid), legislated equal pay for equal work …

Ontario’s Social Assistance System: 100 days to fix it or to break it?

This post, by Jennefer Laidley at ISAC, originally appeared on the Advocacy Centre for Tenants Ontario (ACTO) blog on Thursday, August 16, 2018  Eleven years ago, I started work at the Income Security Advocacy Centre, a legal clinic advocating for improvements to the income benefit programs available to low-income Ontarians, with social assistance as a …