ISAC is undertaking a major consultation on the income security system to identify priority concerns for litigation and generate new ideas for law reform.
We are seeking to involve those most affected by income security policy by working with anti poverty and grassroots organizations and we need your help to reach across the province. We are inviting community groups, legal clinics, and others concerned about poverty to join us in this project.
It is a very important time to get communities across Ontario thinking and acting on income security issues as the province heads towards an election, and the Federal government is again talking about tackling child poverty and the reform of income security programs. Given the political window of opportunity we believe this consultation can actually make a difference if we work together to ensure it is innovative and inclusive.
Please review the following and let us know if you can help by no later than January 31st 2003.
The process will involve two focus groups in each community:
- The problems with income security programs and systems
- What kind of income security systems do we need for today’s economy?
ISAC’s Income Security Strategy:
- Distribute Consultation kit across province to host groups and legal clinics
- Gather local reports identifying local concerns and recommendations
- Combine local reports with a representative sample of proceedings and develop a consultation report capturing the main concerns and recommendations
- Circulate the consultation report to participants and partner organizations for review
- Meet with poverty law experts and activists to define litigation priorities
- Develop a report on common issues and litigation priorities
- Hold a think tank session with reference group and selected participants to develop options for a draft policy reform paper
- Circulate paper to all concerned
- Hold a major income security conference with a wide variety activists, policy experts and academics to develop a draft platform of basic demands for reforming income security
- Circulate draft platform to groups and networks across the province for endorsement
- Work with community based organizations and networks as well as participants to push for implementation of income security reforms