The government has made a commitment to poverty reduction. And all of the political parties in the Ontario Legislature voted in favour of poverty reduction legislation.
They can now demonstrate their commitment – by setting up a Review process that results in a social assistance system that actually helps to reduce poverty.
Tell the decision-makers that the Social Assistance Review must be bold and broad.
Here’s how:
1) Send an e-mail right now [link disabled]
Urge Premier McGuinty, Minister Meilleur, and Minister Matthews to create a bold and broad Social Assistance Review.
All you have to do is insert your personalized comments, add your name and address, and click the Submit button. We’ll do all the rest!
2) Get in touch with your own MPP
It’s important to let your local Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) know how you feel about important provincial issues – like the Social Assistance Review.
That’s because part of their job is to represent your views in the work they do at Queen’s Park.
There are two main ways to contact them – write them a letter or e-mail, or meet with them in their Constituency Office.
- Here’s how to write your MPP a letter or e-mail about the Social Assistance Review
Writing a letter or an email to your local Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) can be a powerful tool for change – after all, taking the time to write to your MPP shows that you really care about your issue. So write to them – and get your friends and family to do the same.
If you don’t know the name of your MPP or your Electoral District – go to the Elections Ontario lookup page and use your postal code or address to find out. When you know the name of your MPP or Electoral District – go to the Elections Ontario addresses list to get their contact information.
Make sure to send your letter or e-mail to their Constituency Office address – that’s the office in your local community.
Deciding what to write: You can use our letter template as a start when you’re considering what to write. But remember that speaking from your own experience can have a big impact on your local MPP.
So write a letter that talks about your experience with OW or ODSP – the ways the system has undermined you, failed to support you, denied you opportunities, or stopped you from reaching your full potential.
And tell them what you think a good social assistance system would look like – the resources, programs, and assistance that you think would help you and people in your community thrive, have economic security, and be able to live the life you want to live.
Keep your letter relatively short – two pages at the most – because your MPP or their staff will be more likely to read it that way.
If you are an activist, an agency worker, a community member, or a friend or supporter of a person living on OW or ODSP, tell your local MPP about the experience you have gained from seeing the struggles of the people you know.
And provide your insights into what a good social assistance system would be, and how the life of your local community as a whole could be made so much better if Ontario’s social assistance system had the explicit mandate to reduce poverty – after all, what else should it do?
- And here’s how to set up a meeting with your MPP
Meeting with your local Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) is a powerful, personal way to get your point across.
These tips for MPP meetings were adapted from a lobbying toolkit created by the ODSP Action Coalition.
If you don’t know who your local MPP is, here’s how to find out: Go to the Elections Ontario lookup page and use your postal code or address to look up the name of your Electoral District. Then, go to the Elections Ontario addresses list and look up that Electoral District to get the name of the MPP.
The addresses list will also give you the contact information for their Constituency Office – which is where you want to call.
Arrange for the Meeting
Call your MPP’s Constituency Office to arrange an appointment to meet. MPPs are usually available on Fridays in their offices. If the Legislature isn’t sitting, they are available most workdays.
Sometimes several phone calls are necessary to get a date. Don’t be shy about being persistent!
Once the meeting is set, let the office know who will attend.
Decide Who Will Attend
It is a good idea to bring other people along – although it’s best not to invite more than two or three people. It’s also best for all the people who attend the meeting to live in the MPP’s Electoral District.
If you receive OW or ODSP, you might invite supportive people who work for a local agency, own a local business, or are local community, religious, or cultural leaders.
And if you are an activist, an agency worker, a community member, or a friend or supporter of a person living on OW or ODSP, make sure to invite at least one person with lived experience of the social assistance system to the meeting. And make sure that person has time to speak.
Prepare for the Meeting
Find out how long you’ll have to meet with the MPP. 15 to 30 minutes is standard.
Telling your MPP about your lived experience of OW or ODSP can be hard, so you may want to make a few notes beforehand so that you remember what to say. And encourage the other people who are attending the meeting with you to do the same.
Make sure to arrive a few minutes early for the meeting to give yourself time to get settled.
During the Meeting
Be assertive rather than aggressive. Being assertive will win you more respect. Try not to get into arguments. Focus on solutions rather than complaints.
Tell your story of how OW or ODSP has failed you or stopped you from reaching your full potential.
Tell them what a good social assistance system with meaningful supports and opportunities would look like.
And tell them that they should honour the all-party commitment to poverty reduction by insisting that the Social Assistance Review:
- creates opportunities for the voices of low-income people to be heard
- identifies and addresses the most punitive elements of the system immediately
- re-imagines and creates a system for the longer term that moves people out of poverty by offering meaningful and appropriate resources and programs
- starts soon – Ontarians need and are entitled to a social assistance system that really works.
What to Ask the MPP To Do Specifically
If your MPP is a government Cabinet Minister, ask them to support a transformative Social Assistance Review in Cabinet meetings.
If your MPP is a Liberal MPP, ask them to bring up the need for a bold and broad Review in one of their caucus meetings.
If your MPP is a member of an Opposition party (the Progressive Conservatives or the NDP), ask them to demand a transformative Review in Question Period in the Legislature.
Ask your MPP to write a letter to the Minister of Community and Social Services supporting your call for a bold and broad review, and asking her to respond. Ask them to CC the letter to the Premier and the Minister of Children and Youth Services.
Follow-Up
Send your MPP a follow-up letter thanking them for meeting with you, summarizing the content of the meeting, and confirming what the MPP agreed to do.
At a later date, call the MPP’s office to see if the MPP followed through on any promises they made.
3) Write your own e-mail or letter
Three members of government will be key to ensuring a bold and broad review.
The Premier is the head of government. The Minister of Community and Social Services is responsible for the OW and ODSP programs. And the Minister of Children and Youth Services is also responsible for poverty reduction. She brought in the government’s Poverty Reduction Strategy and poverty reduction legislation.
Sending a personal letter to these three members of government is an important way to get the message across. You can send one letter addressed to all three, or separate letters to each of them.
- Deciding what to write in your letter
You can use our letter template to give you some ideas. But remember that speaking from your own experience can have a big impact. So write a letter that talks about your experience with OW or ODSP – the ways the system has undermined you, failed to support you, denied you opportunities, or stopped you from reaching your full potential.
And talk about what you think a good social assistance system would look like – the resources, programs, and assistance that you think would help you and people in your community thrive, have economic security, and be able to live the life you want to live.
Tell these three members of government that they should honour the all-party commitment to poverty reduction by insisting that the Social Assistance Review:
- creates opportunities for the voices of low-income people to be heard
- identifies and addresses the most punitive elements of the system immediately
- re-imagines and creates a system for the longer term that moves people out of poverty by offering meaningful and appropriate resources and programs
- starts soon – Ontarians need and are entitled to a social assistance system that really works.
If you are an activist, an agency worker, a community member, or a friend or supporter of a person living on OW or ODSP, write about the experience you have gained from seeing the struggles of the people you know.
And provide your insights into what a good social assistance system would be, and how the life of your local community as a whole could be made so much better if Ontario’s social assistance system had the explicit mandate to reduce poverty – after all, what else should it do?
Check these Reports and Resources for some ideas on how social assistance can be transformed.
Or check the comments on our Tell Your Story page to get the expertise of people with lived experience. [link disabled]
- Keep your letter relatively short
Short letters are most likely to be read. So keep your letter to two pages at the most.
- Send your letter to the following addresses:
The Honourable Dalton McGuinty
Premier of Ontario
Room 281, Main Legislative Building, Queen’s Park
Toronto, Ontario M7A 1A1
e-mail: dmcguinty.mpp.co@liberal.ola.org
The Honourable Madeleine Meilleur
Minister of Community and Social Services
6th floor, Hepburn Block, 80 Grosvenor Street
Toronto, ON M5S 2S3
e-mail: mmeilleur.mpp@liberal.ola.org
The Honourable Deb Matthews
Minister of Children and Youth Services
14th floor, 56 Wellesley Street West
Toronto, ON M7A 1E9
e-mail: dmatthews.mpp@liberal.ola.org