This op-ed piece was written by Robin Nobleman and Claudia Calabro
Last week, Doug Ford told people living in homeless encampments to “get off your a-s-s and start working like everyone else”. Premier Ford was particularly fixated on people who receive social assistance, scolding, “we need to get these folks back working”.
As if it were that easy.
We work with people who depend on Ontario’s two social assistance programs: Ontario Works and the Ontario Disability Support Program. We know that the provincial government puts up roadblocks at every turn for people on OW and ODSP trying to get out of homelessness and back into the workforce. The Ontario Government’s own estimates show that the number of OW and ODSP recipients who are homeless has doubled in the past two years.
Why is it so difficult for people surviving on social assistance to follow Doug Ford’s order to just “start working”?
Dismally low social assistance rates prevent people from stabilizing their lives and unfairly penalize people earning income from work. OW rates have been stagnant for the last six years. This means that throughout the pandemic, throughout record-breaking inflation, throughout the ongoing cost of living crisis, Ontarians who have fallen on hard times have been forced to survive on $733 a month (if they’re single – this rate goes up marginally for couples and families with children). It’s no secret that rents are skyrocketing and food prices are out of reach for many, forcing a record number of social assistance recipients to turn to food banks.
The daily struggle is bad enough, but on top of it, OW recipients who are able to get and keep a job don’t see the full benefit of their paycheque. Individuals receiving OW have their $733 of assistance clawed back by $0.50 for any dollar over $200 that they earn from working.
The Premier knows all of this, and instead of increasing the monthly rates or increasing the amount working OW recipients can keep from their monthly social assistance income, his government has moved forward with recent changes to OW which remove access to pre-employment supports. These supports include transportation funding to and from résumé workshops, language classes, and other certificate programs – services that could actually help people find and keep work.
Not only do social assistance programs make it hard to find and keep employment, they also punish people with nowhere to live. Once a person on ODSP or OW loses their home, social assistance rules create a catch-22 that makes it nearly impossible for them to claw their way out of homelessness.
Social assistance programs provide an amount for basic needs ($343) and an amount for shelter ($390). But when you lose your housing, you also lose your amount for shelter. You don’t get it back until you have secured new housing and can prove the amount of your rent. Try renting an apartment in this province with zero dollars for first and last month’s rent. In light of this, the Premier’s message is both absurd and cruel: Make sure to have those resumes ready, even if you’re living in a tent on $343 a month.
Emphasizing a false dichotomy between healthy people who should be working and people with disabilities who will be “taken care of” for life has the effect of dividing people living in poverty into those deserving and undeserving of help. It ignores the life circumstances that push people onto last-resort income assistance, and the constrained choices they face. OW is often a stop-gap for women with children escaping domestic violence, who are forced to liquidate most of their savings in order to qualify. OW may be the only option for teens leaving abusive homes, or gig workers who get injured on the job but can’t access other benefits. Scores of people on OW are living with serious disabilities, but are unable to navigate the onerous process necessary to access ODSP. At the same time, many people on ODSP are employed, despite the barriers society creates for people with disabilities to enter and remain in the workforce, and they too face a reduction of their social assistance based on earned income.
People receiving social assistance who want to work and who are able to work have very clearly told the government what they need for years. The solutions are in plain sight. Now the government’s counterproductive policies are accompanied by a hefty dose of disinformation and stigma.
Perhaps Premier Ford needs to turn the question back on himself – why isn’t he working for Ontarians who depend on social assistance?
ISAC is running a campaign to increase OW rates: click here to send a letter to the Premier and your MPP to let them know you want to see social assistance rates in Ontario increased!