The new report called “Income Security: A Roadmap for Change” was released in November, as we have mentioned in previous emails.
The provincial government is looking for feedback on the Roadmap report by January 5, 2018.
ISAC and the legal clinic system’s Steering Committee on Social Assistance have written a joint submission to the Minister of Community and Social Services.
Our submission says:
- Government must get on with the long overdue business of transforming Ontario’s income security system
- The Roadmap’s Vision and Guiding Principles and human rights-based equity lens are critically important recommendations that government should adopt to guide transformation
- Government should commit to the specific recommendations in the Roadmap about:
- achieving income adequacy for all
- providing supports to low-income people outside the social assistance system
- transforming OW and ODSP into supportive programs that treat people with respect and dignity
- making significant investments now to help those in deepest poverty, and
- ensuring that the rights of First Nations and Indigenous communities are upheld, particularly on sovereignty over social programs, and that their unique needs and concerns are met
- Reforms must be made carefully and managed properly to avoid unintended consequences, and progress on reforms must be tracked and reported on transparently
- Changes should be made to social assistance rules immediately to help kickstart transformation
- In the 2018 provincial budget, government should create the “flat rate” structure for social assistance benefits, and go beyond the Roadmap’s recommendations for increases to OW and ODSP rates.
You can read our submission here: ISAC – Feedback On Income Security Roadmap For Change – December 15 2017
Your feedback to government on the Roadmap report is critically important.
If you agree with our submission and want to let the government know that you support it, please send them a brief email, fax, or letter before January 5. Send your endorsement feedback to:
Email: incomesecurity@ontario.ca
Fax: 416-325-5191
Mail: Ministry of Community and Social Services
Communications and Marketing Branch
7th Floor, Hepburn Block
Toronto, Ontario M7A 1E9
You can also use our Feedback Kit to provide your own advice and feedback to the government. ISAC – Feedback On Income Security Roadmap For Change – December 15 2017.
Remember that the deadline for feedback is January 5, 2018.
Our Backgrounder on the Roadmap report is available by clicking here..
We also did a Webinar on the Roadmap, which you can watch by clicking here.
And, you can read or download the entire Roadmap report on the government’s website by clicking here.