Several proposals have been made in the last few years about how to change the way income supports are delivered to people in Ontario. Why are people proposing a different “delivery architecture”? What problems would a different system help to resolve? What are some of the options for different kinds of systems? What do they look like, and how would they work?
Many people in Ontario agree that Ontario Works needs to be fixed. One of the ways it could be fixed is to give people more help to get a job, so they can get out of poverty…
Women – and especially women from racialized groups – experience poverty differently from other people, and have particular concerns that should be addressed in the course of the Social Assistance Review. In November 2011, a…
Yesterday’s 2011 provincial budget did nothing to free people relying on Ontario Works (OW) and the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) from the poverty traps built into those programs. Given skyrocketing food prices and continuing…
On November 30, 2010, the Ontario government announced they decided to keep the Special Diet Allowance program instead of cancelling it. But, they said, they were going to make some changes to the program. If…
The Social Assistance Review now underway is part of Ontario’s strategy to reduce poverty. That’s why social assistance programs should have Poverty Reduction as their goal. Government has taken four very important steps that acknowledge that poverty is…
To contribute to the Commission’s first consultation: 1) Complete the Workbook Groups and individuals can either complete the workbook and mail it back, or do it online. – The printable version of the workbook (either Word…
These are powerful stories, interwoven with themes of fear and desperation, of shame and frustration, of dignity and resilience. The stories raise the need for more appropriate education and training, for more sensible treatment of income, and for rules that are easy to understand and designed to encourage people rather than break their spirits. They highlight the punitive nature of the current social assistance system, and the need to break down the systemic barriers that keep people trapped in poverty.
Are you a woman in Ontario struggling to make ends meet? Are you a mother raising kids on your own? ISAC and Ontario Campaign 2000 have partnered on the “Bringing In Women’s Voices From the…
The Ontario government’s announcements today on the social assistance review and special diet allowance program are both welcome steps forward on the road to improved income security for Ontarians.
“This is the bold and broad review that we’ve been looking for, led by two credible commissioners who we have confidence will lead an independent and thoughtful review process,” says Mary Marrone, Director of Advocacy and Legal Services for the Income Security Advocacy Centre.
The 25 in 5 Network for Poverty Reduction welcomes the news that Ontario’s long awaited Social Assistance review will start in January and be led by two very able commissioners: Frances Lankin and Dr. Munir Sheikh.
“We’re very pleased with the broad terms of reference for this review. It will provide recommendations not only on how to transform social assistance but on how it should connect to other income security programs that many of us need to rely on at some point in our lives, such as disability support programs and Employment Insurance,” said Jacquie Maund, Coordinator of Ontario Campaign 2000.
Ending Poverty Project (2008-2010) The Ending Poverty Project was initiated by ISAC and Ontario Campaign 2000 to work with low-income people in 10 communities to share ideas for what’s needed to end poverty in Ontario…