Unlike the 2018 provincial election, this time the parties are talking about social assistance rates. For the 863,000, Ontarians who live 40-60% below the poverty line because of low social assistance rates, there is finally some hope.
The situation is dire. Currently a single person – the poorest on the benefits scale – receives $733 on Ontario Works (OW) per month. A single person with a disability, receives $1,169 on the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) per month. Following the 21.6% cutback in 1995, the rates have never recovered. Since the rates were frozen in 2018, inflation has increased by over 12%. This means the real value of the social assistance rates continues to decline rapidly, and life is harder than ever for people on social assistance.
All parties have addressed the rates in some form during this election. All vow to index rates to inflation, which is key to preventing a bad situation from getting even worse.
Below is a summary of where the main provincial political parties stand on improving social assistance rates:
• The Conservative Party will raise ODSP rates by 5%. There is no mention of OW.
• The New Democratic Party will raise OW and ODSP rates by 20% in 2022 and double the rates by the following year.
• The Liberal Party will raise both OW and ODSP by 10%, and in 2023 will raise ODSP by an additional 10% the following year.
• The Green Party will double both OW and ODSP rates.
Regardless of who wins, the next government will need to address a problem that has spanned almost three decades.
The current policy initiative, a once-in-a-generation modernization of the social assistance system, sadly fails to increase social assistance rates. It is only because of the consistent and unrelenting advocacy across the non-profit sector, from legal aid clinics and from disability advocates that rates are on the table during this election.
The abysmally low social assistance rates in this province need our attention now. Nowhere in Ontario can anyone secure market housing for the $390 shelter allowance provided by OW. ODSP’s shelter portion offers just over $670, but this still means that people must dip into the basic needs portion of the monthly rate to have a roof over their heads. This leaves very little to pay for food, utilities, medicine, the extra costs of living with a disability, child care, transit, and now essential digital access. Unsurprisingly, almost 60% of foodbank users in Ontario are also on social assistance. Some individuals living with disabilities are left with as little as $3.33 per day to pay for food. This, from the province with the largest economy in Canada. It is unconscionable.
Like the pandemic, this poverty also hits certain communities harder than others. Women, who do the bulk of unpaid work, also disproportionally occupy the poorly paid and precarious “4 C” professions (caring, clerical, cashiering and cleaning) – all of which were negatively impacted by the pandemic. Without income security, many women cannot leave violent domestic partnerships, which are also on the rise.
Equally disturbing is the many left out of the 863,000 social assistance caseload number. People with precarious immigration status, often Black and racialized, experience increased barriers to accessing social assistance. Many have to fight on all sorts of grounds and navigate legal processes to access OW and ODSP. This is both lengthy and not easy to do. Indigenous women are also erased by governments that refuse to fully quantify their risk and experience of poverty. 2SLGBTQIA+ communities suffer discrimination in housing, employment, and healthcare, which increases their isolation and financial insecurity. These communities are deserving of attention and protection.
People are not poor because of an unwillingness to simply “get a job.” The current social assistance modernization suggests this is what is needed to fix the social assistance system or to raise people out of deep poverty. Social assistance clients lack sufficient wrapround services, support and income to become job ready in the first place. Many employers do not recognize foreign credentials, particularly for women newcomers and immigrants. The labour market is saturated with low-paid, contract work that offers sub-par minimum wages, no paid sick days, no equal pay for equal work, and no financial stability. In Canada, nearly a quarter of women with mental health and physical disabilities live on low income, either because they cannot work or because workplaces are a far cry from being fully accommodating. People living with disabilities have value, whether they have labour force attachment or not.
Ontario cannot thrive if almost a million of its people live not just in poverty, nor in deep poverty (at 75% of the poverty line), but below the deep poverty line. Impoverishment does not kick-start income. We need adequate social assistance rates for all who live in Ontario and comprehensive wraparound services that allow people to live with dignity. Only then, will Ontario’s most impoverished have a fighting chance.
We hold our collective breath in hopes that the results of the June 2, 2022 election will bring broader access and an immediate and significant increase to social assistance rates. We have been let down before. Ontario is at a breaking point and there is no other way forward.
Bio: Devorah Kobluk is Senior Policy Analyst at the Income Security Advocacy Centre. She focuses on social assistance and income security benefits and has a special interest in policy related to people with disabilities.
Photo Credit: Canva Photos