United Way calls on Ontario to double social assistance rates

The recommendation and local endorsements will be presented to the Ontario government by Feb. 29 for consideration in the provincial 2024-2025 budget.

“Social assistance is too low for people with disabilities, too low for families with children, too low for individuals in crisis. This is taking a huge toll on our most vulnerable neighbours and on our whole community. It needs to be fixed. And we urge folks who believe poverty is not ok to stand united in action with us,” said United Way Elgin Middlesex president and CEO Kelly Ziegner.

United Way is asking people in this region to step up and:

• Endorse the United Way recommendation that the province designate 2024-2025 budget money to Make it Livable for people on social assistance
• Contact Premier Doug Ford and MPPs to increase social assistance rates to above-poverty levels
• Check out the facts and issues on the Make it Livable website
• Share #MakeItLivable support with their friends and networks

“As the region’s largest non-government investor in social services that reduce and prevent poverty, we’ve seen people’s dire need for livable, dignified level of income,” Ziegner said. “The status quo is too costly for them, and for all of us.”

Panelists at the Jan. 15 town hall were Western University professor Cheryl Forchuk, King’s University College professor Jeff Preston, and Circles London coach Ashley Harp.

Two of the four panelists have lived in poverty and have received social assistance – and are now strong advocates with people receiving social assistance.

Keynote speaker was Elizabeth McIsaac, President of Maytree Foundation, a Canadian think-tank centred on evidence-based solutions to poverty. The session was moderated by Craig Needles of Blackburn Radio.

McIsaac noted that a single person receiving Ontario Works gets $733 per month. Factoring in inflation, they have $200 less buying power each month than in the days of Premier Mike Harris, who cut welfare rates by 21.6 per cent in 1995. “Over time, we have not made progress. In fact, we have gone backwards,” McIsaac said.

She added, “Social assistance is an opportunity to invest in individuals, families and community … We can re-envision social assistance so it puts the person first, not the system.”

Panelists said too-low social assistance can perpetuate poverty either by making recipients spend their days in survival mode or by penalizing those who do find some work but who then can’t afford childcare or transportation.

“We’re putting people into the world’s worst ‘choose your own adventure’ that’s ever been invented,” Preston said.

United Way, a non-partisan partner working with dozens of local agencies and with all levels of government to reduce and prevent poverty, advocates for a community where everyone matters.

United Way provides strategic leadership and investment to more than 50 local poverty-fighting programs and services aimed at ensuring everyone has a fair shot at a good life.

By the numbers

• The poverty line in Ontario for a single person is $2,302/month ($27,631/year), as calculated through the federal Market Basket Measurement and based on the cost of a specific basket of goods and services representing a modest, basic standard of income.
• The average cost of a market-rate, one-bedroom apartment in this region is $1,378/month.
• A single person on Ontario Works receives $733/month, an amount frozen for the past five years.
• A single person on Ontario Disability Support gets $1,308/month. While an ODSP increase of 6.5 per cent in 2023 was a welcome step, the increase didn’t catch up to years of inadequate funding by successive provincial governments.