In the lead up to the Ontario budget, the Wellesley Institute asked whether Minister Duncan would choose a road of fiscal prudence, or whether he would adopt the austerity agenda of his opponents. Today he chose the austerity agenda.
In his speech today, Minister Duncan said that we all have to play our part to return the budget to balance. But in this case, fairness doesn’t mean treating everyone the same way. Doctor and hospital CEO salaries will be frozen, while social assistance rates have also been frozen. But the impact of a salary freeze is very different for a physician or CEO than a rate freeze for someone who is living on $599 a month. The Wellesley Institute has previously talked about the impact on the health of Ontarians of the government’s decision to freeze social assistance rates and slow the increase in child benefits.
The good news is that the government did not follow the recommendations of the Drummond Commission to hold increases in social spending to just 0.5 percent. The government has increased spending on social and children’s services by an average of 2.7 percent over the next three years, the largest percentage increase of any sector.
However, the bad news is that the impact on people who are receiving social assistance doesn’t end with the rate freeze. Minister Duncan announced that benefits for people who rely on social assistance will be reduced by $30 million this year and over $200 million over 3 years.
This will reduce access to benefits that cover housing-related expenses – for example if you have to move, or if you have expenses related to bedbugs. It will also put a cap on benefits that are available for expenses like emergency dental services, eyeglasses, and burials.
The combination of the social assistance rate freeze, the delayed increase in the Ontario Child Benefit, and reduced access to essential benefits will take $180 million out of the pockets of the poorest Ontarians. These cutbacks in services will have a direct and negative impact on the health of some of Ontario’s most marginalized populations, and all Ontarians have to share the social and economic costs of poor health.
Sharing the costs of austerity fairly doesn’t mean expecting the same contributions from everyone. It means that contributions are based on capacity. The lowest income Ontarians, whose health is most at risk, should not be expected to share equally in solving a deficit problem that was not of their making.
Freezing Social assistance doesn’t make sense to me since I can’t see it saving a lot of money. Not dealing with bed bugs will end up in even more expenses. To me it seems like it is the usual pattern: attack the the most vulnerable . . .
Off the top of my head, if programs that are essential to quality of life (e.g., bedbugs relief) are cut, then that really means that once again the costs of supporting individuals and families who cannot pay for themselves is being downloaded onto the municipalities. Sounds awfully familiar.
This Ontario Budget is in some way on the backs of those who cannot afford it for sure..WE know that for some OW or ODSP is all that they can rely on..For some jobs are very Hard to get..They are left out in the cold as far as I am concerned.The old saying that the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer is very correct.This budget will not alleviate the problem at all.It just continues at a different speed.
This is interesting to know how over the course of the next 3 years expenses will be cutback for living expenses the most vulnerable will have to live with less, not just a freeze on wages.This should b e read by all those concerned.
This is just another government scam. The people who are on ODSP already are in poverty and do not deserve this. Why do they not cut their own benefits and wages. That would have the deficet down in I would say a year. Cut the perks of their jobs, planes, limos, and big time spending on entertainment. People on ODSP do not need more discrimination as they are already treated the worst. The Government is Inhumane.
The Ontario Government had a deficit budget under Mike Harris and he sold the 407 Highway to a Spanish Non Resident to balance the budget. I believe in 1998 he reduced Ontario Works and ODSP to the recipients. Medicare was reduced in a similar budget affecting the poorest of the poor.
Prime Minister McGuinty issued an increase in rent by approximately 3.1 %. As a result, market rent goes up by 3.1%. Families living I’m subsidized accommodation has a better break but they are still affected.
My husband died and my child and I were evicted. We had no place to go. I applied for social housing. I did not get any help. My neighbour help me temporarily. Social services staff tried to declare me an unfit mother and take my child away from me. Social services try to put my daughter and I in shelters outside of her school district. When I asked for additional help directly through my Mayor my letter was referred back to social services Director who refused any further assistance. As a matter of fact, the director implied that I misappropriated the funds.
I pay market rent $1,150.00. 3.1% increase is $35.65 a total of $1,185.65. That’s taking almost all my income in housing. I stop going to the food bank. It takes two hours before your number comes up. I can’t sit for two hours because I have arthritis that is very painful sitting for long periods of time. I can’t work. I don’t get physiotherapy on ODSP because ODSP don’t cover medical care. Ohip covers 50% . I have no extra money to cover this. I have a child to feed. Clothe and house.
How are we suppose to exist?
We need another election. We need to kick the liberals out of government.
Now tell me Mr. Duncan how can you and the Prime Minister live with yourself.
I believe that we need to go back to the poll this Spring.
as a single man on odsp i find it apaulling that people on assistance have to suffer.we can baerly afford essentials let alone being able to maybe be able to to go to a movie or out for a nice dinner.i myself have numerous doctors appointments each mounth to deal with my cancer,i get reembursted $5.00 to$15.00 per meal depending on which meal it’s for and receive $0.17 per km for traveling to these appointments.i find it quite unfair that a working person can receive $0.58 per km and $30.00 per meal through revanue canada on thier income tax returns for submitting the same exspenses when someone on assistance is not allowed to claim these expenses on thier tax returns.what i receive for milage and food for each of my doctors appointments does not cover even half the cost for me to attened my appointments.why is it that people on assistance can not claim travel expenses on thier tax returns???i also i have a friend who takes me to my appointments because i have no licence and am unable to drive myself,she triied to claim the expences on her tax return and was unable to because she is not a family member or my spouse which i also find quite unfair considering that my family lives to far away to be able to help me get to my appointments and i have no spouse.the cost of gasoline keeps riseing as does the cost food and other essentials but us on assistance do not get razes to cover these rising costs,i strongly feel that these pallitions should try liveing on what people on assistance have to live on for a month.i’m quite sure that they couldn’t manage it,i myself can barely afford to eat for a month after i pay my rent and monthly bills each month.i also find it quite unfair that when i am given perscriptions for my cancer that most times i’m given the generic brands because my drug benefits do not cover the actual drugs that have been perscribed for me,i really don’t know if the generic brands work the same or not but i’m guessing that they do not.i feel that it is totally unfair that people on assistance have to suffer with all the cuts and reductions to our benifits when the cost of living keeps going up but our assistance cheque’s never seem to change to cover the cost of living expences.if something does not change in the near future there will be even more homeless than there is now and our jails will be even more over populated then they are now because people will be committing crimes just to survive and support thier families.
what happened to the promise of eradicating poverty by the mginty gov maybe guess that after all of the spending now make everyone pay for it,the harris gov screwed them,now mcginty,ndp is all that is left,unfortunatly most people still look at the poorest as lazy,addicts,who dont want to work.I dont understand ,why would anyone want to live in poverty with no food,safe clean housing judgement and disrespect for such a small amt of money.WAKE UP people!!!More news and media has to tell the public about whats really going on when your poor in canada.Instead of spending so much taking care of other poor countries the govshould concentrate on their own people first.
PEOPLE on OW and ODSP are worthy individuals who need assistance for a reason. Many of whom cannot work and yet will be foolishly expected to go to work only to be fired for not being able to keep up due to their disabilities. How dense and reckless can the government get? Perhaps that is a rhetorical question that I don’t WANT answered! I have so many things medically wrong with me that I can not even manage day to day living on a regular basis, nevermind thinking about a job. I dream about being able to work. I dream about the money I could earn with the kind of good quality education that I have but then reality bites me in the arse. ODSP LEGISLATION STILL states that a telephone is a LUXURY and not a necessity. In today’s world this is unheard of, but many people DO NOT HAVE PHONES!!!!!!!! Emergencies?? Social Networking?? Making medical appointments?? contacting your worker for Social Assistance?? Finding a job??? Walk to a pay phone if you can still find one somewhere.
It is foolish to say, “Make the gov’t live on OW” as it would be a joke to them knowing full well it’s just a camping trip. They could do it – - they might even like it and get a laugh out of the experience and the media attention – - but they’ll never get the full bodied flavour of what it’s like to EXIST on Social Assistance for a lifeline.
Never.
People can’t be forced to have a heart . . . or to care . . . or to have true empathy. These people are no better than serial killers who are slowly watching people die whether it is mentally, emotionally, psychologically as well as physically. Who’s the real criminals here? It’s the Conservative Government and the Liberals are not far behind them. More people suffer from the trauma of living on SA and it’s oppression than the actual disability they suffer from. Myself included.
Thank you for the opportunity to express my opinion.