The Ontario government is set to appoint a high-powered panel later today to provide a detailed roadmap for welfare reform in Ontario, according to a report in The Toronto Star. The panel includes Colette Murphy of the Metcalf Foundation, a member of the Wellesley Institute board of directors; plus Gail Nyberg and Michael Oliphant of the Daily Bread Food Bank; Mary Marone of the Income Security Advocacy Centre; Pedro Barata of the Atkinson Foundation; Kira Heineck of the Ontario Municipal Social Services Association; Pat Capponi of Voices from the Street; Michael Mendelson of the Caledon Institute; and John Stapleton, a social policy expert. When the province announced its poverty reduction plan a year ago, the government promised a full review of the provincial welfare system. Advocates from the 25in5 Network for Poverty Reduction – of which the Wellesley Institute is a founding member – are releasing their own update on poverty reduction in Ontario at a press conference this morning.