|

There are Better Ways to Spend $3 Billion on Seniors than Boosting OAS

Monday, October 7th, 2024

If $3 billion per year were spent on seniors, where would it be best spent: Income security, supports, services or residential and nursing care?  And if income security turns out to be the answer to that question, then why via OAS, which is paid to 7 million Canadian seniors? Should it not instead be the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS), which is targeted towards to Canada’s 2.2 million lowest income seniors almost all of whom really do struggle to make ends meet?

Tags: , , ,
Posted in Social Security Policy Context | No Comments »


Welfare rates now $200 a month below the Harris cuts of 1995

Saturday, January 6th, 2024

… inflation over two PC tenures since Bill Davis and Frank Miller has risen 35.2 per cent with no increases to Ontario Works and a total of just 12 per cent for ODSP. The last PC Premier to raise OW rates was Bill Davis 39 years ago in 1985… The cumulative effect of multidecade inaction — whether on housing or climate change — is now coming home to roost. Just look at food bank usage.

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Social Security Policy Context | No Comments »


Life stabilization on a welfare income is impossible

Thursday, June 24th, 2021

… people’s lives cannot be stabilized without increasing social assistance rates. While they slowly starve, recipients will be required to “participate in prescribed employment and life stabilization assistance activities.”  But there is no clear plan to show how local service delivery agents will be able to co-ordinate life stabilization services that are notoriously in short supply, such as affordable housing, counselling and mental health services. And adding names to years-long waiting lists does not stabilize anything. In fact, it can have the opposite effect.

Tags: , , , , , ,
Posted in Social Security Policy Context | No Comments »


ODSP needs support, not criticism

Friday, January 3rd, 2020

Understood properly, ODSP is growing at the same rate as Ontario’s aging population… Given cuts to other disability benefit programs, the reality is that ODSP should be increasing in numbers and cost more than it has…. ODSP benefits have declined by approximately 1 per cent per year to inflation over the last 25 years.

Tags: , , , , , ,
Posted in Social Security Policy Context | No Comments »


|