Archive for the ‘Social Security’ Category
Doug Ford could help solve Ontario’s homelessness crisis in one simple, low-cost step
Monday, March 23rd, 2026
The province’s social-assistance programs — Ontario Works and the Ontario Disability Support Program — include monthly allowances for basic needs and shelter, but recipients with no fixed address are ineligible for the shelter portion, which totals $390 for OW and $599 for ODSP per single adult. That can make saving for first and last months’ rent nearly impossible. The result is a costly and avoidable cycle: people without homes remain in shelters or unsafe situations because they cannot access the supports they need to help them secure housing.
Tags: budget, homelessness, housing, jurisdiction
Posted in Social Security Policy Context | No Comments »
Finally Mark Carney delivers a breakthrough for Canadians asking for help. Will it be enough?
Wednesday, February 4th, 2026
The federal government recently announced the Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit (CGEB), an income support designed to help Canadians afford the basics of life. For millions of people struggling to put food on the table, this announcement will mean immediate relief… it treats hunger as a policy problem rather than a charitable one… Ultimately, Canada’s food insecurity crisis isn’t caused by a shortage of food; it’s caused by a lack of income.
Tags: featured, ideology, philanthropy, poverty, standard of living
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A basic income can be a strong investment in mental health
Wednesday, March 5th, 2025
Research shows how poor mental health is a direct consequence of poverty. Money not only helps meet people’s material needs but also alleviates their worries. Reducing poverty translates into significant savings for the economy and the public purse. Canada could save $4 to $10 for every dollar spent on mental health supports. Poverty is not caused by personal failings. It is the social environment people live in that has the greatest impact on life trajectories.
Tags: featured, mental Health, participation, poverty, standard of living
Posted in Social Security Debates | No Comments »
Why the Canada Disability Benefit won’t end disability poverty, and how it could
Thursday, November 28th, 2024
It won’t be a game-changer, but it could help many if eligibility and access expand and clawbacks are not allowed to erode possibly its entire value… Though the benefit will not fill the poverty gap for hundreds of thousands of people, it could still reduce their depth of poverty… If it is intended to fill the poverty gaps in provincial and territorial social-assistance programs, the benefit amount should reflect that… Poverty is a policy choice – one that is inconsistent with Canada’s human-rights obligations.
Tags: disabilities, poverty, rights, standard of living
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It’s not too late to fix a government benefit that could lift thousands more Canadians out of poverty
Tuesday, November 26th, 2024
… its very design ensures that [the Canada Disability Benefit] will help far too few people in need. There are two key reasons for its underwhelming impact: unnecessarily restrictive eligibility criteria, and the wildly insufficient size of the benefit… The CRA applies rigid, and often arbitrary criteria, to establish eligibility — especially with respect to mental health conditions and chronic illness… The other critical flaw in the Canada Disability Benefit’s design is the woefully low benefit of only $2,400 per year.
Tags: disabilities, featured, Health, participation, poverty, standard of living
Posted in Social Security Debates | No Comments »
New Report Finds Record Increases in Child Poverty Rates in Ontario
Wednesday, November 20th, 2024
“For six years and counting, the provincial government has kept the Ontario Works rates frozen, despite record high cost of living and a 20% increase in the prices of goods and services since 2018”… The report card lays out an evidence-based, inclusive and achievable path toward ending child and family poverty in Ontario. It offers over 20 recommendations that would address gaps in income security, child care, child welfare, youth mental health, housing, food security, and decent work.
Tags: budget, featured, jurisdiction, mental Health, poverty, standard of living
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Canada sees ‘unprecedented rise’ in child poverty rates. Here’s what the numbers in a new report tell us
Wednesday, November 20th, 2024
The new national report card, Ending Child Poverty: The Time is Now, shows that the jump in poverty rates in 2021 was the first increase in 10 years, and the latest increase in 2022 was the largest on record. It has been five years since the federal government legislated their poverty reduction strategy, but families are living in deeper poverty than they were in 2015, the year from which the government measures progress.
Tags: jurisdiction, poverty, standard of living
Posted in Social Security History | No Comments »
Ending child poverty: the time is now
Wednesday, November 20th, 2024
Across all family types, families were living in deeper poverty than they were in 2015, the year the federal poverty reduction strategy measures progress from. Custom data shows that the Canada Child Benefit has lost its power to sustain poverty reduction and that income inequality among families with children is widening… children from systemically marginalized groups experience significantly disproportionately high poverty rates
Tags: jurisdiction, multiculturalism, poverty, youth
Posted in Social Security Debates | No Comments »
Key takeaways: What is the state of welfare in Canada?
Monday, October 28th, 2024
… overall, adequacy is still a problem. And there are two components…: the actual amount of the benefit, federal and provincial components, and indexation… it’s terrific that more jurisdictions have indexed their benefits or part of their benefits, but this should be a given without any question… maybe it’s time for an income supplement for lower-income families… And third, if there is any increase in any federal benefits, we have to make sure that there is no clawback.
Tags: jurisdiction, participation, poverty, standard of living
Posted in Social Security Debates | No Comments »
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: budget, economy, poverty, Seniors
Posted in Social Security Policy Context | No Comments »
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