Archive for the ‘Social Security’ Category
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Ontario seeks more information from Ottawa on how to treat CERB for people on social assistance
Friday, April 17th, 2020
… until the province determines how to treat the CERB, case workers have been told not to record the income in Ontario’s computerized benefits system, where the extra cash may trigger automatic clawbacks and even termination of benefits, including drug and medical coverage… A coalition of more than 130 health-care workers, community agencies and Ontarians living in poverty … [are] urging Queen’s Park to boost social assistance rates and not to claw back the CERB from those on OW and ODSP.
Tags: budget, disabilities, ideology, jurisdiction, poverty, standard of living
Posted in Social Security Debates | No Comments »
Ottawa to the provinces: Don’t claw back CERB for workers on social assistance
Tuesday, April 14th, 2020
“Our government believes the CERB needs to be considered exempt by provinces and territories in the same way as the Canada Child Benefit to ensure vulnerable Canadians do not fall behind” The statement comes as some Ontarians on social assistance who have lost their poverty-level jobs are receiving as much as $3,500 in CERB payments to cover wages lost in March and April… While Ontario considers what to do, the B.C. government on April 2 exempted EI and CERB from social assistance clawbacks…
Tags: budget, ideology, poverty, standard of living
Posted in Social Security Policy Context | 2 Comments »
PM’s COVID-19 aid underlines the potential benefits of universal basic income
Sunday, April 12th, 2020
As Annie Lowrey highlights in her book “Give People Money,” UBI would “ensure that every person had some minimal level of capital and, thus, some minimal level of choice.” This is extremely important for the well-being of society… The economic right, on the other hand, sees UBI as an opportunity to get rid of governmental bureaucracy and inefficiencies. It views UBI as a way to replace existing allowance programs, tailored over many years, with an efficient, one-cheque solution.
Tags: economy, featured, globalization, ideology, participation, poverty, standard of living
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COVID-19 has exposed wide gaps in Canada’s social-safety net
Thursday, April 9th, 2020
This pandemic has shone an unflattering light on how austerity measures have led to fewer investments in supporting individuals and families – measures that would have helped cushion the blow that many people in Canada are now feeling… While governments across the country have rushed to respond to this crisis by investing in social programs and financial assistance, when we reach the other side of COVID-19 those social programs must stay in place – societal inequities that existed before this crisis won’t disappear on their own.
Tags: economy, ideology, participation, poverty, standard of living
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Open Letter urges Ontario to boost support for people on social assistance
Wednesday, April 8th, 2020
A coalition of more than 130 health care workers, community agencies and Ontarians living in poverty is urging Queen’s Park to increase benefits immediately to almost one million residents on social assistance struggling to survive during the COVID-19 crisis… the coalition says in an open letter to Children, Community and Social Services Minister Todd Smith… “If we are to weather this storm together, we must ensure that nobody in Ontario is left behind”
Tags: budget, disabilities, Health, housing, ideology, participation, poverty
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Trudeau just green lit a ‘basic income’ for Canadians
Friday, April 3rd, 2020
… a basic income will cost $43 billion annually to implement across Canada. If we factor in provincial income assistance – and get rid of this inadequate cluster of systems – we’re down to $23 billion dollars a year… Incidentally, that’s what we pay every year to make the Canada Child Benefit happen – and not quite half the cost of both the OAS and GIS… let this pandemic be a catalyst for permanent action to stabilize the lives of millions of Canadians and create a healthier, more equitable Canada.
Tags: budget, economy, featured, ideology, participation, poverty, standard of living
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Stop talking about basic income and do it
Tuesday, March 24th, 2020
Most people want to work, people try very hard to find jobs. That said, it really depends on designing your program properly so you’re not setting up a situation in which it actually costs people to go to work. The onus is on the people who introduce basic income to design it properly. We’re going to see over the next few weeks how badly people want to get back to work
Tags: economy, ideology, participation
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Coronavirus shows it’s time to mend the safety net
Friday, March 20th, 2020
Having now accepted that better job protections and income supports are necessary in this crisis, how can we go back to pretending they’re not needed all the time? … This should be a learning experience that guides better policies for the long-term — not simply one-offs that will disappear when the crisis passes.
Tags: budget, economy, featured, ideology, poverty
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Did free cash drive people to quit work? Not according to a new study of Ontario’s basic income experiment
Thursday, March 5th, 2020
Three-quarters of people who were employed before joining Ontario’s ill-fated basic income pilot project continued to work while receiving the no-strings-attached monthly stipend, according to a new study. And more than one-third of those low-wage workers were able to move to higher paying and more secure jobs… The findings shatter the belief among skeptics that basic income discourages people from working.
Tags: economy, ideology, participation, poverty, standard of living
Posted in Social Security Policy Context | No Comments »
What poverty reduction advocates should know about the updated poverty measure
Friday, February 28th, 2020
… the basket now includes the cost of cell phone services… actual rents… updated in line with inflation… Under the new measure poverty has fallen from 14.5% in 2015 to 11.0% in 2018… it’s designed to show the overall level of poverty across a population rather than determine if a particular household is in poverty… to track how poverty is changing in different regions and for different groups. It’s best used to inform poverty reduction efforts… the data shows that single working-age adults have one of the highest poverty rates.
Tags: ideology, poverty, standard of living
Posted in Social Security Policy Context | No Comments »
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