Archive for the ‘Social Security’ Category

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Canada Child Benefit hailed for reducing poverty, as families get boosted payments

Friday, July 21st, 2023

In 2021, 7.4 per cent of Canadians lived in poverty, down from 12.9 per cent in 2016 when the benefit came into place… the “intensity” of poverty was also reduced… “But for those in deeper poverty, the benefit probably isn’t yet big enough to lift them up and over the [low income threshold].”

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A significant milestone in lifting people with disabilities out of poverty

Tuesday, June 27th, 2023

This is a significant milestone, potentially the most important addition to Canada’s social safety net since the Guaranteed Income Supplement for low-income seniors was introduced in 1967…  The CDB is desperately needed. About one in five Canadians live with a physical, developmental or psychiatric disability… The new benefit should, in theory, lift more than 1.4 million Canadians living with disabilities out of poverty.

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CERB: More than just an income program

Friday, June 16th, 2023

The introduction of emergency pandemic benefits offers a unique opportunity to examine important questions about Canada’s current income security safety net and how it works (or does not) to support individuals in their efforts to achieve greater economic security and enhanced well-being.

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As the U.S. expands work conditions for income assistance, Canada takes a different tack

Wednesday, June 7th, 2023

The distinction between the U.S. and Canada’s approaches don’t extend beyond federal income assistance. Work conditions and other bureaucratic measures still dominate at the state and provincial level, despite significant federal funding support… [However] there is some movement to reduce barriers to welfare participation in Canada… Prince Edward Island legislature has affirmed their support for a basic income to replace current welfare assistance in the province.

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Basic income could help create a more just and sustainable food system

Monday, May 1st, 2023

… a basic income guarantee could not only be an important tool for addressing economic access to food, but also in supporting sustainability across the food system… reducing economic uncertainty for the most vulnerable agriculture and fisheries workers… [and] supporting new entrants in agriculture and fisheries. Across Canada, the commercial fishing and farming workforces are aging. 

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Social Assistance Summaries [Ontario]

Thursday, April 27th, 2023

For Ontario Works, single parent households had the highest proportion of beneficiaries, on average, with over 48 per cent, followed by unattached singles, with 34 per cent. Unattached singles comprised the majority of ODSP beneficiaries, with more than 58 per cent, followed by single parent households, with over 17 per cent. Females made up the majority of Ontario Works beneficiaries, on average, in 2021-22, with 65 per cent.

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Does Ottawa’s grocery rebate signal a shift to a broader guaranteed basic income?

Monday, April 10th, 2023

Food banks… were first introduced as a temporary measure in the early 1980s in response to economic downturn… though inadequate… they are now relied upon as part of the “social safety net.”… What’s required now is a fundamental philosophical shift in societal and political will to go beyond grocery rebates and support efficient government programming that supports the choice, agency and dignity of all Canadians, regardless of income.

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What the new Ontario budget means for those on social assistance

Friday, March 24th, 2023

In this budget, as in all its previous changes to social assistance, the government did not introduce any new funding for the province’s nearly 400,000 Ontario Works beneficiaries. Ontario Works is social assistance for those who are not disabled but cannot work. The program provides a maximum of $733 per month for a single adult, an amount that has not changed since 2018, when the current government halved planned increases . 

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Interpreting the data: Key takeaways from Welfare in Canada, 2021

Friday, March 24th, 2023

Welfare incomes were deeply inadequate across Canada: – All households in every province lived in poverty, and the large majority lived in deep poverty… Most jurisdictions did not make substantive increases to already inadequate social assistance benefits… Total welfare incomes increased in a limited number of cases. In most instances, higher inflation in 2021 negated their positive impact.

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Getting a fuller picture of poverty in Canada: why the government’s official poverty measure is insufficient

Thursday, March 23rd, 2023

The material dimension of poverty is calculated by taking low-income and material deprivation indicators into account… Examples of these necessities include a pair of properly fitting shoes and at least one pair of winter boots; the ability to eat meat, fish or another protein equivalent every second day; and the ability to buy small gifts for family or friends once a year.

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