Archive for the ‘Social Security Delivery System’ Category
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Ontario’s Trillium Benefit: A new way to help the poor
Saturday, July 14th, 2012
July 12, 2012
About 3.5 million low- and moderate-income Ontarians this week are receiving their first Trillium Benefit, a provincial initiative that combines three quarterly tax credits into a new monthly payment… Designed to help households better manage their monthly expenses by providing the money earlier and more frequently than before, the benefit, worth about $2.4 billion annually, is the first outside Quebec to be paid monthly through the tax system to all low- and moderate-income people. Quebec’s monthly “Solidarity Tax Credit” was also introduced this month.
Tags: budget, disabilities, poverty, standard of living
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Changes to Ontario Works Discretionary Benefits policy means less funding
Wednesday, July 11th, 2012
11 Jul 2012
As of July 1, 2012, a change in the Ontario Works Discretionary Benefits policy will mean staff… may have to deny the requests of those who even qualify for the benefits. This is due to a new provincial cap and the board may have met or exceeded the provincial maximum on Discretionary Benefits… includ(ing) dental care, eye glasses, a portion of the costs of prosthetic appliances, funerals and burials, and any other special service item. Non-health related Discretionary Benefits include vocational training and retraining, travel, transportation and moving expenses.
Tags: budget, disabilities, Health, ideology, standard of living
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Saving Welfare Incomes and Poverty Profile
Friday, June 29th, 2012
June 29, 2012
Information is under attack in Ottawa… Social Security Statistics: Canada and Provinces, a treasure trove of information on federal, provincial/territorial and municipal government programs, has simply disappeared. In June 2012, Ottawa jettisoned the Survey of Labour and Income Dynamics (SLID) which gathered priceless information on changes experienced by individuals over time, such as movement in and out of poverty… The Caledon Institute of Social Policy will take over the task of gathering and analyzing the welfare and low income data… This vital information will form the first elements of a new Caledon product, the Canada Social Report.
Tags: budget, disabilities, homelessness, housing, pensions, poverty, rights, standard of living
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… Destitution Day
Saturday, June 9th, 2012
Jun 06 2012
The D is for destitution, and it is the date a single person on welfare would run out of money if he or she were living at the poverty line, according to Social Planning Toronto… Statistics Canada’s low-income cut-off, after taxes, for a single person living in a large city like Toronto is about $19,800. “We have dubbed June 7 Destitution Day to highlight the severity of poverty in Toronto and the inadequacy of government benefits in light of the upcoming provincial social assistance review”… “What is striking is that even in the most affluent wards of the city there are still substantial numbers of people living in poverty,” he said. “In every ward there is a good-sized small town living in poverty.”
Tags: ideology, poverty, standard of living
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Workfare for reserves: Tory plan ties benefits for aboriginals to job training
Friday, June 1st, 2012
Jun 1, 2012
The Harper government is planning a workfare program that would oblige young aboriginals on reserves to undertake job training in return for a welfare cheque. Ottawa wants to take young natives off welfare rolls before they become too used to receiving social assistance. The government already spends $400-million on a range of training programs but sources suggest new money will be earmarked to improve delivery of programs for natives on reserves… In the March budget, the Tories said they want to “better align on-reserve Income Assistance programs with provincial systems” in terms of compliance and program requirements.
Tags: Indigenous, poverty, rights, standard of living
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‘Pay-for-performance’ poverty plan
Sunday, March 25th, 2012
March 11, 2012
“Governments can’t simply fund every demanded service without regard for the taxpayers’ ability to pay,” Finley said… “Governments can, however, facilitate and empower others to deal with social challenges.”… the government is considering “pay-for-performance agreements” in which federal dollars are only paid when clearly identified targets are met. Such an approach would have the private sector more involved in addressing social challenges and delivering innovative solutions…
Tags: budget, poverty, standard of living, tax
Posted in Social Security Delivery System | 1 Comment »
Price of moving from welfare to work? $400
Saturday, December 17th, 2011
Dec 14 2011
… his college dreams of training to become a firefighter were dashed when Seneca insisted he make a $400 tuition down payment by Friday or forfeit his place in class. St Clair’s monthly welfare cheque is just $565 and he had already spent more than $300 of that on December rent for the subsidized apartment he shares with his mother… The welfare office wouldn’t help because tuition is covered by OSAP. But his OSAP loan won’t be available until he starts classes on Jan. 9… “I really want to get off welfare, but I don’t think I can do that unless I go back to school,” he said.
Tags: budget, ideology, participation, poverty, rights
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Child poverty easing in Ontario, report says
Tuesday, December 6th, 2011
Dec 04 2011
A 2009 decision to boost the Ontario Child Benefit to cushion struggling families during the recession helped pull 19,000 children out of poverty, advocates say in a new report on the province’s anti-poverty efforts. But on the third anniversary of Ontario’s Dec. 4, 2008 pledge to cut child poverty by 25 per cent by 2013, more action is needed… “Targeted action is urgently needed, including expanding poverty reduction targets to include adults — especially singles — and addressing equity for groups more at risk of poverty”…
Tags: budget, poverty, standard of living
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Minor adjustment a major problem for poor
Wednesday, November 30th, 2011
Nov 29 2011
In 2010, the Ontario government announced a change to the way it pays tax credits to the province’s poorest citizens. Instead of getting one lump-sum payment at the end of the year, they would get smaller amounts every three months. The objective was to produce a steadier income flow… But it did affect them in a way most didn’t realize…
Tags: budget, poverty, standard of living, tax
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Disability tax credit plan a too well-kept secret
Friday, October 28th, 2011
Oct. 26, 2011
It’s hard to criticize Ottawa, along with the major banks, when it comes to the generosity and promotion of the Registered Disability-Savings Plan… Yet, in the three years since the program was announced, just 48,000 accounts have been opened, serving only a fraction of those eligible. So last week the Conservative government, to its credit again because it was the Tories that started this ball rolling, announced a review of the plan. The public has until Dec. 16 to comment… only 5% cent of Canadians with disabilities hold RDSP accounts. Another 44% of those with disabilities had never heard about the plan.
Tags: disabilities, pensions, rights, standard of living, tax
Posted in Social Security Delivery System | 2 Comments »
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