Archive for the ‘Social Security Delivery System’ Category
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Welfare still isn’t enough to live on
Monday, August 15th, 2011
August 15, 2011
“if governments had pegged rates to inflation, the welfare rate today would be $932 a month.” For all of Premier Dalton McGuinty’s talk when he was campaigning in two elections about raising the rates and getting rid of poverty in this province, his government has only managed to raise the rates by 3% or 4% over the years. As I said the rate is now at $592 and less then it was in 1993… In November 2010, McGuinty appointed a commission to do an extensive review of social assistance in this province… But… the final report will not be released until July 2012, long after the provincial election.
Tags: ideology, poverty, standard of living
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Debit cards to replace welfare cheques
Wednesday, August 10th, 2011
Aug 08 2011
Toronto will soon become the first major Canadian city to permanently replace the iconic welfare cheque with a debit card, a move that will produce savings for both Ontario Works recipients and a government that is itself scrounging for cash. About 65,000 of Toronto’s recipients receive their payments via direct bank deposit. Many of the 35,000 who receive cheques do not have bank accounts, and many cash the cheques at payday lending outlets that charge high fees they can scarcely afford.
Tags: budget, poverty
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800-rule welfare system assailed
Thursday, June 30th, 2011
June 29, 2011
Frances Lankin, recently appointed commissioner of the province’s new Social Assistance Review Commission, told the general meeting of the United Way for Windsor and Essex County Tuesday that the system may be too complicated and irrational. “We’ve been asked to simplify the rules,” said the former NDP provincial cabinet minister. “There are now 800 rules. How does anyone navigate through? It’s not humanly possible for a caseworker to know all the (eligibility) rules without bogging down in administration …. There’s no time left to help families.”
Tags: featured, ideology, poverty, standard of living
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Poverty report shows single men faring less well than single moms
Monday, June 20th, 2011
June 15, 2011
A new national study by Statistics Canada shows poverty is still much higher among single mothers than among the general public. But with one in five single moms living in poverty, they have seen a steady improvement for the last 15 years — even during the recession. The same study… found that almost a third of single men are living in poverty. Single men have long wrestled with a poverty problem, and 2009 was no different. The percentage living with low incomes was 30.1, up from 27.9 per cent in 2008.
Tags: poverty, standard of living, women, youth
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T.O., Manitoba push debit cards for welfare recipients
Wednesday, June 1st, 2011
May 30, 2011
In Toronto, thousands of welfare recipients without bank accounts could get debit cards if the city is successful in finding a card provider. Officials are hoping the city council will approve a plan to solicit bids from banks and card issuers as early as July. Proponents say the cards are cheaper than issuing paper cheques and help recipients avoid excessive fees charged at payday advance lenders. Critics say the cards give government a way to track how welfare dollars are spent and single out beneficiaries to store clerks.
Tags: budget, ideology, poverty
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Penalized for working? Disabled lose 50 cents on every dollar earned
Monday, May 23rd, 2011
May 23 2011
Earning rules and administrative practices are one of the reasons why those who rely on Ontario’s welfare system for the disabled are 11 times more likely to be unemployed than the average Ontarian, says a new report by advocates for the mentally ill… just 11 per cent on the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) are working… The report, “What Stops Us From Working?” calls on Queen’s Park to allow those receiving ODSP to earn up to $300 a month with no clawbacks for one year and to be able to reconcile earnings annually rather than monthly.
Tags: budget, disabilities, ideology, participation, pensions, poverty
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Ontario Works can be cruel, punishing system
Sunday, May 22nd, 2011
May 21, 2011
I am extremely appalled and concerned that there has not been much attention, or mention, of child poverty, senior poverty, social programs and especially provincial disability programs, which are my target. Provincial disability, a part of Ontario Works, is an exceptionally mean, cruel, punishing system. The system treats the people and families on it as liars and sub-standard Canadian citizens. We are questioned and treated as though we are in jail or out on a parole system.
Tags: disabilities, featured, ideology, participation, poverty
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Ontario retaining right to veto sale of public housing
Friday, April 22nd, 2011
Apr 20 2011
The Liberal government’s new housing legislation requires all municipalities to have affordable housing plans with goals and timetables. And it gives municipalities more flexibility to meet those goals. But advocates said the law, introduced last December as part of the McGuinty government’s long-awaited affordable housing strategy, when too far when it eliminated the requirement of provincial consent for selling housing… The province’s decision to retain ministerial consent may thwart Ootes’ decision earlier this month to sell 22 single-family homes owned by the housing company.
Tags: homelessness, housing, ideology, poverty, privatization, standard of living
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Time to thaw out Ontario’s poverty reduction promise
Monday, March 28th, 2011
Mar 28 2011
We’re hoping for progress on four priorities for action articulated by the 25 in 5 Network for Poverty Reduction: • Ensure no one falls through the cracks in times of need. • Invest in people, their skills, and their efforts to secure work. • Ensure jobs are a pathway out of poverty. • Create infrastructure for opportunity… But many of the problems that poor Ontarians face can and should be fixed, right now… Ontarians want leadership on poverty reduction.
Tags: budget, ideology, poverty, standard of living
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Ontario’s budget should target poverty
Thursday, March 24th, 2011
Mar 23 2011
many people are stuck in the same boat, enduring hunger in this affluent society, simply because they don’t have enough money to buy food… Community and faith groups are doing a tremendous job in alleviating the problem through their food bank and meal programs. However, they cannot meet the enormous need, and moreover, we need to work toward a society where people can meet their own food needs, with dignity… one measure that would make an immediate difference would be the introduction of a $100 per month healthy food supplement for social assistance recipients in the upcoming 2011 provincial budget.
Tags: budget, Health, ideology, mental Health, participation, poverty, standard of living
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