Archive for the ‘Social Security Policy Context’ Category

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Poverty in the Midst of COVID-19

Friday, February 17th, 2023

The number of children in poverty in Ontario fell from 498,600 to 377,040 between 2019-2020, largely as a result of temporary federal assistance… Ontario is capable of building an effective social safety net and providing children and their families with the economic security they need. The pandemic has shown that governments can do big things much more quickly than we ever thought—if they decide to.

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Reducing poverty among minimum wage workers in Ontario: The potential impact of the Canada Working-Age Supplement

Thursday, February 16th, 2023

To reduce the deep poverty unattached working-age single adults experience, Maytree and Community Food Centres of Canada have proposed the development of the Canada Working-Age Supplement (CWAS) by enhancing the existing Canada Workers Benefit (CWB) for unattached single adults… Overall, the CWAS would meaningfully reduce the depth of poverty and improve the quality of life of all unattached single adults earning the minimum wage in Ontario.

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Quebec basic income program begins, but advocates say many low-income people excluded

Sunday, January 29th, 2023

The program, aimed at 84,000 Quebecers with a “severely limited capacity for employment” such as a chronic illness or mental health condition, will provide an increase of more than 28 per cent for a single person, the government says… they will also have the ability to earn about $14,500 a year in wages – up from $200 a month – and have up to $20,000 in savings, all without losing benefits.

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Doug Ford’s math on social assistance doesn’t add up — and doesn’t solve the problem of legislated poverty for people on ODSP

Wednesday, November 2nd, 2022

… none of the increases noted above come anywhere close enough to lift people on ODSP to a livable income, especially in the face of rampant inflation, years of stagnated rates and various “clawback” rules that reduce other sources of income… Doubling ODSP rates wouldn’t just mean more money in the pockets of clients — it would mean more money spent in local communities. It would mean reduced reliance on food banks and other public supports.

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What a new food-bank reports tells us about deep poverty

Thursday, October 20th, 2022

“We are failing people every step of the way”… Policy-makers have a selection of choices before them to slow or halt that cascade… but they boil down to this: either give people access to more money to buy food or help the charitable sector, like food banks, with more resources to bridge the gap. Right now, Yalnizyan adds, “the governments are doing none of the above.” 

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Strengthening the social safety net for people in greatest need

Saturday, October 15th, 2022

Maytree recommends that the federal government: 1. Transform part of the Canada Workers Benefit (CWB) into the proposed Canada Working-Age Supplement (CWAS)… 2. Enhance the Canada Housing Benefit so that it provides more consistent support to renters with lower incomes… 3. Work with provincial and territorial governments to ensure alignment with federal initiatives…

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BICN Pre-Budget Submission to the Federal Finance Committee

Thursday, October 13th, 2022

A basic income is the kind of simpler, more automatic, counter-cyclic stabilizer we need, adjusting to ups and downs, maintaining a more even keel, making us more resilient… We can learn from CERB and from evidence amassed that a basic income is a far better option than what we have now. Statistical modelling shows it is affordable… We now urgently need a permanent basic income system that leaves no one behind

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‘It breaks my heart’: Ontarians on social assistance are struggling even more amid inflation

Tuesday, September 20th, 2022

ODSP recipients recently got a 5 per cent rate increase. But advocates say that doesn’t make up for decades of neglect — or account for sky-high inflation… The PCs have repeatedly said that they will tie future rate increases for ODSP to inflation in law — each rate increase would, therefore, in some way keep up with the actual buying power of what recipients get in each cheque… At time of publication, no legislation to this effect is before the house. 

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How to reduce the depth of single adult poverty in Canada: Proposal for a Canada Working-Age Supplement

Wednesday, September 14th, 2022

The CWAS would not only complement Canada’s existing social safety net, it would be transformative in advancing the idea that working-age single adults should be eligible for income support not because they’ve earned it as workers, but because they need it as people. The CWAS needs to be introduced and implemented without delay.

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When it comes to poverty and single adults, solutions need to be both principled and practical

Friday, September 2nd, 2022

… single adults with no children make up half of people living in deep poverty in Canada. Many of these adults have paid jobs and still live in poverty. Our current labour laws allow employers to pay workers poverty wages without benefits, subject them to unpredictable schedules, or misclassify employees as independent contractors – all of which mean that being employed is no guarantee of a decent income… Our systems collaborate to create poverty in many different ways.

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