Whereas Ontario’s social assistance rates are well below Canada’s official Market Basket Measure Poverty Line and far from adequate to cover the rising costs of food and rent: $733 for individuals on OW and $1368 for ODSP
Whereas an Open Letter to the Premier and two Cabinet Ministers, signed by over 230 organizations, recommends that social assistance rates be doubled for both Ontario Works (OW) and the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP)
Whereas despite annual inflation-based increases, ODSP recipients remain below the poverty line. OW rates, still not indexed to inflation, leave recipients struggling even more, with only limited relief through indirect supports. Both groups face mounting hardship amid rising living costs
Whereas research on the outcomes of the 2017-19 Ontario Basic Income Pilot showed that providing people with a stable and more adequate income led to improved health and employment outcomes
We, the undersigned citizens of Ontario, petition the Legislative Assembly to double social assistance rates for OW (Ontario Works) and ODSP (Ontario Disability Support Program.)
