The ODSP Action Coalition is a provincial network of people relying on income support from ODSP, and of organizations who work with them, including mental health services, disability organizations, community agencies, legal clinics, and employment supports providers. Our mission is to advocate for improvements to the income support and employment supports provided to Ontario Disability Support Program applicants and recipients. We seek to promote the human rights of these individuals by bringing attention to the duty to accommodate people with disabilities in all aspects of the program.
A number of different issues and concerns regarding ODSP have been documented in the last few years[1]. These include the complex and time-consuming application process, a maze of rules and policies which are difficult to understand and poorly communicated to recipients, and a lack of appropriate supports to those with mental health, language, or other barriers in coping with the system. The Ministry of Community and Social Services has acknowledged some of those concerns and has shown willingness to work with stakeholders to address some of them. However, the greatest concern for anyone on ODSP and for those organizations working with them is the level of income that people with disabilities are expected to live on.
NEED FOR ADEQUATE INCOME SUPPORT
From 1992 to 2005, the real income for a person with a disability dropped by 18%.[2] This was after the 3% increase which was effective part way through 2005. The 2006 budget gave another 2% raise in the maximum monthly amount of ODSP; however recipients have not yet enjoyed that increase (the first payment will be made at the end of this month).
Even with the additional 2%, the maximum amount of income support for a person on ODSP will be only $979. If the person’s housing costs are lower, they will get less. This amount is seriously inadequate to provide for even the most essential needs of a person with a disability.
The new maximum shelter allowance of $436 is far below the 2005 average cost of a bachelor ($652) or one bedroom ($774) across the province. Rent costs in Toronto, where half of the people on ODSP live, are much more.[3] That means that unless the person with a disability has subsidized housing, or lives with family, the amount of rent over the maximum shelter allowance has to come from their food money. It also has to cover all personal needs and household supplies, clothing, transportation, and often additional costs related to the person’s disability.
Most people who receive ODSP income support find it a daunting struggle to maintain some stability in their lives when coping with such low incomes, month after month, year after year. Many also have trouble with the complicated rules and bureaucracy involved in maintaining their eligibility. The combined stress of long term poverty, coping with the hardships of their disability as well as the demands of the income support system exacerbates the mental health problems that such a large portion of the people on ODSP face. Front-line mental health workers and psychiatrists have seen people who break down in this situation and require hospitalization.
If people dependent on ODSP are able to maintain some employment despite their disability, they will now be allowed to keep half of what they earn, under changes in earnings calculations implemented this month. While happy to see some improvement in the work incentives under ODSP, most working recipients still feel a tax-back rate of 50% at this level of income is unfair. They still will not be allowed to earn enough to bring their incomes up to the poverty line (Stats Can Low Income CutOffs) before having their earnings taxed back, as recommended by the ODSP Action Coalition. However, employment for most on ODSP is not likely to be a full time or permanent option because of the nature of their disability. So the level of income support for basic needs and shelter is the most important aspect of ODSP that needs to be improved.
As hard as this income situation is for people in receipt of ODSP, it is even more severe for people who receive Ontario Works. And there are many people with disabilities on the OW program: some whose health problems have not yet been clearly diagnosed, or who do not have a family physician, or who have been unable to navigate the complex ODSP application procedure. The rest of the caseload on OW are not there by choice either: they are women who have fled abusive relationships, those temporarily unable to work, or with long term barriers to employment such as language, literacy and lack of skills, etc. And of course, the caseload includes 170,000 children.
Families on social assistance had incomes of only 50-56% of the Stats Canada LICO’s in 2005 (after the 3% increase in 2005).[4]
With the 2% raise coming for December, 2006, a single mother with one child will receive a total of $1008 per month from OW, including the basic needs and shelter portions. She must try to feed, clothe, and house her child, and cover transportation, household supplies, school costs, etc., while the average cost of a two bedroom apartment is $903 across the province.
Food costs increased by 16.7% between 1999 and 2005[5], yet social assistance rates have now only been increased a total of 5% since the drastic 21.6% cut in 1995. This situation led many family physicians and dietitians to prescribe Special Diets for their patients, as they saw the need to supplement the inadequate diets which were all their patients were able to afford. However, the cutbacks to special diet in November 2006 meant people on ODSP and OW alike, are once again unable to afford diets necessary to deal with current health conditions or prevent more serious health problems from developing.
Numerous municipalities, Boards of Health, professional associations such as the Registered Nurses Association, the Ontario Psychiatric Association, and those who support people with various disabilities such as Community Living Ontario and CMHA Ontario, have called on the Ontario government to take much more meaningful steps towards providing adequate amounts for food and shelter for people who are disabled and for hungry children in this province. We suggest that this should be a priority in the 2007 budget.
We also call upon the government to end the unconscionable practice of funding some of its programs by taking the money meant to address child poverty, the National Child Benefit Supplement, away from the poorest children in the province. As people serving those on ODSP, we must stress that this is also taken away from families with disabled parents. Children whose parents cannot work because of their medical condition, have essential resources taken away because of a theoretical construct called the “welfare wall,” which claims that giving the NCBS to children on social assistance would stop their parents from taking a job. This year would be an appropriate time for this government to really keep the promise made before it was elected.
2007 Ontario Budget Priorities
What does this discussion of the need for substantial increases to ODSP and OW rates have to do with the four questions asked by the Ministry of Finance? It may be that comments on social assistance were not really being solicited for the purpose of this discussion. Yet I am sure that the Ontario government would not intend to exclude the concerns of Ontario’s poor and disabled citizens in setting budget priorities.
- Economic growth and job creation: The greatest resource Ontario has is its human resources. Investing in the health and wellbeing of the children, women and people with disabilities of this province will enable more people to work and to participate in the economy. Increases in social assistance rates go into the community in the form of rents, grocery and other purchases. Investment in more effective employment supports for people with disabilities and those on social assistance, as well as programs to encourage more employers to hire people with disabilities, can be long term contributors to economic growth. But people cannot become skilled and ready to maintain employment if they are malnourished, homeless or mentally unstable because of lack of income. Therefore adequately supporting people on ODSP and OW is a necessary foundation for a province that can prosper in the global information economy.
- Top priority for 2007 budget and how it should be funded: A family budget has to ensure that the basic needs of housing, food, health costs and transportation are met before recreation, fashion or other areas. The Ontario budget should also begin with the premise that the basic needs of its citizens must be met in order to ensure a healthy population and a healthy economy. Failing to ensure that people can eat a nutritious diet and that children can fully participate in the learning opportunities in their school and community, will result in increased future costs in healthcare, the justice system, and long term welfare caseloads.
Health care is clearly a priority for many Ontarians. Recently, much of the discussion around health care issues has focused on wait times. Wait times however are not an isolated concern, but depend on overall demand for beds, availability and coordination of health professionals and equipment, etc. All of those factors are also influenced by the general health of the population, and income is one of the most significant determinants of health. The chair of the Health Council of Canada and the new director of the Medical Council of Canada recently wrote a prescription for reducing wait times, which includes:
Bolstering health promotion, illness prevention and healthy living initiatives and integrating them with action on the social determinants of health—like income, housing and education. This would ensure a healthier population in the future and reduce demands on the acute and chronic care system.[6]
· What should be done to press Ontario’s case for fairness with the federal government?
The federal government’s portion of social assistance costs were drastically cut in 1995 when Ottawa ended the Canada Assistance Program and lumped all health, education and social assistance payments together. At the same time, the end of CAP meant that there are no longer any national standards for social assistance programs, including income support for people with disabilities. The result has been a decline in support for needy people all across the country.
When Ontario is making its case for increased federal contributions, we should also embrace the concept of national standards for delivery of social assistance. In particular, the standards should include a provision that social assistance rates be set according to the real needs for shelter, food, and other basic necessities, and that they be indexed to inflation just as benefits for seniors are. Economic fairness among provinces should include equality of treatment for the vulnerable citizens who need some help for a portion of their lives.
In addition, Ontario should also work with other provinces to re-start discussions with the federal government towards developing a national program for people with disabilities.
CONCLUSION
The ODSP Action Coalition appreciates the opportunity to bring the concerns of low income people with disabilities, their families, and those who work with them, to the Ministry of Finance as you prepare for the next budget. This budget, prepared in an election year, will be a real opportunity for the government to show how truly committed to fairness, equality, and the health of its citizens, it is