Putting income security to the test in Ontario

A common criticism of social advocates of income assistance programs like social assistance, disability supports, and child tax benefits is that they are insufficient compared to the costs of living. Instead of helping people out of poverty and difficult situations, such support systems often keep people in poverty because they do not measure up to housing prices, the cost of food, and other costs of living.

Many social advocates and organizations have been calling for an overhaul in these systems to make them more effective, taking into account things like the cost of living, help people get out of poverty, and build sustainable change.

Recently, there was a new development on this front in Ontario. Last December the province established the Social Assistance Review Advisory Council (SARAC) to monitor and review social assistance in Ontario, particularly Ontario Works. SARAC is made up of 11 members, including policy analysts and service providers. However, in their report, presented to the government in May and released to the public June 14, SARAC called for a review of all major income assistance programs in Ontario, including Ontario Works, Ontario Disability Support, all provincial child tax benefits, unemployment assistance programs and other social supports.

Through the review, SARAC hopes to find constructive ways to improve these programs to help low income Ontarians out of poverty. The three overall goals include expanding labour market opportunities to help people get out of poverty through employment; enhancing employment-related supports, especially for people temporarily out of work, and helping secure more permanent sustainable work; and supporting people through livable incomes and community services.

The specific strategies SARAC recommends are expanding the Ontario Child Benefit to reach more families and offer more services; increasing minimum wages so employment is a way out of poverty, especially for the working poor; re-engineering short and long term Ontario Works with more appropriate rates, as well as training and education initiatives; developing standards for a livable income; and increasing support for people on disability support.

Originally, SARAC was going to call for an evaluation of just Ontario Works, but after discussion, the Council recommends that the government conduct an evaluation all of the income security programs. This means the review will likely take much longer, possible up to 18 months, but the review should be much more thorough and the impact greater, as it stretches across the whole spectrum of support for all low income Ontarians.