Welfare Fraud: The Constitution of Social ... - York University

etween 1995 and 2002 was a staggering 34 percent. 21 Prior to the 3 percent increase,
a single person in Ontario received $520/month (comprised of a shelter allowance of
$325 and a basic needs allowance of $195); a single parent with one child, a total of
$997/month. Single persons in Ontario received benefits in 2003 that equaled only 35
percent of the poverty line; a single parent with one child, 56 percent. 22 The
diminishment of welfare rates to a level which places recipients (many of them single
mothers with children) into the conditions of abject poverty has been justified by a
political discourse that in an era of the goals of a ‘debt free’ government, those on social
assistance are getting a ‘free ride’ and getting ‘something for nothing’. Growing social
assistance caseloads and corresponding costs were clearly understood to play a
significant role in creating government debt and thus reducing caseload numbers and
the costs for those remaining on the rolls was of central importance. 23 Here too, one
sees a marked departure from the findings of the S.A.R.C. that rates were wholly
inadequate. In the analysis of the S.A.R.C., inadequate rates hindered the transition to
employment and self-sufficiency; in the view of the Conservative government, 'generous'
rates [its characterization] create dependency and operate as a disincentive to work. 24
2.c Workfare
The O.W.A. conditions the receipt of benefits upon participation in paid work or in
activities to increase the likelihood of becoming and staying employed, and as such,
introduced the practice of what is commonly called 'workfare'. 25 Adult beneficiaries are
required to enter into a 'participation agreement' with the Ministry, spelling out the
'employment assistance' activities that they will undertake. Employment assistance
activities include 'community participation' and any of the following 'employment
measures': job searches; literacy screening, testing, assessment, or programs; basic
education and job-specific skills training; employment placement; screening for
21 Income Security Advocacy Centre, Ontario Works Basic Needs Allowance,
http://incomesecurity.org (accessed October 6, 2003).
22 National Council of Welfare, Welfare Incomes 2003 (Ottawa: National Council of Welfare,
spring 2003) at p.28. Note as well that until December 2004, sponsored immigrants whose
sponsorship had broken down were subjected to an automatic $100/mn deduction unless they
could prove the breakdown was a result of family violence.
23 See for example, MacDonald supra note 19, Hansard, supra, note 7.
24 Disturbingly, in defending the rate cuts the Minister of Community and Social Services at the
time, the Honourable David Tsubouchi, indicated that people could get by through measures such
as negotiating for discounts on things like dented tins of tuna or buying food in bulk. He also
maintained that because those on welfare had been given three months notice of the rate cuts,
they had adequate time to prepare for the cuts. Hansard, supra, note 7, Oct. 2 & 3, 1995.
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