Income Security: A Roadmap for Change

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• The federal government enhance the WITB so that it better reflects the realities faced by low-income workers in Ontario This should include examining: • The level of earnings at which an individual begins receiving the WITB and how the WITB is adjusted when earnings increase, including the threshold at which the WITB begins to be reduced • The overall amount of support provided through the WITB • The net income at which individuals are no longer eligible to receive the WITB • Outreach, support and any alternative delivery required to ensure that the WITB is accessible to First Nations individuals CORE HEALTH BENEFITS 5. Make essential health benefits available to all low-income people, beginning with ensuring those in deepest poverty have access to the services they need. • Expand access to mandatory core health benefits to all adults receiving Ontario Works and adult children in families receiving ODSP, and add coverage for dentures (including initial and follow-up fittings) for all social assistance recipients • Expand existing and introduce new core health benefits for all low-income adults over the next 10 years starting with the expansion of prescription drug coverage to adults 25 to 65, followed by: • Expanding Healthy Smiles Ontario to adults age 18 to 65 and adding dentures as part of the benefit • Designing and implementing a new vision and hearing benefit for lowincome individuals and families • Expanding access to medical transportation benefits 8 Income Security: A Roadmap for Change
• Review the Assistive Devices Program to ensure the program is maximizing its reach to low-income people, both in terms of the list of devices that are covered and the maximum coverage ACCESS TO JUSTICE 6. Procedural fairness should be embedded in all aspects of the income security system through adequate policies, procedures, practices and timely appeal mechanisms. • Request a research body such as the Law Commission of Ontario or an academic institution review the existing appeal process for tax-delivered benefits and develop recommendations for enhanced or new mechanisms that support fair, transparent and effcient access to those benefits and appeal processes TRANSFORMING SOCIAL ASSISTANCE Make social assistance simpler and eliminate coercive rules and policies. Create an explicit focus on helping people overcome barriers to moving out of poverty and participating in society. LEGISLATIVE FRAMEWORK 7. Fundamentally change the legislative framework for social assistance programs to set the foundation for a culture of trust, collaboration and problem-solving. • Develop and introduce new legislation to govern and rebrand the current Ontario Works program As a starting point for legislative change, draft and publicly consult on a new purpose statement in the first year of reform that explicitly recognizes and supports: Income Security: A Roadmap for Change 9
Page 1: INCOME SECURITY A Roadmap for Chang
Page 4 and 5: ACHIEVING INCOME ADEQUACY69 Setting
Page 6 and 7: A CLOSING NOTE164 APPENDIX A: Membe
Page 8 and 9: INCOME SECURITY: FUTURE STATE Essen
Page 10 and 11: 3. Recognizing the Experience of In
Page 12 and 13: ENGAGING THE WHOLE INCOME SECURITY
Page 16 and 17: • Individual choice and well-bein
Page 18 and 19: • Conduct analyses on current and
Page 20 and 21: A TRANSFORMED SOCIAL ASSISTANCE STR
Page 22 and 23: • Initially exempt 25% of Canada
Page 24 and 25: SELF-GOVERNANCE AND RESPECT FOR FIR
Page 26 and 27: • First Nations social service pr
Page 28 and 29: • The capabilities, skills and pr
Page 30 and 31: SEQUENCING REFORM The Roadmap recom
Page 32 and 33: We recommend the Province commit to
Page 34 and 35: 2015 also saw a commitment by the f
Page 36 and 37: MESSAGE FROM THE URBAN INDIGENOUS T
Page 38 and 39: Community members stressed the impo
Page 40 and 41: INTRODUCTION PURPOSE The Income Sec
Page 42 and 43: Income Security Reform in the conte
Page 44 and 45: 2. Essential needs are increasingly
Page 46 and 47: • Research by the Social Planning
Page 48 and 49: The Additional Costs of Disability
Page 50 and 51: • From 2011 to 2014, the incidenc
Page 52 and 53: • Studies also show that adult-on
Page 54 and 55: • Indigenous peoples have signifi
Page 56 and 57: A NOTE ON PREVIOUS REPORTS Over the
Page 58 and 59: ONTARIO’S INCOME SECURITY SYSTEM
Page 60 and 61: services 64 More than 68% of socia
Page 62 and 63: FEDERAL AND PROVINCIAL INCOME SECUR
Page 64 and 65:
The federal Canada Child Benefit, t
Page 66 and 67:
ENVISIONING THE FUTURE VISION All i
Page 68 and 69:
GUIDING PRINCIPLES The following pr
Page 70 and 71:
and structural racism to ensure equ
Page 72 and 73:
3. Recognizing the Experience of In
Page 74 and 75:
Critical steps must also be taken t
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areas, including remote areas In se
Page 78 and 79:
DETAILED RECOMMENDATIONS 1.1 The Pr
Page 80 and 81:
ONTARIO HOUSING BENEFIT Recommendat
Page 82 and 83:
• People must be able to access a
Page 84 and 85:
“I’ve been waiting for housing
Page 86 and 87:
Children who are being cared for by
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When a child is in the care of a Ch
Page 90 and 91:
WORKING INCOME TAX BENEFIT Recommen
Page 92 and 93:
CORE HEALTH BENEFITS Recommendation
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A key strength of Ontario’s curre
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TRANSFORMING SOCIAL ASSISTANCE OBJE
Page 98 and 99:
DETAILED RECOMMENDATIONS 7.1 Develo
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People need to feel they have perso
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focussing primarily on eligibility
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• People are able to access servi
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• A simpler social assistance str
Page 108 and 109:
8.6 Regularly situate Ontario Works
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We note that ODSP has many positive
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as simple and streamlined as possib
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9.4 Provide provincial-level assist
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Because moving to an assured income
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A TRANSFORMED SOCIAL ASSISTANCE STR
Page 120 and 121:
This flat-rate structure would appl
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DETAILED RECOMMENDATIONS 11.1 Trans
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First Nations Delivery Agents of On
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INCOME AND ASSETS Recommendation 13
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additional costs they may have—wh
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HELPING THOSE IN DEEPEST POVERTY OB
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Single Non-disabled Person Fall 201
Page 134 and 135:
• Setting the Standard Flat Rate
Page 136 and 137:
The first Indian Act was passed by
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While the recommendations noted abo
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DETAILED RECOMMENDATIONS 16.1 Based
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16.10 Take steps to ensure that Fir
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• Community-based initiatives spe
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• Increasing and expediting help
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Until further changes to the 1965 A
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A CALL ON THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT Th
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The Roadmap emphasizes the need for
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IMPLEMENTING AND MEASURING CHANGE M
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3. The need to take a system-wide a
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SEQUENCING CHANGE: A 10-YEAR ROADMA
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YEAR 2 The second year of implement
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YEARS 4 TO 10 Years 4 to 10 will ma
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THE COST OF INACTION Poverty is int
Page 166 and 167:
• Ontario Drug Benefit costs for
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• Social Assistance, through: •
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A CLOSING NOTE This Roadmap holds t
Page 172 and 173:
Violet Boissoneau Linda Cobiness Jo
Page 174 and 175:
APPENDIX B: POVERTY REDUCTION STRAT
Page 176 and 177:
Canada Pension Plan - Disability (C
Page 178 and 179:
Indigenous Friendship Centres: Not-
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Old Age Security (OAS): A pension p
Page 182 and 183:
Rent-Geared-To-Income (RGI): Financ
Page 184 and 185:
Trauma-informed practice: Practices
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Income Security: A Roadmap for Change

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