Income Security: A Roadmap for Change

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A NOTE ON PREVIOUS REPORTS Over the past 30 years, there have been numerous reports on poverty in Ontario and Canada, prepared at all levels of government and by think tanks, academics, advocates and activists. Taken as a whole, there have been thousands of recommendations for reform to the income security system broadly, including the tax system and social services. Many recommendations have been implemented and inroads have been made over the years resulting in poverty reduction, especially for seniors and children However, a significant gap remains for working age adults who continue to live in deep poverty This is because many programs designed to assist working age adults (eg, Employment Insurance, Workplace Safety and Insurance Board) depend on their level of participation in the workforce In some instances people contribute to the programs but are not eligible when they need the support Even when they have a high level of labour force attachment, there are still problems with access These programs are usually time limited and, in all cases, are inadequate to meet the income security needs of low-income adults This leaves social assistance to do the "heavy lifting" as it relates to low-income, working-age adults living in poverty The Roadmap was produced within this broad context of previous reports It does not set out to demonstrate that the income security system, including social assistance, is problematic or inadequate; rather it starts with this welldocumented assertion: 50 Income Security: A Roadmap for Change
The current system has failed some people more obviously than others—for example, single people who have little more than a social assistance cheque to rely upon; people who are homeless and often struggling to find safe shelter night by night; newcomers to Canada battling prejudice and a system that seems designed to be against them in many ways; African Canadians who continue to face entrenched anti-Black racism; and Indigenous peoples who have faced prolonged racism, inequity and cultural discrimination. The Roadmap reflects a holistic plan of action to steer fundamental change over the next 10 years, one that concentrates on the urgent need for immediate action and the subsequent order and timing of the reforms needed to achieve income adequacy Income Security: A Roadmap for Change 51
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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 14 and 15: • The federal government enhance
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 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
Page 76 and 77: 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
Page 88 and 89: 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
Page 94 and 95: A key strength of Ontario’s curre
Page 96 and 97: TRANSFORMING SOCIAL ASSISTANCE OBJE
Page 98 and 99: DETAILED RECOMMENDATIONS 7.1 Develo
Page 100 and 101: People need to feel they have perso
Page 102 and 103: focussing primarily on eligibility
Page 104 and 105: • People are able to access servi
Page 106 and 107:
• A simpler social assistance str
Page 108 and 109:
8.6 Regularly situate Ontario Works
Page 110 and 111:
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
Page 122 and 123:
DETAILED RECOMMENDATIONS 11.1 Trans
Page 124 and 125:
First Nations Delivery Agents of On
Page 126 and 127:
INCOME AND ASSETS Recommendation 13
Page 128 and 129:
additional costs they may have—wh
Page 130 and 131:
HELPING THOSE IN DEEPEST POVERTY OB
Page 132 and 133:
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
Page 138 and 139:
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
Page 146 and 147:
• 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
Page 152 and 153:
The Roadmap emphasizes the need for
Page 154 and 155:
IMPLEMENTING AND MEASURING CHANGE M
Page 156 and 157:
3. The need to take a system-wide a
Page 158 and 159:
SEQUENCING CHANGE: A 10-YEAR ROADMA
Page 160 and 161:
YEAR 2 The second year of implement
Page 162 and 163:
YEARS 4 TO 10 Years 4 to 10 will ma
Page 164 and 165:
THE COST OF INACTION Poverty is int
Page 166 and 167:
• Ontario Drug Benefit costs for
Page 168 and 169:
• Social Assistance, through: •
Page 170 and 171:
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-
Page 180 and 181:
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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