Navigating the daily challenges of life, individuals on social assistance in Ontario find themselves struggling within a system that many feel traps people in poverty.
Trevor Manson found himself navigating the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) after losing his job as a market researcher in 2013 due to a diagnosis of polyneuropathy.
Polyneuropathy is a condition where multiple nerves in the body become damaged, often affecting the hands and feet. This can cause symptoms like numbness, tingling, weakness and pain, making it harder to move or feel sensations.
When he applied for ODSP in 2015, he quickly encountered the program’s challenges and limitations.
“So essentially, you had to be destitute in order to qualify for a program that’s not going to provide you enough money on which to survive,” Manson said.
Now, as the Secretary Co-chair of the ODSP Action Coalition, he advocates for change, using his own experience to push for reforms that would improve the lives of thousands of Ontarians on ODSP.
The ODSP Action Coalition, the Disability Justice Network of Ontario, and the Raise the Rates coalition are calling for the Ontario Government to double ODSP and Ontario Works (OW) payments and index OW to inflation.
While ODSP is designed to support individuals with disabilities, OW provides financial assistance to individuals and families in financial need.
Similar to ODSP, OW payments are well below the actual cost of living, making it difficult for recipients to meet basic needs. Currently, a single person on OW receives a maximum of $733 per month.
Single recipients on ODSP receive $1,308 per month, with $556 allocated for shelter and the remaining $752 intended to cover basic needs.
In July 2023, ODSP rates were raised by 6.5 per cent and linked to inflation, meaning that starting each July, ODSP payments will increase according to the inflation rate.
Despite this adjustment to account for inflation, significant financial challenges remain for recipients.
Housing is one of the main issues recipients face.
According to data from Rentals.ca in October 2024, the average cost of a one-bedroom apartment in Ottawa is $2,035, while a two-bedroom apartment averages $2,557.
For individuals on ODSP, the shelter allowance would cover only about a quarter of the rent for a one-bedroom apartment and almost half for a two-bedroom apartment if you have a roommate.
“What we want is for people to be able to afford apartments; at some point the shelter allowance has to be tied to actual market rents, because $390 does not cut it,” said Ron Anicich, co-chair of both the ODSP Action Coalition and the Raise the Rates coalition, as well as an ODSP recipient.
For those who are homeless and living on ODSP or OW, they do not receive the shelter allowance.
Manson said it feels like the system doesn’t want you to be able to get ahead. Instead, you are trapped in a cycle of poverty.
Anicich echoed this sentiment, saying that Ontario’s meagre social assistance rates directly affect hundreds of thousands across Ontario.
“These rates need to be doubled immediately, right now,” Anicich said. “These rates are woefully inadequate, they trap people in a cycle of poverty, forcing people to make impossible choices between paying rent, buying food, covering other basic necessities, doing laundry or making a medical appointment.”
In a written statement to Capital Current, the Ontario Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services stated that the government is actively working to make life more affordable for residents.
“We continue to work across government to make life more affordable for Ontarians. Since September 2022, our government has increased ODSP rates by 17 per cent,” the statement said. “In addition, we have tied these rates to inflation, with increases happening each July, and increased the earnings exemption by 400 percent for people on ODSP.”
The Ministry also highlighted that they have implemented supports such as the LIFT tax credit, which provides up to $850 annually, and the CARE tax credit, which covers up to 75 per cent of childcare expenses.
In Canada, the low-income threshold is just over $25,000 annually, according to a 2023 report by Food Centres Canada.
A single person living off ODSP would only have an annual income of around $15,696. In contrast, a person on OW would make approximately $8,796.
“For a disabled person to thrive, you need $74,000 to $85,000 a year accounting for all kinds of extra medical costs and additional kinds of things, well and above what they consider the living wage or the base rate that one might have in society,” said Brad Evoy, the executive director at Disability Justice Network of Ontario.
According to the Not Back to Normal report by McMaster University people living on ODSP and OW were worse off after the pandemic then they were prior to it. For those who were eligible to receive CERB the report found that they were relieved as their financial burdens were less.
The CERB’s $2,000 monthly standard highlighted the inadequacy of ODSP benefits, leading recipients to feel their survival was disregarded. This sense of abandonment was so profound that some interviewees linked it to a perception that the government viewed them as burdens, according to researchers.
The gap between what people need to live well and what social assistance offers highlights a significant problem in the system.
Without enough support, individuals with disabilities often find themselves stuck in poverty, leading to more issues like not having enough food and unstable housing.
“First, it’s a matter of basic human dignity. In a province as wealthy as Ontario, it’s completely unacceptable that we allow our neighbors and our friends and our family members to live in deep poverty,” Anicich said. “Second, poverty has ripple effects throughout our entire society. When people can’t afford proper nutrition and healthcare and stable housing, it leads to higher crime rates and increased strain on our healthcare system and reducing economic productivity.”
He explained that we are investing in our communities by investing in social assistance.
Kelly Ziegner, president and CEO of United Way Elgin Middlesex, emphasized that these investments support individuals in need and foster overall community well-being.
Ziegner says investing in social assistance can help reduce other significant expenses, like healthcare costs.
In 2019, the cost of poverty to the Ontario healthcare system was estimated at $3.9 billion, according to the Make it Livable campaign. This high cost comes from the fact that people in poverty often have more health and mental health problems, leading to more trips to the hospital.
In 2019, poverty cost the Government of Ontario approximately $33 billion, according to Feed Ontario.
Ziegner said that the funds the Ontario government is losing because of poverty could be redirected to invest in social assistance, potentially helping to lower these costs.
While advocates continue to fight for a doubling of ODSP and OW rates, they have observed growing awareness and support for the need for this change.
“The good news is that there is a growing recognition in the province of Ontario that the situation we’re in right now is completely untenable. We’re seeing broad public and political support for doubling the rates for both Ontario Works and ODSP,” said Anicich.
The Town of Goderich and the City of Orillia have put forth a motion for the provincial government to double ODSP and OW. Marit Stiles, the leader of the Ontario New Democratic Party also has also expressed support for this call through her social media platforms.
“This is not just a fringe idea anymore; it’s becoming more mainstream as more and more Ontarians recognize the moral and practical imperative of ensuring a basic standard of living for everyone.”
Advocates believe that ongoing pressure on the government and broad public support will be essential for achieving the necessary reforms to help the many Ontarians relying on ODSP and OW break free from the cycle of poverty.
