What is the Social Assistance Review?
On December 4, 2008, the Ontario government released its Poverty Reduction Strategy.
The Strategy made a commitment to “undertake a review of social assistance” (p30). But what this means is still unclear.
On December 2, 2009, the government announced an advisory panel to provide recommendations to the Minister of Community and Social Services on how to proceed with the Review. That panel’s work has just begun, so there is as yet no indication of how the Review will proceed, who will lead it, or how people with lived experience and local communities can be involved.
But we know it won’t be enough for the Review to simply tinker with program rules, changing bits and pieces here and there.
Ontario Works and the Ontario Disability Support Program are built on a foundation of ideas that work against the principle of poverty reduction.
It’s time for a review of social assistance that results in the kind of transformation that promotes economic security – because that’s how poverty will be reduced.
We need a review that:
- makes sure the voices of low-income people are heard
- identifies and addresses the most punitive elements of the system right now
- re-imagines and creates a system for the longer-term that moves people out of poverty by offering meaningful and appropriate resources and programs
- starts soon – because people who rely on social assistance can’t wait.
Get Involved
Check this website often for updates on what’s going on with the Social Assistance Review – what the government is doing, what ISAC is doing, and what activists across Ontario are doing.
We will strive to provide up-to-date opportunities for action, news from around the province, links to resources, and ideas about things you can do to influence the Review.
- Don’t forget to Tell your Story
- Here are some tips for how to Take Action
- See what the Government has done so far
- Read the latest Publications and Resources
- Check out the most recent News
