C/O SCARBOROUGH COMMUNITY LEGAL SERVICES, 695 Markham Rd., Suite 9, Scarborough, ON M1H 2A5

Submission to the Honourable Deb Matthews

Chair, Cabinet Committee on Poverty Reduction

"Disability should not be a life sentence to poverty"

Introduction

The ODSP Action Coalition is a province-wide coalition of community agencies, provincial organizations, anti-poverty groups, legal clinics and people who receive income support under the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP).  The Coalition was formed in 2002 following province-wide community consultations that found deep problems with ODSP.  Our aim is to advocate for improvements to ODSP so that people with disabilities can live with dignity.   

1.    A comprehensive Poverty Reduction Strategy needs to address the needs of people with disabilities beginning immediately

Your government's commitment to developing a comprehensive poverty strategy is crucial to the future economic and social wellbeing of this province.  The levels of poverty in this province result in increased costs for our health, education and justice systems.  Investing in a meaningful poverty reduction strategy with clearly defined targets needs to be a priority.

The government has made the needs of low income children a key priority—to such an extent that any adults living in poverty are relegated to an "other" category (question 5 of the consultation form "Help Us Tackle Poverty").  Of course the Coalition supports any efforts that would truly make a substantial reduction in child poverty.  Yes, children are the future, and better opportunities for today's kids will give us a more equitable and vibrant  province.

But it is worrisome that the Cabinet Committee on Poverty Reduction will only talk about a vague "long term strategy" for people with disabilities and any other adults living in poverty.  People with disabilities are suffering now.  Their physical and mental health is deteriorating due to the lack of sufficient income support, and the many systemic barriers in ODSP which impede access to a healthier life, participation in the community and employment.

The fact that so many people with disabilities in our Province are living in poverty, is not an issue that receives much attention.  This may be because there is a belief in our society that we provide for our citizens with disabilities.  But that is just a myth, for many are living in extreme poverty. 

There will always be many priorities competing for our society's resources, whether we are in a period of economic growth or not.  Should people with disabilities be told to just be patient, that at some time in an unspecified number of years, when things might be better, and provided there is money left over from all the other sectors, that a future government might begin working on the long term goal of lifting people with disabilities out of poverty?

We urge the Cabinet Committee to develop specific  recommendations for actions the government should take in the next provincial budget, and continuing in the budgets of the current mandate and beyond, to begin to address the poverty of people with disabilities.

2.   Raise levels of support under ODSP and OW to cover the real costs of living

There is no need for months of research or consultation on what is the absolutely most fundamental thing that needs to be done to make any difference in poverty in this province:  raise people's incomes, including the incomes of those who have been condemned to a life of poverty because of a physical or mental disability.  Everyone who works in any way with people in need, from food banks to Ontario's Public Health Authorities, from faith groups to registered nurses, psychiatrists and other health professionals, academics who study the social determinants of health, many municipal governments, have called on the province to provide incomes that allow people on ODSP and OW to eat nutritious diets and maintain adequate safe shelter.  

Presently a single person on ODSP can receive a maximum monthly benefit of $999 per month to live on (after the most recent 2% increase).  With this income they must cover everything from rent, to food, clothing, transportation, household items etc.  These rates fall far below the poverty line.  It is difficult enough for anyone to live on this amount of income.  But it is even harder for those who are grappling with chronic illnesses, or who are physically disabled, mentally disabled, or dealing with psychiatric illness.  Often these people have extra expenses needed to accommodate their disability, many of which are not covered by health benefits. Thus their poverty often exacerbates their disability or illness.

People on ODSP get a maximum of $445 for shelter, far below the average cost of a bachelor ($677) or one bedroom unit ($812) across the province.  Average rent costs in Toronto, where half of the people on ODSP live, are $752  for a bachelor and $919 for a one-bedroom unit. 

Rents supplements and public housing are only available to a small percentage of ODSP recipients; as a result 54% of ODSP recipients are paying private market rents. Recipients must spend food money to pay their rent.  Often, there is little or no money left for personal needs, household supplies, clothing, transportation, and additional costs related to their disability.  Therefore it is not surprising that 48% of food bank clients with a disability have been using a food bank for over 18 months.

Anyone on social assistance who is fortunate enough to have subsidized or lower rent, will receive less than the maximum allowance; therefore even those individuals and families cannot afford nutritious diets, or to participate in community life.

If the government really is committed to reducing poverty, OW and ODSP rates need to reflect average market rents (as determined by the Canada Mortgage and Housing corporation); the average cost of a nutritious food basket (as determined by municipal boards of health); and include money for all other basic needs such as transportation, telephone and utilities. People with disabilities also need money for the extra expenses associated with the long-term costs of their disability.  A substantial double-digit increase to OW and ODSP rates in the next budget would indicate that your government does not plan to leave social assistance recipients behind as you roll out a broader anti-poverty strategy in the coming year. 

Raising the levels of support under ODSP must also include increases in the Assistance for Children with Severe Disabilities (ACSD) and by extension Special Services at Home (SSAH).  Also, any comprehensive poverty reduction strategy must include a review of these two programs to ensure that Ontarians know about these programs and  receive the maximum entitlement from them. 

3.   Index Ontario Works (OW) and Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) rates to inflation.

The current government has made several increases to the rates that are each roughly equal to the increase in the cost of living for one year.  However, these have been made piecemeal, one at a time, with no commitment that there will be increases each year so  that people do not fall even further behind. 

In contrast, when giving themselves a 25% increase in 2006 the Members of Provincial Parliament added an automatic cost of living raise each year so that their yearly incomes keep growing without having to vote for an increase each time.  The very least that should be done for people in need is to ensure that they do not end up with greatly reduced purchasing power at the end of this government mandate, than they had when it began.

4.   An Independent Social Assistance Rates Board should be established to develop rational and just criteria for setting social assistance rates

Currently, levels of income support under OW and ODSP are not based on any rational criteria. For example, a single person on ODSP only receives a maximum of $445 a month to cover rent and utilities. If you are lucky enough to find housing for less than that, you are only given the actual amount of your rent. If your rent is much higher, as it is for the majority of people on ODSP, then you have to use your "basic needs" money.

 A single person on ODSP receives $554 a month to cover their "Basic Needs." No government has ever spelled out exactly what needs that amount is supposed to cover.

What type of a diet is a person expected to be able to buy on from the Basic Need amount? Recently, independent health professionals commissioned by the Minister of Community and Social Services to review the Special Diet Schedule  took pains to point out that "The delivery of this report in no way advocates for the current rates of social assistance in regard to proper nutrition and health, nor does it confirm their adequacy."  These medical experts found it necessary to make that statement because, for the purposes of determining costs for special diets related to specific medical conditions, they were forced to assume that the OW and ODSP rates were sufficient to purchase the minimum daily  recommendations in Canada's Food Guide.  But it is clear that this is a theoretical assumption only—not based on the amount that recipients actually have to buy food.

Beyond food, what else is supposed to be covered by Basic Needs?  Does it include a telephone, transportation, clothing, bank fees, newspaper, cable, household supplies and personal hygiene items?  What about the extra costs that people on long term disability encounter?  There are no clear answers.

Instead of basing the rates on real costs, they are based on an arbitrary figure. From 1993 to 2005, there was no increase at all to ODSP, and a huge cut to OW rates. In recent years, your government has given increases roughly equal to the current inflation rate while failing to take into account how far below the real cost of living the rates have fallen.

People's lives shouldn't be left to political whim. Creating an independent board that includes people on OW and ODSP and anti-poverty and disability groups would ensure that the criteria developed reflects the real needs of individuals and families on social assistance. 

5.   Increase the amount that ODSP recipients can earn before deductions

ODSP recipients who work have 50% of their earnings deducted from their monthly income support. 

With monthly ODSP rates so low that many people cannot afford to eat nutritiously or cover all of their other needs, people with disabilities find the 50% tax back rate unfair.  While being "allowed" to keep 50% of earnings may be considered by the government to be an incentive, recipients view the clawback of half their earnings as punitive. People with disabilities want to work but having a job can cause extra stress and difficulties for them. Earning enough money to live above the poverty line would help those with disabilities stay healthy enough to work to their full capacity. Otherwise, the dual challenges of living in poverty with a disability can make working seem impossible.

The Coalition believes that there should be no deductions of earned income from ODSP until a recipient can at least bring themselves up to the poverty level.  The 2006 StatsCan after-tax Low Income Cutoff for a major city is $17,570 a year for a single person, which works out to about $1460 per month.  The maximum ODSP allowance is currently $999 per month.  It would require a flat rate exemption of $460 per month to allow a single person to make enough earnings to bring him or herself up to the poverty line. 

We therefore urge the government to bring in a flat rate exemption of at least $460 on all earnings from employment and net earnings from self-employment.

6.  Struggling families need the full amount of the Ontario Child Benefit immediately – and without penalty.

The new Ontario Child Benefit will be implemented in July 2008 and will increase gradually from $50/month/child to $92/month/child by 2011.  Thus, one would think that all poor children will be better off by at least $50 per month.  But families on OW and ODSP will not benefit fully from the OCB because social assistance rates are being reduced and the winter clothing and back-to-school allowances are being cut.

These changes mean that, for example, a single mother on ODSP with one child will only be better off by approximately $32/month as of July 2008 – not $50/month. By 2011, she will have an extra $50/month, not $92/month. If the provincial government is truly serious about reducing poverty, why are children on social assistance getting less than other children?

Families on OW and ODSP are struggling just to meet their basic needs. Currently, a single parent with one child on ODSP receives $829 for shelter, while the average cost of a two-bedroom apartment in Ontario was $919 in 2007. A single parent on OW receives even less - $549. No one should have to choose between paying the rent and feeding the kids.

Families with children make up 14 per cent of people on ODSP and 40 per cent of people on OW. They desperately need the full amount of the new Ontario Child Benefit as quickly as possible – and without penalty.

Meanwhile, families on social assistance are losing two very small but timely lump sum benefits that they have come to rely on.  The Back-to-School Allowance of $73 per child under 13 or $143 per child over 13 is being eliminated in the very same month that the OW/ODS rates are first being reduced to reflect the new method of delivering child benefits.  And the Winter Clothing Allowance of $111 per child is also being cut.  These allowances are said to be "rolled in" to the OCB because some of the funding for the new benefit comes from them.  But the reality is that there is no extra money left in families subsistence budgets each month to save for school supplies and winter coats.  It is ironic that the very month that the centerpiece of this government's Poverty Reduction Strategy comes into effect, families on social assistance will be worse off than they were 12 months before.

Families on OW and ODSP desperately need the full amount of the new Ontario Child Benefit as quickly as possible. The Ontario Child Benefit should also be increased, without a corresponding decrease in OW and ODSP rates for families.  And the Back-to-School and Winter Clothing Allowances should be continued.

Conclusion

Government, social policy experts and academics could debate various measurements for poverty for months, indeed years, and no come up with a consensus.  However for people with disabilities living in poverty, the numbers, targets, timelines and measurements do not mean anything unless they can experience a significantly improved quality of life.  People will know that our government is committed to ending poverty when they can afford adequate shelter and pay their utilities bills; when they can eat a nutritious diet, including any special foods required by their health conditions; when they can afford a telephone in case of emergency; transportation, personal care needs, household supplies, and deal with the additional costs created by their disability.    People will believe that action on poverty is being taken when they see significant increases in ODSP and OW rates yearly (substantially above the cost of living) until these basic needs are met, coupled with indexing to maintain those gains. 

People with disabilities should not be told to wait for some "long term plan" to have their needs addressed.  Action needs to be taken now, beginning with the next provincial budget.  Anything less would mean that having a disability would continue to amount to a life sentence to poverty.