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id=article_title class=main_h1>Canadian Charger</H1>
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class=main_h1>Government of Ontario lies about Welfare</H1></DIV>
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id=article_author class=main_h2>Reuel S. Amdur</H2><A
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<P
style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px">"Ontario
Works helps people who are in temporary financial need." That is a lie. It is a
lie that the Ontario Ministry of Community and Social Services (COMSOC) has on
its website now and that it has been promoting for as long as the program has
been in existence.</P></DIV>
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<P
style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px">As
well it put out the same line of crap in its predecessor program of General
Assistance and Family Benefits. It is a lie that has been put forward by
Tory, Liberal, and NDP governments, but it is nevertheless a lie. </P>
<P
style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px">Let’s
look at the facts.</P>
<P
style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px">COMSOC
knows they are lying. They have the statistics. For the 2014-15
fiscal year, the average time an individual or family was in receipt of Ontario
Works (OW) was 27 months—two years three months. Temporary? Half the cases
closed after 15 months and half were on for a longer period of time. What
about the second half?</P>
<P
style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px">When
I was a welfare supervisor in Ottawa in the 1990’s, I saw a couple cases with a
history going back 25 years. Those with 20 year histories were of course
more numerous, and there were even more on for five or ten years.
Temporary my eye. And things have not changed much since my time.</P>
<P
style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px">The
government pretends that OW is for those who are able to work, while the Ontario
Disability Support Program (ODSP) serves the disabled who are less able to
work. In fact, the system is simply incapable of determining
disability.</P>
<P
style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px">After
compulsory retirement as a welfare supervisor in 1999, I began assisting people
appeal denial of eligibility for ODSP which pays substantially more, almost
twice as much for a single person. The normal maximum for a single person
on OW is $681 a month, on ODSP, $1110. People who are clearly disabled get
turned down regularly for ODSP.</P>
<P
style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px">Case
in point: A is in her 50’s. She speaks little English, less French.
I found a woman to tutor her in English, but the task proved hopeless. Her
only work in Canada was in a janitorial capacity. When a bus stopped
suddenly, she fell and was injured. She can no longer do that kind of
work. Her disabled condition was documented by a chiropractor and a
physiotherapist. A was turned down twice by the Medical Advisory Board and
twice by the Social Assistance Review Board. She is so discouraged that
she refuses to apply again. A will be on OW till she turns 65 or dies,
whichever comes first.</P>
<P
style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px">So
what is the solution to this problem? </P>
<P
style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px">The
obvious one is for the Ontario government to eliminate the distinction between
OW and ODSP and to have a single social assistance program. It is
incapable in any case of making a valid distinction between those who are work
ready and those not, considering the large welfare worker caseloads (upwards of
100) and the limited educational requirements for staff in many
municipalities. And education may be in the wrong fields. The head
of welfare in Ottawa is a dentist.</P>
<P
style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px">The
implicit justification for the different levels of assistance is the
old-fashioned distinction between the worthy poor (ODSP) and the unworthy
(OW). We need someone to discriminate against. Instead of this
prejudiced approach, assistance should be on the basis of need, not artificially
determined status. </P>
<P
style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px">As
an alternative to simply merging the two categories, Ontario could follow a
recommendation from the 1988<SPAN
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN><SPAN>Transition</SPAN><SPAN
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN>report on social assistance: transfer
all cases after two years to the higher level.</P>
<P
style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px">Unfortunately,
some of the important social assistance advocacy organizations play the
government’s game. Organizations such as the ARCH Disability Law Centre
and the ODSP Action Coalition call for increases in ODSP rates and simply ignore
the needs of the many disabled people on OW. They should know better, and
they should have sounder humanitarian values.</P>
<P
style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px">In
any case, 25 years temporary? That’s a lie! 20 years? That’s a
lie! Five years? That’s a lie! 27 months? That’s a lie!
15 months? That’s a lie!</P>
<P
style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px">Let’s
hear it for a guaranteed annual income, at a level allowing people to live in
conditions of dignity and decency.</P></DIV>
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