A bill to establish a Social Assistance Research Commission passed Second Reading in the Ontario legislature yesterday.
NDP MPP Paul Miller’s described what he called "the consequences of inadequate social assistance rates in Ontario."
“Over nine hundred thousand people in this province rely on Ontario Works or ODSP, but more than half of these families do not have enough to eat,” Miller said. “Children are going to school hungry. It has become impossible for the poorest people in this province to make ends meet.”
The bill would establish the Social Assistance Research Commission with an advisory group, to recommend Ontario Works and Ontario Disability Support Program rates for each region of Ontario, based on the real cost of living in that region.
“Rates are arbitrary and are set by the political whim of the government of the day. There is no framework, no research, and no evidence to inform decision making or to inform the members of this legislature,” Miller said. “What you find in effective poverty reduction strategies everywhere is that benefits are set at levels sufficient to cover basic needs. They are based on evidence and research.”
“Passing this legislation gives us an opportunity to improve the life prospects of almost a million people in Ontario,” Miller said.
“If we are to ensure that everyone in this province has a decent minimum standard of living, the first thing we need is hard and accurate information on the real costs of basic needs in different Ontario communities to properly inform our decisions.”
