ODSP reform: What stops us from working?

What stops us from working?

A report by John Stapleton, Stphanie Procyk & Lindsay Kochen, commissioned by The Dream Team, Houselink, and CAMH, makes the case for reform of ODSP practices that discourage recipients from working.

Personal narratives of ODSP recipients illustrate the roadblocks faced by recipients, and these narratives are linked to concrete policy recommendations intended to promote greater labour market attachment for ODSP recipients.

Implementing the changes recommended in this report should help bring down the extraordinarily high unemployment rate of ODSP recipients and enhance their ability to find fulfillment, financial self-sufficiency, and better health outcomes through productive employment.

Aboriginal Affairs: A new name with an uncertain meaning

Aboriginal Affairs: A new name with an uncertain meaning

Globe & Mail

May 18, 2011

Briefly:

Of all the repositioning unveiled in the Harper cabinet shuffle, none may have such lasting consequences as a simple name change.

The department that had been called "Indian Affairs" since before Confederation has been rebranded as "Aboriginal Affairs."

At first glance, Prime Minister Stephen Harper's reclassification appears to be in keeping with prevailing moves toward political correctness: replacing a label that doesn't have much relevance any more with one more widely accepted. "Indian" is dated, in much the same way as Inuit are no longer called Eskimos. But there is power in naming. The semantic shift could have all sorts of consequences for native people from the laws governing their treatment, the services they get, and even their identities.

Minister's title change worries First Nations

Winnepeg Free Press

May 19, 2011

Aboriginal leaders buoyed by stronger cabinet voice, but puzzled by name change
The Canadian Press

May 18, 2011

Webinar: Government & Urban Poverty

Title: Government & Urban Poverty

Series: Vibrant Communities Seminar Series, Canada's Cities Reducing Poverty
Speakers: Neil Bradford, Liz Weaver
Location: via conference call
Date: Thursday, May 26, 2011, 11:55am, Eastern

Details: The final call in the Canada's Cities Reducing Poverty series will feature an interview with Dr. Neil Bradford on the Role of Government in Urban Poverty. Dr. Bradford teaches Political Science at Huron University College, University of Western Ontario. His research interests include political economy, public policy and multi-level governance with a focus on local economic development and community building. He is the author of numerous scholarly articles and book chapters including a Canadian Policy Research Network series of discussion papers on Canada's New Deal for Cities and Communities. Dr. Bradford will focus on the role of government in addressing the complex issue of urban poverty.

Register here:

http://tamarackcommunity.ca/g1_events.html#le

Online Application for Social Assistance

https://saapply.mcss.gov.on.ca/CitizenPortal/cw/PlayerPage.do?

It is now possible to apply online for Ontario Works, Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP), Temporary Care Assistance, and Assistance for Children with Severe Disabilities.

I tried to find out if this online application was available to the entire province, or just certain areas, but I can't get a solid answer right at this moment.  However, it appears to be available locally.

Email me if I've got that wrong.  In any case, I'll be interested to hear about any experiences, positive or negative.

Here are the steps from the MCSS website:


Step 1. Is the online application right for you?
We will ask you a few basic questions to make sure this process is right for you. It will take you about 2-5 minutes to complete this step.

Step 2. Am I eligible?

We will ask you for some basic information about you and your family, for example:

• money you receive (e.g., from a job, child support)
• your assets (e.g., cash on hand, bank accounts, bonds, vehicles, jewellery).

It will take you about 5-10 minutes to complete this step.

This step will tell you if you may be eligible for any of the programs, based on the information you give. This is just a guideline. Only a representative from the local office (see Step 4) can tell you if you are actually eligible.

Note: This information will only be sent to the local office if you decide to submit it at the end of Step 3. If you choose not to submit this information, none of it will be saved.

Step 3. Online process

We will ask you to provide more detailed information about your situation and your family. It will take you about 20-30 minutes to complete this step.

At the end of this step, you can:

• review all the information you have given, and
• change it if you need to

You can then choose to send your information to us to ask for financial help and set up your appointment with a caseworker. The application can only be continued with a caseworker.

A caseworker will call you within 3 business days to confirm that we have received your online information, to arrange the appointment and tell you what you need to bring with you. If you do not have a phone number, you will need to call your local office to arrange an appointment instead.

Step 4. Appointment with caseworker

After you submit your information, you will need to come into your local office for an appointment to continue the application.

You will also need to bring your spouse (if you have one) and any children who are 18 or older to the appointment.

In this appointment, we will verify the information you sent in online.

Maytree Policy Insights 2011 - Report Release

Maytree's most recent publication, Charting Prosperity: Practical Ideas for a Stronger Canada, presents policy proposals intended to contribute to Canada's prosperity while protecting the country's most vulnerable.

http://maytree.com/policy/recommendations

Spring 2011 Community Advocacy & Legal Centre newsletter now available

http://cleonet.ca/news_files/1305135331CALC-Volume_20_Number_1_May_2011.pdf

Topics include:

• Poverty reduction strategy for a poverty-free Ontario
• Poverty-free Ontario forum
• Paths to Justice
• Affordable housing update
• Applying for EI - Changes to the Record of Employment form
• Who needs a "My Service Canada" account?
• More special diet changes
• Workplace Safety & Insurance Board makes program changes
• Articling Fellowship reaps rewards for rural and remote areas
• A decade of hunger in Ontario - Profile of food bank clients
• Making our website more accessible to the Deaf community
• Clinic hosts Law Commission consultations for vulnerable workers

Many low-wage workers not being paid at all: report

Many Low Wage Workers Not Being Paid At All: Report
Toronto Star
May 12, 2011

About one in three low-wage workers in Ontario is a victim of "wage theft," according to a report being released at Queen's Park.

“The legal right to minimum wage, overtime pay and wages is not a reality for people in low-wage and precarious work,” says the report, obtained by the Star.

Wage Theft in Ontario
The Workers' Action Centre survey of low-wage workers found:
• 20% earned less than minimum wage
• 39% failed to receive earned overtime pay
• 36% were fired or laid off without termination pay or notice
• 34% struggled to get vacation pay
• 33% were owed wages and of those only 23 per cent were ever paid

Stop Wage Theft Campaign

Take action
Email the Minister of Labour, Charles Sousa here
Share this link Share
Call our workers rights hotline at
(416) 531-0778 to report wage theft

WHAT IS WAGE THEFT

Many of us are not earning enough to live on. We face unfair conditions at work every day. Too many employers don’t pay us what we should be paid by law. Why is this allowed to happen? We deserve decent wages and fairness at work!

Our wages are stolen when:
We are not paid for all the hours that we work, or we are not paid at all
We are not paid minimum wage, overtime pay or for other legal rights
We are wrongly treated as independent contractors or self employed
We are charged a fee to get a job
HOW WE CAN STOP WAGE THEFT

We can stop wage theft when we work together. We have done it before! Many US states have passed Wage Theft laws. It can be done!!

TO STOP WAGE THEFT THE GOVERNMENT MUST:
Make all employers follow the law in all workplaces
Update labour laws to protect all workers
Increase the minimum wage to bring workers out of poverty
Ensure equal status and protection for all workers regardless of immigration status

For more detailed information on our demands to the Ontario government, refer to our policy document “Taking Action Against Wage Theft: Recommendations for Change”

Tampon Tuesday

http://tampontuesday.com/

TAMPON TUESDAY is a unique way to gather with women in your community to network, socialize and go with the flow. Drop by the second Tuesday of every month. Admission - 1 Box of Feminine Hygiene product
**Jack Astors South on Wellington Rd supplies complimentary appetizers

Please join Deb Matthews MPP, Minister of Health and Long Term Care, Michelle Baldwin, Executive Director, Pillar Nonprofit Network and Erin Schulthies, Youth Volunteer Assistant, Mind Your Mind at the next Tampon Tuesday. We look forward to seeing all of you out to Jack Astor’s on Wellington Road South for the May 24th event.

Tax freeze will leave city's poorest out in the cold

Will tax freeze lead to levy?

Fontana: Has pledged to hold the line, which is going to hurt

By Patrick Maloney The London Free Press

"Delivering a second straight tax freeze for Londoners could trigger some tough political decisions, including funding for programs that support thousands of the city's poorest.

Widespread projected belt-tightening appears set to fall especially hard on London's social-housing program, for which a 7% budget hike had been sought for 2012.

The budget targets, which politicians will debate next week, also suggest transit-fare hikes, activity-fee increases and arts-funding cuts may be needed to deliver the second of four freezes Mayor Joe Fontana has promised. "There's no question the second year (tax freeze) is going to be tougher than the first," said Coun. Bud Polhill."

Who’s London? What’s London? How, London?

Who’s London? What’s London? How, London?

By RANDY RICHMOND, The London Free Press

Did you catch today's Free Press?  Several pages, features, and letters to the editor were devoted to the subject of London, its 'identity', neighbourhoods, downtown revitalization, and the like.

You can suggest ideas, and vote on others' opinions HERE

You tell us who London is

20 Objects: The Tree

Vitality in a word

Strengthening neighbourhoods

Neighbourhood numbers

Nice doesn’t cut it

Fontana making believers

No shortage of ideas for

Community Clothing Centre

 http://www.communityclothingcentre.org/

The Community Clothing Centre is a local registered non-profit charity that provides free clothing to those in need in the community.  By donating to The Community Clothing Centre, you are helping individuals and families who are facing tough times.  This is a discrete service and is available by referral to anyone in need.

Donations can be made by dropping clothing into bright green bins with grey roofs at various locations around the community.

Referrals for service can be made through community partners listed on the website.

ETAC

I saw a small notice in this week's Londoner. 

ETAC

Employment Resource Centre

for poeple with disabilities

Internet - Fax - E-mail

Telephone/TTY - Assistance

No appointment needed

No cost

509-141 Dundas St., London, ON

(519) 858-4500

I hope to get a chance to pop by and visit this agency. It's new to me.  Has anyone had any experience with this service?  I'd be interested in learning about your experiences.

I googled ETAC, and found an entry on Information London.  However, the website listed there is a broken link.

What the????

I spent this week in denial about the election.  I'm stunned.  'nuff said.

So, not much changed locally, with the exception of conservative Susan Truppe narrowly taking Glen Pearson's riding.

Mr. Pearson reflects on this in his blog: The Parallel Parliament.

A hightlight from his May 6th post:

"But the truth is I was never comfortable in politics. I have the instincts of a public servant, not those of a partisan politician. The House no longer functions well and a government found in contempt of that place now has a majority mandate – things are deeply dysfunctional, both in the House and among the citizenry."

As part of a community of anti-poverty activists, I recognize that the Harper government may slow any progress towards closing the gap between the rich and the poor.  But, the work continues.

The Low-Income Energy Network - new rules coming Oct 2011

OEB improvements to electricity customer service rules will help keep lights on for low-income people

Friday, April 1, 2011
(Toronto) The Low-Income Energy Network (LIEN) welcomes the long-awaited release of the Ontario Energy Board’s (OEB) customer service rules that are specifically designed to help financially-strapped low-income households maintain their residential electricity service.

The rules released this week are part of the OEB’s Low-Income Energy Assistance Program (LEAP) – a comprehensive plan consisting of: emergency relief for consumers in short-term payment crisis; targeted energy conservation and demand management programs to reduce energy consumption and costs, and the new flexible rules on matters such as security deposit and fee waivers, arrears payment plans and disconnection notice periods.

“This is good news for low-income consumers who struggle to pay for rent, food, transportation and their basic energy needs,” said Jennifer Lopinski, LIEN steering committee member and the Emergency Home Energy program administrator with A Place Called Home in the Municipality of Kawartha Lakes. “When attempting to resolve their electricity arrears, low-income consumers will have real options to reduce financial hardship. We’re also pleased that the OEB is consulting on implementing similar conditions of service rules for low-income natural gas customers.”

LIEN actively participated in the OEB’s proceeding which was initiated three years ago to develop the new customer service rules, and continues to advocate for the establishment of a permanent energy rate affordability program for low-income consumers that would proactively prevent households from falling into arrears.

The new low-income customer service rules will come into effect on October 1, 2011. For more details about the rules and eligibility, please see the OEB backgrounder at:
http://www.ontarioenergyboard.ca/OEB/_Documents/Press+Releases/bckgrndr_lowincome.pdf

The Peoples Blueprint -- Real Voices for Real Change

http://peoplesblueprint.ca/

Real Voices for Real Change

"The Peoples Blueprint is a unique and empowered group of men and women with lived experience of poverty and all it brings with it.  Isolation, depression, constant anxiety and pressure, they have know it all.  As a group they learned leadership and peer research skills and conducted over 100 video recorded research interviews that demonstrate the hopes, challenges, and abilities of people living on social assistance in an intensely personal way.  Problems with the social assistance system as identified by people experiencing it, as well as areas in which reform should take place are presented in these videos.  The goal of this project is to change social assistance in Ontario for the better."

thestar.com – March 6, 2010An investment that would pay off by Mark Sussman

thestar.ca – January 29, 2010Welfare reviewed by those who know by Sima Dini

Caledon Institute of Social Policy – January 2011People’s Review Panel:Getting the Ontario Social Assistance Review issues straight… from people with lived experience of poverty

Fibromyalgia - a nifty online resource

I've met quite a few people in the past year who suffer from Fibromyalgia and associated complications of this condition -- including poverty, related to the victim's inability to engage in regular employment.  I thought I would share a well-organized website that, if like me, you don't fully understand this complex disorder, and would like more information-- OR, if you have been diagnosed with Fibromyalgia, and could benefit from support from this online community.

I liked this website because they didn't seem to be pushing a certain pharmacological treatment, and discusses alternative holistic approaches to wellness.

http://www.fibrotalk.com/

Fibromyalgia (fye-bro-my-AL-jah) is a syndrome characterized by long-lasting widespread pain and tenderness at specific points on the body. The term “fibromyalgia” means pain in the muscles, ligaments and tendons. Although not defining characteristics, sleep disturbances and fatigue are also integral symptoms of fibromyalgia.

This condition is referred to as a syndrome because it’s a set of signs and symptoms that occur together with no known cause or identifiable reason. Fibromyalgia is an especially confusing and often misunderstood condition. Because its symptoms are quite common and laboratory tests results generally are normal, people with fibromyalgia were once told that their condition was “all in their head.” However, medical studies have proven that fibromyalgia does indeed exist, and it is estimated to affect about two to four percent of the U.S. population today.

Although fibromyalgia has no cure, it isn’t a progressive disease, meaning that although your symptoms may worsen, it will not spread to, or damage your organs and it’s never fatal. With a treatment plan that integrates several modalities that include exercise, rest, stress relief, coping skills and medications, people with fibromyalgia can live happy, productive lives.

The Alarming Facts about Opioid Misuse

Avoiding Abuse, Achieving a Balance: Tackling the Opioid Public Health Crisis
A 46 page report from the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario

The report includes THIRTY-ONE recommendations
Here's a brief snippet:

The popular prescription drug OxyContin (oxycodone) is the most easily procured opioid for non-medical use in Toronto’s street drug scene.7 There has been a steep and unprecedented increase in the number of individuals seeking treatment for oxycodone addiction since controlled-release (long-acting) oxycodone products became available in 1995. The number of admissions at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) MedicalWithdrawal Management Service seeking treatment for opioid detoxification related to controlled release oxycodone went from 3.8% of opioid admissions in 2000 to 55.4% in 2004. There has been a steep and unprecedented increase in the number of individuals seeking treatment for oxycodone addiction since controlled-release (long-acting) oxycodone products became available in 1995.

CAMH found that among Ontario high school students, one fifth reported using opioids or at least one prescription drug without a doctor’s prescription in 2009, compared to only 12% of students surveyed who reported smoking cigarettes.

Deaths due to oxycodone have risen from 35 in 2002 to 119 in 2006, a rise of 240%. The steep increase in the diversion of these drugs to the illicit drug market is also troubling.

This public health crisis will continue to escalate if the contributing problems are not addressed.(emphasis added)

Here's a older article speaking directly about London's Oxy issues.

Solutions to oxycodone addiction

Provided by: Sun Media
Written by: RANDY RICHMOND
Oct. 31, 2007

While the price of ending the abuse of oxycodone-based painkiller drugs in London could be in the millions of dollars, the payoff, too, could be huge.

 

Hennessy's Index: Election Jawdroppers (May 2011) A number is never just a number

From the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives:

Hennessy's Index is a monthly listing of numbers, written by the CCPA's Trish Hennessy (have I mentioned that I have a huge girl-crush on Trish Hennessy's brain?), about Canada and its place in the world.  For other months, visit: http://policyalternatives.ca/index

For a PDF version: Click here

 

• 5

  Number of questions Prime Minister Stephen Harper permits reporters on the campaign trail.(Source)

• $38.7 million

  What the Conservative government has spent on media monitoring since 2008. (Source)

• $46.5 million

  How much more the federal government spent on advertising than corporate giant Bell Canada in 2009-10. Total 2009-10 federal advertising budget: $136 million. (Source)

• 16

  Number of Liberal and coalition attack ads posted on the Conservative Party of Canada's campaign website (multimedia section). (Source)

• 54

  Percentage of Canadians who prefer a Liberal-NDP coalition government over a Conservative majority government: April 1, 2011 Ipsos Reid poll. (Source)

• $29 billion
  

  Estimated cost of the Harper government's proposed F35 fighter jets. (Source)

• 0

  Number of engines that actually come with the fighter jets. (They're extra). (Source)

• $2,829.38

  Estimated personal cost to Canadians who earn $50,000, to pay for Harper's F35 fighter jets, new prisons, and oil company subsidies. Calculate your personal cost at contactyourmp.ca/harpercost. (Source)

• $50 million

  Total reported amount of federal funding to spruce up Parry Sound-Muskoka for the G8 summit. Includes $14,000 for glow sticks and $100,000 for a gazebo an hour's drive away from the G8 site. (Source)

• 62

  Percentage of Canadians who describe Canada's democracy as being in a state of crisis. (Source)

• 2,056,001

   Number of Canadians who voted in advance polls, April 2011. A 34 per cent increase comopared to the 2008 federal election. (Source)

Vote . . . because you CAN!

When is $500 not $500?

A new report from the Caledon Institute of Social Policy

When is $500 not $500? Ken Battle and Sherri Torjman, April 2011

 

In this commentary, the authors point out that tax credits are often worth less than they appear.  In fact, most tax credits are designed as ‘non-refundable credits.’  This design means that recipients of these tax benefits do not receive any direct cash payment.  Rather they obtain their benefit in the form of an income tax reduction when they file their taxes.  Non-refundable credits are also of limited value to households with low or no income and do little to alleviate poverty.

http://www.caledoninst.org/Publications/PDF/936ENG.pdf
Also new:
Health Care in a Renewed Federalism
Tom Kent, April 2011

A simple way to help Canada’s poorest seniors
Ken Battle, Sherri Torjman and Michael Mendelson, April 2011

Prisons or poverty? The choice is clear
Ken Battle, Sherri Torjman and Michael Mendelson, April 2011

McQuesten: Elements of a Successful Neighbourhood Initiative
Anne Makhoul, April 2011

Restoring Minimum Wages in Canada
Ken Battle, April 2011

Policy Agenda in Search of a Budget
Ken Battle, Sherri Torjman, Michael Mendelson, March 2011