Council calls on province to factor food costs into ODSP and OW rates

The City of Orillia has joined the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit, along with other health units, in calling on the provincial government to use food affordability to help determine suitability Ontario Works (OW) and Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) rates. ).

At Monday’s city council meeting, municipal politicians threw their support behind a resolution from the Association of Local Public Health Agencies (ALPHA), which also calls on the provincial government to index OT compensation to the ‘inflation.

Given that food prices increased by 10.6 percent between February 2022 and February 2023 and that 67 percent of households that rely on OW and ODSP face food insecurity, the ALPHA resolution calls on the government provincial government to use food affordability monitoring results from health units to help determine social assistance rates.

Even though ODSP rates were increased by 5 percent in 2022 and will now be indexed to inflation, the resolution emphasizes that compensation “is not based on the cost of living” and similarly emphasizes that OT rates have not increased since 2018 and are not indexed to inflation.

Data collected from several Ontario health units shows that OW compensation – ranging from $863 to $875 per month – does not cover the costs of food and studio space in their respective municipalities. These deficits are as follows:

• Chatham–Kent: shortfall of $132 per month to pay for food and a studio
• District of North Bay Parry Sound: shortfall of $178 per month
• North West: shortfall of $192 per month
• Ottawa: shortfall of $588 per month
• Peterborough: shortfall of $323 per month
• Toronto: shortfall of $752 per month
• Wellington–Dufferin–Guelph: shortfall of $498 per month

In a letter to Premier Doug Ford, included in Monday’s council agenda, the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit noted that one in five Simcoe Muskoka households experienced food insecurity between 2021 and 2022.

The health unit also said households that rely on minimum wage, Old Age Security and Canada Pension Plan compensation may also experience food insecurity.

“To reduce household food insecurity, revenue solutions at all levels of government are needed to put more money in people’s pockets to put food on the table and to help meet other basic needs,” it says. the letter. “An income sufficient to meet basic needs enables individuals to be in good physical and mental health, to make meaningful contributions to society, and to lead productive lives. »

City council voted in favor of ALPHA’s resolution to the province, marking the second occasion in recent meetings that municipal politicians have called on the province to take action on ODSP and OW rates.

“What we are doing is supporting the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit, as well as all health units, in asking the province to recognize the impact of rising food prices, particularly on people who receive social assistance,” said the advisor. Janet-Lynne Durnford.

“I think it’s very important that we keep pressure on the province to ensure that vulnerable people receive support.”

A copy of the resolution passed by council will be sent to Premier Doug Ford, the Association of Municipalities of Ontario, all Ontario municipalities and many elected officials in the provincial government.