Ontario undoing welfare legacy of the Harris government

Community Action, Jan 24, 2005

The Ontario government is changing its social assistance regulations to undo some of the harsher measures introduced by the previous government led by Mike Harris.

The government announced that it will:

* no longer treat grants, bursaries or registered education savings plans as income or assets in Ontario Works or the Ontario Disability Support Program;

* restore health benefits for Ontario Works recipients in transition to work programs so that high medical costs do not become a disincentive to employment;

* establish a single-stage application process for Ontario Works that will reduce paperwork and other barriers for vulnerable people applying for immediate financial and employment assistance;

* no longer require social assistance recipients to place a lien on their home in order to receive social assistance and all current liens will be discharged.

* increase the exemption for gifts and voluntary payments given to Ontario Disability Support Program participants from $4,000 to $5,000 per year per person.

* not penalize social assistance recipients for insurance and Ontario Disaster Relief Assistance Program payments used to pay for the replacement of lost, damaged or stolen property.

* exempt as assets any savings that dependent children accumulate from jobs, so that they can save for an education.

Ontario and Citizenship and Immigration Canada and the Canada Revenue Agency are working on a plan to recover social assistance costs for sponsored immigrants from defaulting sponsors.

The Province will continue to provide the Community Start-Up and Maintenance Benefit to help social assistance recipients establish a new residence or to maintain an existing residence. Payment frequency will be changed from once in 12 months to once in 24 months, aside from exceptional cases such as family violence, flood or fire.

Responding to the Coroner's report on the death of Kimberly Rogers, the government will provide drug cards to social assistance recipients with serious health conditions who may be temporarily ineligible for support due to non-compliance with employment participation rules.

Sponsored immigrants will no longer face an automatic $100 deduction from their social assistance payments and will be eligible for a shelter allowance if they have a legal obligation to pay shelter costs or can prove they need it to remain in the home.

As part of the Ontario government's energy conservation strategy, discretionary benefits will be available to help social assistance recipients with low-cost energy conservation measures, such as caulking and weather-stripping for doors and windows.

The government has also repealed the lifetime ban policy for individuals convicted of welfare fraud.