The Ontario Social Assistance Review must present a clear vision, put
a focus on health promotion and illness prevention and do so with
dignity, equity and opportunity.
I
believe that all Ontarians can offer a meaningful contribution to society and our social assistance programs should help
them to do so.
The current system penalizes those who, for a
variety of reasons, may be unable to work a traditional 40 hour week
but still have plenty to offer society. It's time to stop clawing back
dollars whenever a social assistance recipient makes efforts towards an
independent life.
Assistance levels need to be adequate,
so that people receiving assistance can
maintain a healthy standard of living. People receiving assistance
should have access to public transportation, healthy local food and
decent affordable housing, all of which can lead to a more fulfilling,
productive and healthy life. I believe that this approach can lead to
reduced overall costs for healthcare, by resulting in reduced rates
of crime, addiction and incarceration.
It
is very important to try to reduce the stigma associated with social
assistance and change the current climate that may lead some to work
'under the table', which puts our most vulnerable citizens into
potentially dangerous situations.
Providing opportunities for
those on social assistance to transition into training and employment must be a pillar of our social assistance program.
Our system needs to focus on helping people find work, paid or
otherwise, that values their capabilities and assists them in their
quest for long-term financial security.
It's
time for Ontario to implement a system that put a positive focus on the
individual by providing the necessary tools for success. This could be
job training for one individual, life-skills for another, or ESL for a
newcomer.
The
point is that these service(s) should be tailored to meet the
requirements of the individual which would lead to a more positive and
rewarding experience for the recipient and a reduction in the numbers of
those re-applying for social assistance. This would result in savings
for all Ontario taxpayers.
Poverty
costs us all and the cost should not be measured by tangibles alone.
In a province like Ontario where we have a standard of living that is
among the highest in the world, is it not our duty to provide decent
opportunities for our most vulnerable citizens?
I'll close with a quote by Hubert H. Humphrey;
"...the moral test of government is how that government treats those who
are in the dawn of life, the children; those who are in the twilight of
life, the elderly; those who are in the shadows of life; the sick, the
needy and the handicapped. "
Agreed Mark. Are there public deputations on this? If so, I'd like to contribute.
ReplyDeleteMany thanks
Sharon Danley
Hi Sharon, No. The review was done by Frances Lankin and Munir A. Sheikh over the past couple of years. I would expect the Liberals to ignore it as usual. Social assistance appears to be low on their list of priorities. I'm always interested to hear your thoughts, thanks for taking the time to comment.
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