Owen Sound Hub,
I am writing to you today in hopes to spread awareness to the public on just how broken our social assistance policies are and also how unfair it is currently trying to work on social assistance in Ontario.

Let me begin with the amounts. Currently in Ontario the max Ontario Works (OW) gives for a single person is $733 a month and ODSP is $1169. A lot of these people can’t work so that is their entire income for one month.

Now let’s focus on those that work on social assistance. OW clawbacks dollar for dollar after $200 earned. ODSP is 50 cents per dollar after $200. These clawbacks are unfair, discriminatory and can come across as a punishment for working. You get punished and risk your assistance not working and you also get punished for working on social assistance.

(ed note: After 3 months on OW, the clawback is 50 cents on the dollar after $200 - the same as ODSP. source: ON Government)

How is anyone suppose to get off the assistance or even move forwards towards life stabilization and financial stability when you actually go deeper in the financial hole working then you do not working.

With Election Day being today I am begging whatever political party gets elected that they reconsider the clawbacks. With rental prices, food, gas and inflation driving all of us into almost bankruptcy,  I beg the Provincial Government to allow people to keep their full entitlement and also the money working people on social assistance get for their work..

We can’t punish people for working and we also can’t punish those that can’t work.

I am willing to meet with Provincial and Federal elected members to discuss proper and realistic solutions to this serious issue.

Thank you for your time,

Jacob Morris-Wheeler
Advocate/Lived Experience Expert

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