Chris Glover MPP, Spadina–Fort York

Government of Ontario

Double ODSP & OW Rates

TO THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF ONTARIO:

WHEREAS CTV recently reported that at least two Ontarians with disabilities are choosing to die through Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) because they could not pay for housing that would reduce their suffering from their disability;

WHEREAS London Ontario ICU physician Dr. Scott Anderson reports seeing more patients asking for MAiD because they cannot afford the services they need to accommodate their disabilities;

WHEREAS the Center for Justice and Social Compassion estimates that almost half of the 12,000 people in Ontario who are homeless have a disability or mental illness and 216 people experiencing homelessness died on the streets and shelters of Toronto in 2021, more than double the rate since the Conservative government took office in 2018;

WHEREAS the Premier and Conservative government have promised to raise Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) rates by 5 per cent, to $1,225, of which $520 is for shelter and $705 is for food, clothing, transportation, medicine and other necessities;

WHEREAS current monthly ODSP payments are 47.5 per cent short of the municipal poverty line in Toronto and 30 per cent below the province's poverty line;

WHEREAS it is not possible to survive on these amounts in Ontario and therefore, Ontario Works (OW) and ODSP rates kill because they do not provide Ontarians with enough income to live;

THEREFORE, we the undersigned petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to take action on the ODSP and OW crisis by:

Doubling OW and ODSP rates immediately so that Ontarians with disabilities have enough income to survive.

 

1,169 signatures

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