Social Assistance in Ontario: What’s happened and what’s next?

Recorded on September 27, 2018 -  On July 31, 2018, while scrapping the Basic Income pilot, the Ontario government announced that a number of improvements to Ontario Works (OW) and the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) would not take place in the Fall of 2018 as scheduled. Minister MacLeod also announced that her ministry will reveal a new social assistance program after a 100 day review.

In this webinar, Jennefer Laidley and liz walker of ISAC review these decisions and many of the improvements that were slated for the Fall of 2018, as well as the government’s stated priorities for changing the social assistance system and what they could mean. The webinar looks at the kinds of principles that the government should use to create an effective and compassionate social assistance system. The webinar also discusses actions that each of us can take before November 8, 2018 to ensure the provincial government hears from us about what a good system should be. 

About the presenters

Jennefer Laidley is the Research & Policy Analyst at the Income Security Advocacy Centre, a specialty community legal clinic mandated to advocate for improvements to the income security of people in Ontario. Jennefer has conducted numerous webinars through Your Legal Rights on a variety of topics related to income security.

liz walker is the Provincial Organizer at the Income Security Advocacy Centre. She works with legal clinics and grassroots organizations and groups to organize for systemic change in the elimination of poverty in Ontario.


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