Response by NDP to ODSP Action Coalition Questions

[abrowne]

Hi,

As some of you may be aware, the ODSP Action Coalition put together

a set of four questions to pose to the four main political party leaders.

The questionnaire with a backgrounder was sent to the party leaders,

as well as a list of over 40 organizations that endorsed the Coalition's

questions. So far, we have a reply from the NDP and the Liberal Parties;

when the others reply, theirs will be posted here as well.

 

This is the NDP's response:

 

ODSP Action Coalition Questionnaire

Ontario’s NDP

 

1.                  ODSP and OW rates need to be raised to provide for the real costs of living.

 

The NDP puts fairness for Ontarians living with disabilities first.  ODSP and OW recipients have been treated very unfairly by the McGuinty government.  The NDP acknowledges that recipients are living well below the poverty line and are receiving less financial assistance now than they did 10 years ago.  Dalton McGuinty is completely out of touch with Ontarians living with disabilities and proves this by forcing them to live on insufficient funds.

 

Ontarians living with disabilities face enough challenges without having to worry about whether they can afford a healthy meal after they’ve paid their rent.  The NDP called on the McGuinty government to upgrade ODSP payments to a level that reflects the cost of their daily living.  It’s only fair.

 

 

2.                  An Independent Commission should be established to make recommendations for setting social assistance rates.

 

ODSP rates have been much too low for far too long.  Dalton McGuinty rushed through a $40 000 pay hike for himself, but expects Ontarians living with disabilities to survive on less than $1000 a month. 

 

The NDP understands that people living with disabilities tend to have more expenses associated with daily life than the general population.  Many people living with disabilities rely on public transit and have a variety of health related costs.  It’s essential that those factors are taken into account when assessing the needs of this population.  It’s not fair to allocate money without going through a proper consultative process to determine what is sufficient.   The NDP will allow an independent panel to establish rates to ensure that people living on ODSP have the funds they need.

 

 

 

3.                  Low-income families need to get the full amount of the Ontario Child Benefit more quickly, rather than getting only gradual increases over the next five years.

 

Dalton McGuinty said that the clawback of the National Child Benefit Supplement is wrong and promised to end it.  Four years later he has failed to do it.  The Ontario Child Benefit amounts to less than what it would cost to end the clawback of the National Child Benefit.  The Ontario Child Benefit hardly helps families when it doesn’t even match up to what’s already being clawed back from them.  

 

The NDP is committed to ending the clawback immediately, not in five years.  Five years is a long time in the life of a child and so many children have already missed out.  It’s not fair to let another group of children move forward without the funding they deserve. 

 

Child poverty is a major issue in Ontario and the NDP has called on the McGuinty government to address it.  Many hard-working Ontarians, making less than $10 an hour, are unable to get ahead and give their children opportunities.  Dalton McGuinty gave himself a $40 000 raise but rejected the NDP’s call for a $10 minimum wage NOW.  People working full-time at a minimum wage job in Ontario are living $4 000 below the poverty line.  That’s just not right.  By raising the minimum wage we can give people the chance to get ahead and start dealing with child poverty.

 

4.                  Accessibility of ODSP must be improved.

 

ODSP was the top subject of complaints to the office of the Ombudsman in 2006/2007.  The Ombudsman’s Report found that 4,600 Ontarians living with disabilities lost out on $6 million in much-needed benefits because of widespread delays and backlogs at the Ministry of Community and Social Services.  The Ombudsman called this treatment “insensitive” and “morally repugnant”.  The NDP called on the McGuinty government to provide restitution to Ontarians living with disabilities.

 

Every Ontarian is of equal worth and deserving of respect. 

Ontarians living with disabilities have been completely

disregarded by this government.  The ODSP needs to be more effectively run, so that each person who needs the support

can get it in a timely manner. 

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[abrowne]

LIBERALS

 

Thank you for laying out the four areas of concern to the ODSP Action Coalition in the coming election.  Let me take this opportunity to thank you and your organization for speaking consistently and eloquently on behalf of vulnerable Ontarians, especially children.

 

There are three points I want to make in response to your correspondence:

 

1.  We have come a long way.

2.  There is more to do.

3.  And finally, our progress is at risk in this election.

 

Let me deal with each one of these points:

 

We have come a long way, together, in just four years.  Under the previous Conservative government, Ontario suffered cuts and disruption in publicly funded education, cuts and disruption in publicly funded health care, and cuts to the social safety net - including social assistance rates and public housing, causing the most harm to those who depend on public services the most.  They set out to scapegoat the poor.

 

Four years later, there are new resources, and a new spirit, in our publicly funded schools.  We are training more doctors, hiring more nurses and building new and expanded hospitals.  Our province has seen 340,000 more jobs created than we had four years ago.  

 

We have made major progress when it comes to dignity for low-income Ontarians.  We created 22,000 more child care spaces, we created 35,000 housing allowances for low-income Ontarians, and we built more than 20,000 new affordable housing units.  We have increased social assistance rates three times.  We are increasing the minimum wage to $10.25 an hour by 2010.  We have already increased it to $8.00 an hour, the highest of any province in Canada.

 

But I am most encouraged by the introduction of something new:  the Ontario Child Benefit.  Some wondered why a group that cannot vote - children - would be at the heart of our pre-election budget.  My response is that not only are children close to our hearts, they are absolutely essential to the future we share.  This benefit is helping 1.3 million children - children on social assistance and, for the first time, children in other low-income families.  When it is fully phased in over the next four years, their families will receive $1,100 per child.  Already, they are receiving $250 per child.

 

But there is more to do.

 

Building on our accomplishments from in our first term, here is our plan to continue to expand opportunity for all Ontarians:

 

In education, we will:

1.  Invest an additional $3.1 annually by 2011 in our public education system;

2.  Expand the successful Pathways to Education program, to give more students from low-income families a fair shot at success;

3.  Double funding for our Community Use of Schools program, so that space for after-school activities is affordable for all Ontario families and free in communities that need it most.

 

For newcomers who are having trouble getting started, we will:

1.  Ease the transition into Ontario by creating a new Orientation Ontario course to help newcomers get off on the right foot.  We will support the course with a call centre to assist newcomers with follow-up support.

2.  Help newcomers upgrade their skills by expanding the Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP) to include books, language and bridging programs.

3.  Give more newcomers job experience by expanding the Ontario Public Service internship sevenfold and by expanding support for mentoring partnerships with the private sector.

 

To take action and deal with poverty and to expand opportunities to all Ontarians, we will:

1.  Build a comprehensive poverty reduction strategy around the Ontario Child Benefit.  We will work with partners to develop indicators and targets to measure and address child poverty.  Our first step will be to support dental services for low-income families.

2.  Building on our first term successes in education and Best Start, we will appoint an Early Learning Advisor to advise the Premier on developing and funding a full-day pre-school program. 

3.  Create a long-term strategy for affordable housing, together with our partners.  We will ensure this strategy includes a mix of non-profit and co-operative housing and takes advantage of creative financing options.

4.  Join with financial institutions to create a new program to help low-income Ontarians build equity and save for a home, their or their children's education, or to start their own business.

5.  Create a social venture capital fund at Social Innovation Generation @ MaRS to find new solutions to difficult social problems.

 

Many other investments we will be making in health care and the environment will also help those in low-income families - for example, we will ensure that 500,000 more Ontarians have access to a family doctor.  As you know, those without access to a doctor are disproportionately found in low-income families.  And our historic public transit investments will help those who cannot afford a car.

 

The progress we have made together is at risk in this election.  So is our future progress. 

 

I believe this election boils down to a choice between the Ontario Liberals, who are moving the province forward, and the same old Conservative approach.  Once again, the Conservatives are promising massive tax cuts; at the same time they are pledging more spending.  Under their plan, $3 billion would come out of publicly funded health care every year, when they eliminate the health premium, and half a billion dollars would be diverted from publicly funded schools to private schools.  They say another $1.5 billion would be cut through efficiencies. To put that in perspective, the Harris welfare "efficiency" cut saved the previous Conservative government $469 million - less than one-third of the "efficiencies" this current crop of Conservatives needs to find.  You have to ask yourself: what "efficiencies" do they have in mind this time?  The last time they said that, we saw cuts to health and education and programs to help the most vulnerable.  What do you think they will cut this time?  And if they are looking to cut $5 billion, would there be any money at all for further progress?  That is why I say the progress we are making is at risk in this election.

 

This is one of the reasons I say this election is an enormously important one.  And that is why I welcome letters like yours.  Democracy works best when citizens care deeply about the important issues.  Thank you for your letter, and your devotion to a stronger democracy, as well as a more caring society.

 

Please accept my best wishes.

 

Yours Truly,

 

DALTON MCGUINTY

Leader of the Ontario Liberal Party

Premier

 

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