How to help the families left behind
People who depend on social assistance have been losing their buying power since 1995
Bill 6 is a private member’s bill with the goal of establishing social assistance rates that fit with the cost of living in different Ontario communities.
People who depend on Ontario Works or the Ontario Disability Support Program have been losing their buying power since 1995, when the Ontario government cut payments by 21.6 per cent for all recipients.
Since the cut, recipients have been on a downward slide into deep poverty. Despite an annual increase of one per cent to the rates, the inflation of food and accommodation prices far outstrips the increase.
This is evident from annual governmentmandated surveys — the Nutritious Food Basket (NFB) reports that compare individual and family incomes to food and accommodation costs in Ontario municipalities.
Hamilton’s latest NFB report, presented to the Board of Health (BOH) in November 2015, showed the cost of food and accommodation had increased, by 11 per cent and 4 per cent respectively, from 2013 to 2015.
It can be estimated that, over the past 12 years, food has become 66 per cent more expensive and accommodation 24 per cent more expensive, while social assistance has only increased by 12 per cent.
Hamilton’s report asked the BOH to “again propose the establishment of an Ontario Social Assistance Rates Board for setting evidence-based social assistance rates.” Bill 185 would have established such a board to recommend rates to government.
The worst example of people being left behind are unattached recipients of Ontario Works: at present they receive only $681 per month, and the NFB report for 2015 shows them to be $121 short per month for nutritious food after rent for an average bachelor apartment. This despite a 2012 recommendation by the Social Assistance Review Commission for an immediate $100 raise that would have brought them to $700 four years ago.
Children cannot flourish when their families are living in deep poverty.
By not helping families to access nutritious food, we are sentencing children to the long-term effects of poor nutrition, such as poor physical and mental health, and limited school progress.
Evidence of these effects is provided in a 2015 position paper on food insecurity by the Ontario Society of Nutrition Professionals in Public Health (OSNPPH).
For nutrition, families on social assistance increasingly turn to food banks to fill the gap left by insufficient social assistance: OSNPPH reports that the number of Ontario families accessing food banks for the very first time increased 20 per cent between 2013 and 2014. Moreover, most food banks limit their clients to one visit per month and provide only three days of food — not enough to fill the gap.
High costs of health care are also linked to poor nutrition by the OSNPPH.
Both adults and children in low-income families tend to have an increased incidence of physical health problems, including deteriorating teeth, diabetes and high blood pressure.
The OSNPPH also cites a link between inadequate diets and mental health problems such as anxiety: adolescents in particular have a higher risk of depression, social anxiety and even suicide.
Impediments to children’s education are also linked to deep poverty. It is generally recognized that children who are tired and hungry in school are disadvantaged in their learning; school nutrition programs help, but families in deep poverty are always struggling to meet their children’s basic needs.
A Hamilton Mountain secondary school discovered a low-income family who could afford only one bus pass for their two children, who took turns attending school every other day.
Education is often interrupted for children living in poverty when their families are evicted for nonpayment of rent and they have to change schools.
If you wish to help lobby for Bill 6, please call the office of Paul Miller, NDP, East Hamilton-Stoney Creek at 905-545-0114 or the writer/author of this article at 519-647-3927.