Benefits should be doubled, advocate urges
People dependent on social assistance programs are unable to afford the basics, protest organizer says
Organizers of a protest are inviting people living on Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) and Ontario Works benefits to share their stories.
Stephen Ginley is organizing the Stop Ignoring the Disabled and Poor Peterborough Solidarity Protest scheduled for Tuesday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. outside Peterborough-Kawartha MPP Dave Smith’s Water
Street constituency office to protest what they call inadequate rates.
The protesters are calling for payments to double to mirror the rising costs of housing and basic needs.
Recipients are finding it difficult to pay for such things as housing with limited funds, Ginley said, with market rates for decent places to live on the
rise. “Securing basic needs, having nutritious foods, living in a place that isn’t a roach motel, those are the things hard to find in Peterborough,” he said.
A single person living on ODSP receives $1,169 per month. That’s $672 for basic needs and $497 for shelter, while people living on Ontario Works receive about $733 per month to survive.
“I have this understanding the money people get is not enough to live off, especially if you need to rent an apartment on your own,” Ginley said.
He began organizing the Peterborough protest after he heard about a similar protest happening at Queen’s Park in Toronto on the same day. “They were asking if people couldn’t come to Queen’s Park, they can organize a similar demonstration in their city,” he said, “so I started working on it.”
Ginley has reached out to local advocacy groups and others who have organized protests in the past. People on both ODSP and Ontario Works will be asked to come and share their experiences, such as housing and food insecurity, while on the programs.
Ginley said he does not consider himself an advocate, just a person who is doing what he thinks is right for the people in his community. “I know there are a lot of people who care about this,” he said.
“My hope is more people will be aware of this issue, be aware that there are relatively simple solutions to the problem, things the government can do to make things a little bit better for people.”
Ginley said he hopes Smith will make an appearance or have someone speak on his behalf at the protest. “I sent an advisory to Dave Smith’s office and we will see if they will respond or if they are there to comment,” he said.