Hello All,
As many of you know, we held a press conference on October 24th at Queens Park to unveil our open letter against the rollbacks of income security and the cancellation of the basic income pilot. Our open letter has signatures from over 800 healthcare providers and over 30 health-focused organizations in Ontario. Our goal was to raise awareness of this issue ahead of the end of the Ford Government’s 100 day review of social assistance policy on Nov 7th.
We were very honoured to have representation from Ontario Coalition Against Poverty (OCAP) as well as two speakers with lived experience of the Ontario income security system at the event.
In case you missed the press conference, we livestreamed it and now you can watch it online.
You can find the full version of our letter here. Our 3 main asks are as follows:
- Restore the previously planned 3% increase in social assistance rates, recognizing this is only a small step towards bringing people out of deep poverty.
- Resume the basic income pilot to its completion.
- Use the planned “100 Day Review” to transform Ontario’s social assistance system into one that is fair, just, and treats recipients with dignity, as outlined in the Roadmap For Change.
Thank you to everyone who supported this initiative! We are hopeful that our efforts will show the Ford Government that we are eager to collaborate with them on this issue and that a strong and equitable social assistance program is vital to keeping our province healthy.
Health Providers Against Poverty 