Report
to/Rapport au :
Health, Recreation and Social Services Committee
Comité de la santé, des loisirs et des
services sociaux
and Council / et au Conseil
20 January 2004 / le 20 janvier 2004
Submitted by/Soumis par : Councillor Alex Cullen, Bay Ward
Contact
Person/Personne ressource : Alex Cullen, Councillor, Bay Ward
(613) 580-2477, alex.cullen@ottawa.ca
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OBJET : |
REPORT RECOMMENDATION
That Health, Recreation and Social Services Committee recommend Council approve the following:
Whereas in 1995 the Provincial Government reduced social assistance payments in Ontario by 21.6%;
Whereas the actual welfare rates have not been raised for more then 10 years;
Whereas the shelter allowance portion of social assistance is not sufficient to cover the cost of shelter in the City, and that the basic needs allowance is being used to cover housing;
Whereas a single mother with one child receives a total benefit of $953 a month with $511 being the amount she receives for shelter and the average rent in the City of Ottawa for a two bedroom apartment is $932 with the result that in many cases the whole benefit cheque is not sufficient to cover the cost of housing, leading to increasing levels of homelessness and hunger in our community;
Whereas social assistance benefits have never been based on any objective measure of living costs;
Whereas the City of Ottawa made a deputation to the provincial government in February of 2002 asking that the shelter portion of both Ontario Works and the Ontario Disability Support Plan be tied to CMHC average rents and that the clawback of the National Child Benefit Supplement be stopped with no response from the provincial government;
Therefore be it resolved that the City of Ottawa reaffirm its commitment and endorsement of the Somerset West Action Network campaign "Feed the Kids AND Pay the Rent" and;
Send a letter to Premier McGuinty and the Minister of Community and Social Services asking that the following be done immediately to address growing levels of hunger and homelessness across Ontario: announce a plan to phase out the clawback of the National Child Benefit Supplement from Ontario's poorest families who rely on Social Assistance for part of or all of their income; remove the lifetime welfare ban; reinstate the full STEP program; set up a small task force (much like the Golden task force) to report in the fall of 2004 with a mandate to review the intention of welfare benefits and the way in which rates are set.
RECOMMANDATION DU
RAPPORT
Que le Comité de la
santé, des loisirs et des services sociaux recommande au Conseil municipal
approuvent la résolution suivante :
ATTENDU QU'en 1995 le
gouvernement provincial a réduit de 21,6 % les paiements d'aide sociale en
Ontario;
ATTENDU QUE les taux
réels des prestations d'aide sociale n'ont pas augmenté depuis plus de dix ans;
ATTENDU QUE la partie
de la prestation d'aide constituant l'allocation de logement est insuffisante
pour couvrir les frais de logement à Ottawa, si bien que l'allocation versée au
titre des besoins essentiels sert à payer le logement;
ATTENDU QU'une mère
monoparentale avec un enfant reçoit une prestation totale de 953 $ par
mois, dont 511 $ à titre d'allocation de logement, et que le loyer mensuel
moyen à Ottawa d'un appartement de deux chambres à coucher est de 932 $,
avec le résultat que dans de nombreux cas la prestation totale ne suffit pas à
couvrir les frais de logement, ce qui entraîne un accroissement du phénomène
des sans-abri et de la sous-alimentation dans notre communauté;
ATTENDU QUE les
prestations d'aide sociale n'ont jamais été basées sur une quelconque mesure
objective du coût de la vie;
ATTENDU QUE la Ville
d'Ottawa, en février 2002, a envoyé une députation auprès du gouvernement
provincial pour demander que le montant de l'allocation de logement prévue par
le programme Ontario au travail et le Programme ontarien de soutien aux
personnes handicapées soit lié aux loyers moyens déterminés par la SCHL et que
cesse la récupération du Supplément de la prestation nationale pour enfants,
sans que le gouvernement provincial donne suite à cette démarche;
IL EST RÉSOLU QUE la
Ville d'Ottawa réitère son engagement et son soutien à la campagne
« Nourrir sa famille ET payer le loyer » du Somerset West Action
Network et adressera une lettre au Premier ministre McGuinty et au ministre des
Services sociaux et communautaires demandant que les mesures suivantes soient
prises sur-le-champ afin de contrer l'accroissement du phénomène des sans-abri
et de la sous-alimentation partout en Ontario : annoncer un plan pour
éliminer progressivement la récupération du Supplément de la prestation
nationale pour enfants auprès des familles les plus démunies de l'Ontario,
celles qui, pour leur revenu, dépendent en tout ou en partie des prestations
d'aide sociale; abolir l'inadmissibilité à vie à l'aide sociale; rétablir intégralement
le programme PISTE; mettre sur pied un petit groupe de travail (semblable au
groupe de travail Golden) qui aurait pour mandat d'examiner les objectifs des
prestations d'aide sociale et la façon dont leur niveau est établi et qui
produirait son rapport à l'automne de 2004.
BACKGROUND
The Somerset West Action Network (SWAN) annually spearheads the "Feed the Kids AND Pay the Rent Campaign" to publicize the inadequacey of social assistance - both basic living allowance and shelter allowance components - and to call on the Provincial Government to review social assistance rates to meet costs of living, lift the lifetime welfare ban imposed by the previous Provincial Government, remove the claw-back provisions imposed by the previous Provincial Government on the National Child Benefit Supplement on families receiving social assistance, and re-instate the former STEP program that allowed families on social assistance to retain some of the income derived from working while on social assistance (the current system penalizes families transitioning from social assistance to working incomes). The "Feed the Kids AND Pay the Rent" campaign traditionally enjoys the support of a wide range of poverty advocacy groups in Ottawa. SWAN has asked that City Council lend its support to this campaign by writing to the Ministry of Community and Social Services urging these longstanding reforms.
DISCUSSION
City Council has previously endorsed these positions (see motions in the Attachment), as both HRSS Committee, Council and City Staff have recognized the inadequacies of the current provincial social assistance system in meeting today's cost of living. In particular, the shelter allowance currently being provided in both Ontario Works and in the Ontario Disablility Support Program (ODSP) - the 2 components of social assistance in Ontario - do not reflect the current cost of shelter in Ottawa, therefore requiring families on social assistance to use the basic living allowance (the portion of social assistance for food, clothing and other necessities) to pay for the rental costs of their accommodation - hence the campaign theme "Feed the Kids AND Pay the Rent"
CONSULTATION
There has been no public consultation on this specific motion. However, City Council and the Poverty Issues Advisory Committee have endorsed similar positions in the past.
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS
If the National Child Benefit Supplement (NCBS)
funding to municipalities was eliminated, there would be an impact on the core
funding for community agencies. The
total NCBS budget was $3.8 million for 2003.
Approximately 48% of the NCBS funds received by the City are pointed to
sustaining funding in the areas of employment development, community programs,
childcare, and workforce development.
The remaining 52% of the NCBS funds are directed to internal City
programs or to one-time disbursements such as community project grants.
While agencies have been informed that the NCBS
funds are one-time and not sustained funding, many have come to rely on it as
base funding. If this funding were
discontinued these agencies would likely come forward to the City with
additional operating budget pressures.
One of the impacted internal programs is the Fee Assistance Program for
recreation and culture programs. In
2003, $370,000 of NCBS funds were allocated to this program.
If the City were to proceed with the endorsement of this campaign and the Province were to remove the NCBS funds, then staff should be directed to report back to committee regarding specific impacts to community agencies. This should include a plan to provide advance notification to agencies that may possibly be impacted by this funding reduction. Another option would be for the City to request that the Province phase-in the removal of NCBS funds to ensure community agency programs supported by these funds have adequate time to rationalize their programs or to locate other sources of funding.
SUPPORTING DOCUMENTATION
Attachment 1: Motions approved by HRSS Committee and City Council.
DISPOSITION
Secretariat Services to send letter to the appropriate Provincial Ministers.
Attachment 1
Whereas in 1995 the Provincial Government reduced social assistance payments in Ontario by 21.6%, with no subsequent adjustments since;
Whereas since 1995 the cost of living (as measured by the Consumer Price Index) has increased more than 13%, and average rents in the City (as measured by CMHC) have increased more than 20%;
Whereas the shelter allowance portion of social assistance is not sufficient to cover the cost of shelter in the City, and that the basic income support is being used to cover housing;
Whereas families receiving Ontario Works (OW) social assistance incomes fall far below the estimated net livable income threshold;
Whereas the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) recipients receive between 56% and 82% of the net livable income;
Whereas in the Spring of 2002 the Legislature of Ontario, through its Standing Committee on General Government, will be conducting pre-budget public consultation hearings as input to the Provincial Budget;
Therefore, be it resolved that City staff prepare an analysis of the adequacy of the basic income portion of social assistance, taking into account the cost of living (including shelter) in the City; to be presented by the City to the Standing Committee on General Government as part of the pre-budget public consultations (and copied to the Ministry of Community and Social Services, the Ministry of Finance, the Opposition Parties, and areas M.P.P.s);
Adopted by City Council February 13, 2002
Whereas the Ontario Minister of Community and Social Services has indicated that the government has no intention of implementing the recommendations from the inquest into the death of Kimberly Rogers and;
Whereas a number of citizens of the City of Ottawa have been banned from receiving social assistance following a conviction of welfare fraud and;
Whereas people on Ontario Works (OW) and Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) suffer from threat of losing benefits or being charged with welfare fraud, especially under the Consolidated Verification Process (CVP); and
Therefore be it resolved that the Health Recreation and Social Services Committee and Council endorse the recommendations of the jury in the Kimberly Rogers Inquest and write to the various provincial Ministries concerned, the Premier and the leader of the opposition requesting immediate implementation of the recommendations.
Adopted by City Council March 26, 2003