'Nobody should have to live on this': ODSP recipients on calls to double payments
At the beginning of every month, Anne Jensen says she does one big grocery shop, mostly seeking out non-perishable items.
“I can't really eat healthy because food is so expensive, and so I'm buying cheap stuff in bulk that will last me a long time,” Jensen told CTV News Toronto.
By the end of each month, she says there’s very little left, and she’s often stuck reaching for instant noodles or Kraft Dinner come mealtime.
“Some weeks, I hardly have anything to eat leading up to the end of the month,” she said. “I don't have any extra money to go for coffee or dinner – all the things people take for granted that are just normal to them – I can't do any of that.”
Jensen is a recipient of the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP). Since 2018, she’s received $1,169 dollars a month from the government, the maximum amount permitted per person.
As a resident of Kitchener, Ont., Jensen says the average one-bedroom rental in her area goes for about $1,600 a month – almost $400 dollars more than her monthly budget.
“How does anybody expect, in 2022, for someone to live on this much money? This would’ve been a livable wage maybe in the 90s,” she said
This week, more than 200 advocacy groups signed an open letter asking the Ontario government to double ODSP payment rates and ensure they keep up with the soaring cost of living.
While campaigning in June’s election, Doug Ford promised to raise ODSP rates by five per cent and introduce legislation to tie annual increases to inflation.
The letter, released Monday by the Income Security Advocacy Centre, said the plan is far from what financial aid recipients need, and the proposal amounts to $58 extra per month for ODSP recipients.
“With continued inflation, and the associated increase in cost of living, five per cent is not nearly enough of a rate increase to survive,” ISAC said. “We call on this government to double both (Ontario Works) and ODSP rates, and to index these rates to inflation.”
Dr. Talveer Mandur, a physician and member of Health Providers Against Poverty, says current ODSP rates are "unliveable," and are pushing people into "unstable living situation and homelessness."
“When ODSP started in 1998, a person with disabilities would receive $930 a month, which would be around $1,467 adjusted for inflation today. The rates have not kept up with inflation though," he said within the letter. "Today that same person receives $1,169."
While Jensen says “anything is helpful,” she also notes “an extra $58 isn’t going to do much for [her].”
“Nobody should have to live on this,” she said. “We need to have a livable income.”
Brad Mortin, a Sauble Beach resident accessing ODSP, pointed out that even a doubling of payment rates would still not bring recipients past Ontario’s stated low-income line.
According to Ontario’s Poverty Reduction Strategy, the deep-poverty threshold, for a one-person household, ranges from $1,310 in rural Ontario to $1,555 in Toronto. The low-income cut off is $38,500 yearly for an indiviudal and $68,500 for a family.
`“Doubling it gets us just to the [low-income] line,” Mortin said, adding that he still advocates for the amount to be doubled.
“It would help me eat healthier,” he said.
Another ODSP recipient, Al Rogers of Guelph said while an extra $58 monthly could cover a bus pass and a few cups of coffee, a doubling of ODSP would make a more meaningful impact on his quality of life
He says he recently had to pay upfront for dental work, costing him $350 and setting him back financially.
"I try to put it a little bit of money away every month, just in case, for these things, he said, adding, in a couple years' time, he'll need a new pair of glasses as well.
"A doubling of our payments would help with that kind of thing."
On Monday, a spokesman for Minister of Social Services Merilee Fullerton reiterated the government's plan for a five per cent raise, calling the increase “the largest in over a decade.”
“Our government will always take care of the most vulnerable, which is why we're increasing ODSP rates by (five per cent),” Sean Forsyth said in a written statement.
“We're also tying ODSP rates to inflation, helping people pay for life's essentials, especially during periods of high inflation.”
Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy was asked earlier this month if the government would give the program a boost larger than five per cent in light of the already high inflation rate. He didn't directly answer, saying the government has many tools to fight the rising cost of living.
As the financial situation for people living with a disability grows more critical, Rogers says the message he wants to get across is ultimately about the stigma attached to that.
“Most people think we're just sitting there, doing nothing and collecting money,” he said. “But 95 per cent of us can’t work at all.”
“For me, personally, I've got diabetes, a heart condition, two bad knees, and a hip that has to be replaced in the next year and a half – I can’t work," he said.
"For most of us, it’s like this."
With files from The Canadian Press.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING New York appeals court overturns Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction from landmark #MeToo trial
New York’s highest court on Thursday overturned Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 rape conviction, finding the judge at the landmark #MeToo trial prejudiced the ex-movie mogul with improper rulings, including a decision to let women testify about allegations that weren’t part of the case.
BREAKING Monthly earnings rise, payroll employment falls: jobs report
The number of vacant jobs in Canada increased in February, while monthly payroll employment decreased in food services, manufacturing, and retail trade, among other sectors.
Doctors say capital gains tax changes will jeopardize their retirement. Is that true?
The Canadian Medical Association asserts the Liberals' proposed changes to capital gains taxation will put doctors' retirement savings in jeopardy, but some financial experts insist incorporated professionals are not as doomed as they say they are.
Secret $70M Lotto Max winners break their silence
During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.
Remains from a mother-daughter cold case were found nearly 24 years later, after a deathbed confession from the suspect
A West Virginia father is getting some sense of closure after authorities found the remains of his young daughter and her mother following a deathbed confession from the man believed to have fatally shot them nearly two decades ago.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.
Metro Vancouver mayors call for serial killer Robert Pickton to be denied parole
A dozen mayors from around Metro Vancouver say federal Attorney General and Justice Minister Arif Virani should deny parole for notorious B.C. serial killer Robert Pickton, and reassess the parole and sentencing system for 'prolific offenders and mass murderers.'
What do weight loss drugs mean for a diet industry built on eating less and exercising more?
Recent injected drugs like Wegovy and its predecessor, the diabetes medication Ozempic, are reshaping the health and fitness industries.
2 military horses that broke free and ran loose across London are in serious condition
Two military horses that bolted and ran miles through the streets of London after being spooked by construction noise and tossing their riders were in a serious condition and required operations, a British government official said Thursday.