You are disappointing a whole lot of other people in Ontario. Not only disappointing, but you are also endangering even more people in Ontario through your actions or rather, lack of actions taken to protect people who are homeless, on OW, ODSP or very low income, from the virus. In effect, this also hurts others who have to be outdoors. This is exactly how community spread started, Mr. Ford, because many people have no choice but to be out in the community.
Your message to everybody is to stay home if they can. Work from home, if they can. Only go out for absolutely essential trips. Registered. Yet, you are talking out of both sides of your mouth, Premier Ford.
On one hand, the well heeled can go home, use their nicely decorated spare rooms to operate their computer and take phone calls redirected from their workplace and thus, protect themselves and in effect, others from this COVID-19 virus. We see it on TV. We talk about this online. This is not real, Premier Ford.
None of these people obviously live with hoarders, where there is no room to spare. Program funding to assist such persons was cut under your government. Nobody can work or even live at home under these conditions. None of the people you are addressing are holed up in a rooming house with addicts, crack dealers and vermin of all kinds. Kind of difficult to get anything done at "home" in one of those places. None of these people we are seeing live in homeless shelters. Tell them to self-isolate all you want, but they don't have the space.
None of these people who you think can "work from home" live in over-crowded conditions either where they have to spend their meagre social assistance cheques to live with three or four other people in the same position, or who couch surf at the home of a friend. It must be nice, Mr. Ford, to have a room of your own - to work from home.
People on OW and ODSP never received enough to live on. Many of them are barely alive, suffering from all sorts of malnourishment and fatigue, despite just a few months ago, you contemplated getting more of them to go straight to work. Straight to jobs that do not exist. Especially now, that COVID-19 struck the community. Many or most of these people are immune compromised, not only because of any disability but because they have not eaten well in years. Food bank food does not enhance people's health.
The federal government has announced a number of measures to assist people who suddenly lost their jobs, are losing revenues from their businesses and so forth, as well as workers who lost a significant portion of their income. These programs have been developed quickly and put into people's accounts; when gaps were found, the feds stepped in to try to remedy them quickly. The feds did not disqualify anybody from benefiting from their programs if they relied on provincial programs, such as OW or ODSP. They opened the door to federal and provincial cooperation; the province of BC responded by increasing their version of OW and ODSP by a few hundred dollars a month and by exempting federal support. They are also assisting with rent payments, among other supports.
When it came down to you announcing how Ontario was going to respond to the challenges of COVID-19, you failed to take this opportunity to improve the lives of many people whose very lives have been made significantly more difficult under this pandemic. Your only answer to these people is to stay at home and give hundreds of millions of dollars to charities that really don't do much to improve the lot of these people anyways. You are telling people to stay home, while at the same time telling these same people, immune-compromised people, to go line up outside of food banks to get three days worth of six month old, mouldy food. Would it not be better to put more money in the pockets of these people so they can buy their own groceries and get them delivered? Was this not one of your election promises?
There are also a minority of people on OW or ODSP that may qualify for the federal supports. This is less than 75,000 people. To qualify for Canada Emergency Response Benefit (or CERB), all somebody needs to show is they earned at least $5,000 last year or within the prior 12 months and are currently out of work or not receiving self-employment income. This is currently under review as some people had their hours severely cut, but they are not out of work entirely.
ODSP's response is to tell those that ask that this is EI and they will deduct this dollar for dollar from their ODSP supports. This is very harmful, especially when a spouse or other family member is the one that has been working and supplementing the family income so they can both eat and live under a roof month after month, but now they are unemployed, they have to choose. Was it not you just a few months ago suggesting that people should try to work when they can? So they did. Now what?
Guess what? These people are not going to stay home! They are going to find work under the table and will take the virus with them, or take the virus from wherever they go and come home with it ... thus spoiling your campaign to 'flatten the curve'. Why do you ask? If you had to choose between the possibility of getting sick or having to live without food every month until the end of this pandemic, what will YOUR choice be? I don't know about you, Premier Ford, but I have been told informally by people who:
- are informally working with older people, driving them around to appointments or to get groceries and doing yard work for them (as a way to get money in their pockets to help feed themselves, albeit putting their elder clients at risk);
- opening up informal home cleaning and renovations businesses, operating off their cell phone, to do small jobs for people (because they need food and other necessities because their income went down and their housing costs are still the same); and
- getting into their old cars and driving for "Speedy", an illegal version of Uber type transportation services and not taking precautions with who they take and protecting themselves and others.
I know many of these people, Premier Ford. Many were laid off from their usual jobs they had before the pandemic and now they are being told if they applied for CERB, they will lose their ODSP or have an overpayment that might take a year or two to pay off.
Talk to your public health folks, Premier Ford, and ask what the impact of having 10% of the social assistance caseload be forced to get out of their houses to work anyways, pandemic or no pandemic, because they CANNOT AFFORD TO STAY HOME.
Over 130 organizations quickly sent you a letter to tell you not to leave OW and ODSP recipients behind! They told you to raise social assistance rates so they can purchase their own groceries and not have to rely on food banks. They told you to allow the small minority of people on OW or ODSP (or their spouses) to get and keep their federal benefits, including EI and CERB, during this pandemic. These benefits are no less important during this pandemic than other benefits you currently exempt as income from OW and ODSP such as legal settlements, pain and suffering, residential schools, mercury water fund, etc.
A very long list follows of all income exempted under ODSP's directive 5.1:
Income Exemptions
- Earnings exemptions (See Directive 5.3 Deductions From Employment and Training Income);
- Earnings of dependent children;
- Earnings or payments under a training program of recipients, spouses and dependent adults attending secondary school full-time(See Directive 5.3 Deductions From Employment and Training Income);
- Training allowance and cash reimbursements of child care and transportation for individuals who reside in a prescribed First Nation community and who are participating in an employment training opportunity for up to 12 months. (See Directive 5.3 Deductions From Employment and Training Income);
- Earnings of persons attending post-secondary school (See Directive 5.18 Exemption of Earnings of Post-Secondary Students);
- The portion of a payment from the sale of an asset, used to purchase a principal residence, an asset necessary for health and welfare, an exempt asset, or an asset that does not result in the recipient exceeding the prescribed asset limit;
- Interest earned on liquid assets up to the prescribed asset limits, e.g. $40,000 for a single recipient;
- An amount up to $10,000 in a 12 month period per member of the benefit unit, in the form of gifts or voluntary payments for any purpose from any source; (this includes monies from trusts, life insurance policies, honorariums and windfalls). Casual gifts of insignificant value, e.g. basic clothing, meals, occasional food purchases are also exempt.
- Honorariums are generally payments made to individuals to recognize services provided, where payment is not required. For example, a person may volunteer or be asked to participate on a committee and may receive an honorarium. In these cases, honorariums are considered voluntary payments and may be included in the $10,000 exemption for voluntary payments.
- Honorariums paid in a way that is similar to a salary, to fulfill an obligation to compensate the recipient for services provided, are treated as employment income, and not as voluntary payments under ODSP. In these cases, the usual earnings exemptions apply.
- Payments from any source in the form of gifts or voluntary payments used for disability-related items and services or for education and training incurred because of the disability of a member of the benefit unit.
- There is no limit on the value of these contributions, provided they will not be reimbursed from other sources. For this provision to apply it is not required that the intent of the voluntary payment is for the purchase of these types of items/expenses only that is used for these purposes.
- Gifts or voluntary payments that will be applied to the purchase of a principal residence, an exempt vehicle, or that will be applied to the first and last month’s rent necessary to secure accommodation. (See Directive 5.8 Gifts and Voluntary Payments for more detailed information regarding treatment of gifts.)
- RDSP related exemptions:
- gifts or voluntary contributions made to RDSPs by family members and other third parties;
- interest earned on and re-invested in an RDSP;
- the federal Canada Disability Savings Grants and Canada Disability Savings Bonds; and
- all withdrawals from an RDSP for any purpose.
- Refundable tax credits including the:
- Canada Child Tax Benefit
- Canada Child Benefit
- Ontario Children’s Activity Tax Credit
- Ontario Trillium Benefit Payment;
- Ontario Child Benefit (OCB) payments;
- Payments from the Ontario Child Care Supplement for Working Families (OCCSWF);
- Payments from the Universal Child Care Benefit (UCCB);
- Payments from the Canada Pension Plan Orphan Benefit (also known as surviving child benefit;
- Payments from the Quebec Pension Plan Orphan Pension;
- Payments made under the Canada Pension Plan Disabled Contributors Child Benefit;
- Payments made under the Quebec Pension Plan Disabled Person’s Child Benefit;
- Payments from other jurisdictions that are equivalent to the CPP Orphan Benefit or QPP Orphan Pension or the CPP Disabled Contributors Child benefit or QPP Disabled Person’s Child Benefit.
- Child support (Effective January 1, 2017). Please see Directive 5.15 Spousal and Child Support for more detailed information;
- Payments received under subsection 147(14) of the Worker's Compensation Act, known as B165 payments;
- Payments received for property damage and temporary living expenses through the Ontario Disaster Relief Assistance Program (ODRAP) other than payments for loss of income;
- Payments (cash and in-kind) received by evacuees of the Kashechewan First Nation between October 2005 and September 2006, from a municipality or a Tribal Council made on behalf of the federal Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development (Canada);
- Insurance payments made for temporary living expenses and to replace or repair lost/damaged exempt assets or assets within allowable asset limits but not payments for loss of income;
- Mortgage payments paid by disability insurance purchased by an applicant/recipient on a mortgage for his/her principal residence;
- A forgivable loan under the First Nation, Intuit, Métis Urban and Rural (FIMUR) Housing home Ownership Assistance Program.
- A forgivable loan or a grant under the Residential Rehabilitation Assistance Program (RRAP) that provides assistance to on-reserve low-income homeowners to bring their homes up to safety and health standards, or improve energy efficiency.
- A forgivable loan or grant under Ontario Renovates that provides assistance to low-income homeowners to bring their homes up to safety and health standards, improve energy, efficiency and/or increase accessibility of the home through modifications and adaptations; and, create a new affordable rental unit within an existing single family home;
- Payments made under the Investment in affordable Housing (IAH) - operating components that exceed the maximum shelter allowance up to the actual shelter costs;
- Payments made under the Community Homelessness Prevention Initiative (CHPI) payments for:
- rent deposits;
- establishing a new principal residence;
- maintaining the health and welfare of a member of the benefit unit in her or her current residence;
- arrears relating to shelter costs; or other housing and homelessness-related services, items or costs approved by the Director of Ontario Works.
- Payments made under CHPI for personal needs made to domiciliary hostel residents up to the amount equivalent to the ODSP amount issued for personal needs to recipients residing in a long-term care home.
- Financial grants, items or services that are issued for energy-conservation in homes through Conservation and Demand Management Programs offered by local Electricity Distribution Companies;
- Financial grants, items or services that are issued for energy-conservation in homes through Demand Side Management programs offered by local Natural Gas Distributors;
- Benefits in the form of a cheque or voucher received through the Water Filter Fun. program;
- All direct financial assistance received from the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport’s Quest for Gold - Ontario Athlete Assistance Program;
- Funds received from the Ministry of Advanced Education and Skills Development or Canada Student Financial Assistance for education costs such as books, tuition, instructional supplies, transportation costs, child care and compulsory fees;
- Funds received from the Ministry Advanced Education and Skills Development under the Second Career program for education costs.
- A bursary received by a full-time student enrolled in a secondary school under 8(1)18 of the Education Act;
- The Dr. Albert Rose Bursary to assist public housing tenants attending post-secondary school;
- Payments from an RESP, intended and used for education costs, received by a recipient or any other member of a benefit unit as well as gifts and voluntary payments into an RESP in addition to the $10,000 gift and voluntary payment exemption. See Directive 5.11 Post-Secondary Education;
- Proceeds from a court judgement or legal settlement or an award from a statutory tribunal (such as compensation resulting from being a victim of an automobile accident, sexual assault or violent crime) received as damages or compensation for pain and suffering, due to injury to or the death of a member of the benefit unit. See Directive 4.6 Compensation Awards;
- Compensation received as settlement for a claim of abuse sustained at an Indian Residential School, other than compensation for loss of income;
- Pre-judgement interest awarded as compensation for the delay in receiving damages for pain and suffering as a result of injury to or death of a member of the benefit unit, See Directive 4.6 Compensation Awards;
- Independent Living Allowance payments from the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board received annually by severely impaired workers;
- A full income exemption applies to the total amount of a compensation award for the following:
- awards for pain and suffering as a result of an injury to or the death of a member of the benefit unit;
- expenses actually or reasonably incurred or to be incurred as a result of injury to or death of a member of the benefit unit;
- loss of care, guidance and companionship due to an injury to or the death of a family member under the Family Law Act;
- non-economic loss under section 46 of the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act, 1997 or section 42 of the Workers’ Compensation Act.
- Interest earned on the capital of an inheritance retained in trust up to the allowable limit of $100,000.
I intend to spread this letter wide and far. I intend to send this to public health officials, because they understand much more than you do that putting low income people into this position will help spread the virus and thus, defeat any attempts of your otherwise strong leadership in trying to flatten the curve.
I also intend to find out after this pandemic is over exactly who got sick and who died. This might open yet another can of worms about whose lives are valued in Ontario, while others are not so valued. There was even talk that if it became a choice as to who gets access to ventilators that poor folks and people with disabilities will be likely denied.
Just tell us what you mean, Premier Ford. If you want us all to stay at home to help flatten the curve, then make sure all of "the people" can afford to do so.
