Surviving on a meagre income of a little more than $1,000 a month on the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP), Charles Tossell was forced to move into a rooming house on Frood Road five years ago.
He lived there for about 18 months. It's not an experience he remembers fondly.
“Rooming is terrible,” Tossell said. “I had to deal with other tenants stealing my groceries because it's a shared kitchen.”
While Tossell's situation has improved somewhat because he was placed in a rent-geared-to-income Sudbury Housing apartment in 2010, he still has to pinch pennies. He's calling on the provincial government to boost social assistance rates significantly.
“I feel like the government of Ontario — the Liberal party — does not think about the quality of our lives anymore,” he said, adding that if the NDP were elected in Ontario, things would change for those on social assistance.
Tossell was one of about 60 people who, despite a spring snowstorm, gathered April 12 for a rally in Memorial Park and a march through downtown Sudbury.
The protest, organized by a number of local organizations, was held as part of the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty's Raise the Rates campaign, a week of action in advance of the 2013 provincial budget.
One of the demands made through the campaign is an immediate increase to social assistance rates, Sudbury Coalition Against Poverty (S-CAP) member Gary Kinsman told those gathered at the event.
“People need an immediate increase of 55 per cent, in terms of the social assistance rates, to even bring them back to where they were in 1995, when Mike Harris started his war on the poor,” he said.
The minimum wage also needs to be boosted to $14 an hour from the current $10.25 an hour, ending a freeze to the minimum wage that's lasted three years.
Rooming is terrible. I had to deal with other tenants stealing my groceries because it's a shared kitchen.
Charles Tossell,
ODSP recipient
“By the way, when minimum wage was started in Ontario, it was $1 an hour in 1965,” Kinsman said. “If that was translated into real value now, that would be almost $19 an hour. So people earning minimum wage have also lost out an incredible amount.”
Anti-poverty activists are also calling on the government to reverse cuts to two benefits for those on social assistance.
These include the Community Start-Up and Maintenance Benefit, a fund which helps them purchase new furniture or move, and the Special Diet, a fund which pays for nutritious food for those with medical conditions.
The activists are also opposed to the downloading of ODSP onto municipalities, as well as the idea of introducing workfare for those on ODSP, so they'd have to get jobs to receive their income.
“They're talking about imposing workfare, which they've imposed on people on Ontario Works, onto people on ODSP,” Kinsman said. “If they don't accept poverty-level jobs, they would risk losing their ODSP benefits. We say no to that.”
While Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne proclaims herself to be the “social justice premier, she's been in power for a month, and she's she hasn't yet indicated she's willing to move on poverty issues, said S-CAP member Phillip Marsh.
“There's no indicators whatsoever that there will be anything in the budget for the poor,” he said.
“It's sad, because one of the primary responsibilities of a government is to make sure that its citizens have the necessities for life — food, shelter and clothing.”
Among those who spoke at the rally was Nickel Belt MPP France Gélinas. She said there's no doubt social assistance rates and the minimum wage need to be boosted, as many just don't have enough to live on.
“A budget is coming,” she said.
“It will be very telling to see what is in that budget. I will give our new premier the benefit of the doubt. But once I see the budget, there won't be any doubts anymore. It will be there in black and white for all of us to see.”
Lianne Bergeron, co-ordinator of the city's Homelessness Network, said it's challenging to ensure those on social assistance have adequate housing, as their income is low, and rent is high.
For example, a single person on Ontario Works receives about $600 a month. A room at a rooming house costs at least $400 a month, and a one-bedroom apartment costs at least $700 a month.
What's happening is that people are dipping into the portion of their cheque meant for items such as food, clothing, laundry and toiletries to pay for their shelter costs, Bergeron said.
While the complete elimination of the Community Start-Up and Maintenance Benefit (CSUMB) has been delayed for a year, she said she can see hard times for those on social assistance once it's gone.
“When CSUMB is cut, people are going to be looking for a place to stay,” she said. “They're either going to be in a tent or on your couch or in this park.”
