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Rituals of Degradation: Administration as Policy in the Ontario Works Programme
Author(s): Dean Herd, Andrew Mitchell, Ernie Lightman
Publication Date: 2005
After the election of a neo-liberal provincial government in 1995, Ontario was at the forefront of work-based welfare reform in Canada. Many of the sweeping reforms carried out under the banner of the “Common Sense Revolution” received widespread coverage: for example, reductions in welfare rates, the introduction of the Ontario Works programme, the adoption of a zero-tolerance policy for so-called welfare fraud, and changes to the rules relating...
A Basic Income Plan for Canadians with Severe Disabilities
Author(s): Michael Mendelson, Ken Battle, Sherri Torjman, Ernie Lightman
Publication Date: 2010
Despite billions of dollars spent on a complex assortment of social benefits, many working age Canadians with disabilities end up desperately poor and trapped on welfare − the deadend default program of last resort. This tragic state of affairs is neither tolerable nor necessary. This report proposes a ‘Basic Income Plan’ that will replace welfare for most Canadians with severe disabilities. Through related restructuring of other programs, the...
Not a Tax Grab After All: A second look at Ontario’s HST
Author(s): Ernie Lightman, Andrew Mitchell
Publication Date: 2009
On March 26, 2009, Ontario Finance Minister Dwight Duncan tabled the provincial budget, the centrepiece of which was a new ‘harmonized’ sales tax (HST). This decision meant that the separate provincial (8%) and federal (5%) sales taxes would be combined into a single tax (13%). Beginning July 1, 2010, Ontario will follow the lead of three Atlantic provinces (excluding PEI) and, with slight variation, Quebec. Soon after Duncan’s announcement, Brit...
Poverty is making us sick: A comprehensive survey of income and health in Canada
Author(s): Ernie Lightman, Andrew Mitchell, Beth Wilson
Publication Date: 2008
This report, and a companion study to be released in early 2009, explore the most recent evidence on the relationship between income, a key social determinant of health, and important health outcomes in Canada. The two papers also examine access to and utilization of health services at different income levels. We focus on the relationship between income and health outcomesi using the most recent evidence available from the Canadian Community Heal...
Sick and Tired: The Compromised Health of Social Assistance Recipients and the Working Poor in Ontario
Author(s): Ernie Lightman, Andrew Mitchell, Beth Wilson
Publication Date: 2009
Falling on the heels of the release of Ontario’s landmark poverty reduction strategy, Sick and Tired paints a grim picture of the health of the province’s poorest residents. This new report from the Community Social Planning Council of Toronto, University of Toronto’s Social Assistance in the New Economy Project and the Wellesley Institute documents the compromised health of social assistance recipients and the working poor in Ontario. Following...