Poverty

Changes to Ontario social assistance programs

September 8, 2017

Several of the changes to the province’s social assistance programs – Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) and Ontario Works – announced in the April Budget are now in effect. These build on other initiatives over the past year, including a simpler, less …

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Low income among Canadians with a disability

August 12, 2017

A new Statistics Canada study underscores that having a disability is an important factor that increases the risk of being in low income. Although persons with a disability accounted for approximately 20% of the population aged 25 to 64 in 2014, they…

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Support for families of the injured worker?

April 19, 2017

A work-related injury or illness affects not only the worker but also the family on whom they rely for support. The social, emotional, financial and health toll on households is frequently substantial: lower income or poverty, changed family dynamics, physical strains…

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“Caught in bureaucratic limbo” .. struggling to get by

March 23, 2017

“Why a family of six in Oakville is living on $36K a year: the WSIB refused to compensation Steve Rescan, 40, after back issues forced him to stop working” / Lisa Xing (CBC News Toronto, Mar. 22, 2017) A construction…

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The state of benefit adequacy

October 10, 2016

The U.S. Dept of Labor’s recent report asks the key question: “Does the Workers’ Compensation System Fulfill its Obligations to Injured Workers?” Although there are notable differences between the American and Canadian systems, the report sounds the alarm on concerns relevant also…

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Where did they go? Research Roundtable discussion

August 18, 2016

As a recent OFL letter to the Minister of Labour points out, injured workers not covered under the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act are put at risk financially. What happens to those injured workers who are covered under Ontario’s workers’ compensation…

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Without coverage – injured workers left out and left behind

August 18, 2016

In a letter to the Minister of Labour, the Ontario Federation of Labour president Chris Buckley calls on the government to bring in universal coverage and correct a long-standing injustice that leaves almost 35% of Ontario’s workers without workers’ compensation protection…

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International Women’s Day 2016 – inspiring change

March 7, 2016

The beginnings of official gender neutrality came into Ontario’s workers’ compensation system in 1982 with Bill 205, updating the long-standing term “workmen’s compensation”. At that time women made up 40% of the workforce, and the Bill reflected growing recognition among a male-oriented…

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Register for Bancroft Research to Action Workshop on Poverty

October 1, 2015

The role of research (its use and misuse) in shaping public policy and public opinion affects injured workers in very concrete ways. It is a topic addressed in the upcoming Bancroft Institute session which will focus on Workers’ Compensation and Poverty:…

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ONIWG: Board’s positive spin on poverty report misplaced

September 3, 2015

On its website, the WSIB website is highlighting the key finding of a recently published Institute for Work & Health study (Final Report on Work Injury and Poverty: Investigating Prevalence across Programs and Over Time ) as being that “there is…

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