ODSP ActionCoalition
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odspaction.bsky.social
ODSP ActionCoalition
@odspaction.bsky.social
Volunteer, grassroots advocacy group led by people with disabilities on ODSP, with many valued allies (NOT govt affiliated). Defending dignity for folks w/disabilities in poverty.
Advocate. Educate. Demonstrate 🌈💨♿
Instead of tackling the #homelessness crisis, Ford & co.
seem intent on pouring more gas (or dynamite) on the bonfire!

Bill 60 does not 'protect Ontarians'!

It would effectively make the flimsy rent controls we currently have, null & void! #KillBill60

www.cp24.com/local/toront...
October 24, 2025 at 1:22 AM
Ontario’s new Integrated Employment Services (IES) promised to help all job seekers find sustainable employment. But new data analysis reveals a troubling reality: The system is systematically failing social assistance recipients and other equity-deserving groups.

maytree.com/publications...
Ontario's employment services are failing those in greatest need
The new Integrated Employment Services (IES) system promises to help job seekers find sustainable employment. But new data reveals the system is failing social assistance recipients.
maytree.com
August 27, 2025 at 8:02 PM
Dougald Lamont’s Substack

At a Time of Global Crisis, the Carney Liberals' Rite-Lite Plans Are a Recipe for Economic Disaster
#Economics
open.substack.com/pub/dougaldl...
At a Time of Global Crisis, the Carney Liberals' Rite-Lite Plans Are a Recipe for Economic Disaster
Instead of New Thinking to Meet the Moment, Carney in Canada and Labour in the UK are trapped by the Same Blinkered and Broken Policies that Got Us Here.
open.substack.com
August 11, 2025 at 9:00 PM
Hospital stay can cost over $16k, & a yr in jail can cost over $120,000.

Supportive housing w/wraparound care? About $20,000 a year.

The math isn’t complicated.

We can pay for survival, over and over again. Or we can invest in stability.

#HousingCrisis
www.thesarniajournal.ca/opinion/ever...
August 3, 2025 at 4:48 AM
This report establishes a clear case for govts in Cda to completely decouple employment income from provincial & federal #DisabilityBenefits.

Moving away from traditional clawback models will help people w/disabilities reach their potential & escape the "poverty trap"! #Cdnpoli
buff.ly/8FeIzbA
Additional Resources – Breaking it Down
breakingitdown.neads.ca
August 1, 2025 at 8:39 PM
REPORT: Ont’s so-called Poverty Reduction Strategy has failed

#Poverty is rising w/more & more ppl unable to afford necessities for a dignified life, incl. those w/jobs

This is the direct result of myopic govt policies. We need a new path forward
#ONpoli

maytree.com/publications...
Poverty rising: How Ontario’s strategy failed
Ontario’s Poverty Reduction Strategy 2020-2025 failed to reduce poverty. Quite the opposite, in fact.
maytree.com
July 10, 2025 at 3:15 PM
Reposted by ODSP ActionCoalition
June's webinar is on the Canada Disability Benefit. It's an update on the benefit and what we still need to do to make it as accessible as possible.
Free zoom registration: us02web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
June 10, 2025 at 4:29 PM
Tell your MPP & Ford govt Ontario needs to

🟣 Bring Back Full Rent Control
🔶 Strengthen Tenant Rights
🟣 Expand Public Housing
🔶 Increase Income Security
🟣 Support Dignified Housing for All

Full mandate letter: buff.ly/BkLepxl

Send Renter Mandate Letter to your MPP & Ford govt: buff.ly/IkpjVsz
Resources – Fair Rent Ontario
buff.ly
June 6, 2025 at 9:59 PM
Rally held outside Queen’s Park over Bill 6 which criminalizes #homelessness and conflates it with addiction.

Thank you @dianacmcnally.bsky.social for your tireless efforts organizing & pushing back against this harmful & dangerous piece of legislation.
#ONpoli
cp24.com/video/2025/0...
Rally held outside Queen’s Park over bill critics say targets encampments, public drug use
Members of the Encampment Justice Coalition formed a rally outside of Queen’s Park to speak out against the Ford government’s Bill 6.
cp24.com
May 29, 2025 at 11:16 PM
Ontario govt has officially announced that they will exempt the #CanadaDisabilityBenefit as income under #ODSP, #OW & ACSD.
#ONpoli
👇
news.ontario.ca/en/release/1...
Ontario Newsroom
news.ontario.ca
May 27, 2025 at 10:27 PM
Reposted by ODSP ActionCoalition
My latest op-ed for @thestar.com: when it comes to encampments, Doug Ford is looking south of the border when he should be looking west. Ontario is importing failed American policies to punish homelessness, while Manitoba is doing what works: housing people. www.thestar.com/opinion/cont...
Doug Ford’s America-inspired solution to homelessness won’t work. This will
While Manitoba is instructing us on a "Made in Canada" approach to homelessness that works, Premier Ford is modelling dysfunctional policies championed by an irrational American president.
www.thestar.com
May 20, 2025 at 2:32 PM
TO's #homeless encampments are up 20% — expanding into areas they've never been before

A whopping 248 tents & other makeshift structures were counted across 81 locations as of Mar 15th, up from 202 camps in 72 locations the same day in 2024.
#ONpoli

thestar.com/news/gta/tor...
May 1, 2025 at 11:02 PM
Reposted by ODSP ActionCoalition
Ontario has reintroduced Bill 6, which will punish encampments even though people have nowhere else to go. That's why we've formed the Encampment Justice Coalition. We're asking Ontario to rescind Bill 6 and commit to housing — not punishment. Read more: tinyurl.com/EJC-Bill6
May 1, 2025 at 4:15 PM
Reposted by ODSP ActionCoalition
Today, I released a letter, signed by 67 organizations working across Ontario, asking the Ford government to rescind Bill 6. We can't adopt Trumpian policies to punish encampments; people need proven solutions — especially housing. Read our letter: tinyurl.com/EJC-Bill6
May 1, 2025 at 3:33 PM
The so-called 'Safer Municipalities Act' (previously Bill 242), which essentially criminalizes being #homeless, & conflates homelessness & addiction, is back.

With nowhere else to go, clearing encampments only moves the misery from one place to another 🤷
news.ontario.ca/en/release/1...
Ontario Newsroom
news.ontario.ca
April 30, 2025 at 8:31 PM
What Happened to #Poverty as an #Election Issue?

Despite the growing number of Canadians struggling to make enough money to feed, clothe and house themselves, the word “poverty” has seldom been uttered on the campaign trail.

thetyee.ca/News/2025/04...
What Happened to Poverty as an Election Issue? | The Tyee
As politicians fixate on an anxious middle class, millions of Canadians are left out of the conversation.
thetyee.ca
April 21, 2025 at 7:50 PM
Reposted by ODSP ActionCoalition
Far too many Canadians live one paycheque away from homelessness. #EndTheHousingGame this election.

#cdnpoli #canadavotes

www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPLR...

www.endthehousinggame.ca/watch-share
We're Ending the Housing Game. Are you in?
YouTube video by Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness
www.youtube.com
April 7, 2025 at 4:36 PM
BLOG: How income clawbacks work in the real world of social and income assistance

If the #CanadaDisabilityBenefit had been implemented as a refundable tax credit as many of us advocated for, we could have avoided a variety of negative interactions/impacts

openpolicyontario.com/whats-it-all...
What’s it all about, AFNI? | Open Policy Ontario
How income clawbacks work in the real world of social and income assistance Many disability and poverty activists are wondering what provinces and territories will do when it comes to the treatment of...
openpolicyontario.com
March 18, 2025 at 10:07 PM
Lost her job 2 yrs ago, 56 yr old couldn't find another, had to sell her house & became homeless for 4 days before renting a room in her daughter's apt.

She only receives $800/mo from #OW.

She's not healthy & isn't watching The Flintstones!
#ONpoli
www.mississauga.com/politics/pro...
Ontario election parties pitch affordability plans as food insecurity rises in Peel Region
Ontario parties unveil affordability plans as food insecurity affects nearly one in four Peel residents.
www.mississauga.com
February 24, 2025 at 3:51 AM
Reposted by ODSP ActionCoalition
Happy #FamilyDay! LGBTQ+ youth have disproportionately high rates of homelessness. Call upon all the candidates to ask what they are doing to protect the rights of homeless youth and provide housing so they can grow up healthy. Vote for a party that protects families on February 27th.
February 17, 2025 at 3:44 PM
Ford was asked about potentially doubling ODSP

He responded by attacking recipients of OW, claiming "healthy people" are defrauding the system of $733/month.

Number one, you’re not going to be healthy if you’re living on 733/month.
#OutOfTouch #ONpoli
pressprogress.ca/doug-ford-cr...
Doug Ford Criticized for Out-of-Touch Comments Comparing Ontario Works Recipients to Lazy Youths Watching ‘The Flintstones’ Cartoons at Home
Ontario PC leader says unemployed workers “sit on the couch and watch The Flintstones” instead of looking for jobs
pressprogress.ca
February 13, 2025 at 11:07 PM
With great sadness & heavy hearts we learned our long-standing Co-chair, and social worker w/TorontoPWA, Kyle Vose, passed away this morning.

Thank you Kyle for teaching us to advocate with passion, and lead with kindness and love.

Rest easy dear friend. We'll take it from here 😰
January 13, 2025 at 9:43 PM
11 Ways to Respond When Someone Insults a Loved One’s Disability 🤔

time.com/7202210/disa...
11 Ways to Respond When Someone Insults a Loved One's Disability
“I’m going to assume that came from a place of ignorance.”
time.com
January 6, 2025 at 11:58 PM
Ford govt tabled Bill 242 'Safer Municipalities Act' on their way out the door for their xtended Xmas break.

Below is our press release regarding this ugly piece of legislation, which you can read here 👇
www.ola.org/en/legislati...
December 20, 2024 at 2:50 AM
Ford's Con's prefer to victimize the vulnerable & punish ppl who literally have nothing, than provide real evidence-based solutions

These problems didn’t develop overnight. It's decades of Lib' & Con' govt cuts coming home to roost!

#HousingCrisis #ONpoli
financialpost.com/pmn/business...
Ford Conservatives Prefer to Victimize the Vulnerable and Punish the Poor Rather Than Provide Real Solutions: CUPE Ontario
TORONTO — Instead of providing vulnerable people with housing, social supports, street outreach, and mental health services, an uncaring Premier Ford will hide beh…
financialpost.com
December 12, 2024 at 9:55 PM