The Government of Ontario issued its call for pre-budget submissions for the 2025 Ontario Budget. Feed Ontario has provided a written submission to the Minister of Finance that details the investments we would like included in the 2025 Ontario Budget. Below is a summary of our requests; the full submission can be found in the link above.
Why invest in social assistance?
The number of people turning to a food bank has doubled since 2018, with over 1 million Ontarians using a food bank last year. Food bank visitors are at very high risk of homelessness, and so it is perhaps not a surprise that over the last few years municipalities across the province have reported significant increases in homelessness. This is not just a moral issue, but a challenge to Ontario’s health and prosperity. Homelessness adds strain to already overburdened services, such as emergency responders, healthcare, and the justice system, and has impacts on community cohesion and public health. For example, someone experiencing homelessness costs the healthcare system $10,297 more than a low-income individual who is housed. Ultimately, homelessness costs far more to treat than it does to prevent.
Reforming Ontario’s social assistance programs would help reverse this tide. Over half of food bank visitors rely on these programs, and the number of social assistance recipients experiencing homelessness has nearly doubled over the last two years. The Government of Ontario laid out an ambitious plan to transform social assistance in 2021, prioritizing outcomes of employment, financial resilience, independence and well-being. Unfortunately, these outcomes have largely not improved, especially for Ontario Works (OW): the most recent report has shown that OW cases with employment income is 36 per cent lower than baseline, and the percentage of OW cases that return within a year has remained the same.
Feed Ontario’s Budget Submission
While there are several OW policy directives that contribute to these poor outcomes and trap hard-working recipients into a cycle of poverty, Feed Ontario is putting forward two immediate changes for inclusion in Budget 2025 which builds on the success of similar changes made to ODSP in 2022 and 2023:
- Help Ontario Works recipients exit the program in a more financially stable position, preventing the need for returning, by increasing rates: Increasing the financial support provided through OW to at least 2018 levels ($883 per month), as a first step towards doubling the rates, would help recipients build the foundation for greater independence and long-term employability, as well as reducing their risk of homelessness.
- Improve employment outcomes for Ontario Works recipients by reducing clawbacks on earnings: Lowering clawbacks on employment income would reduce barriers to work and let recipients to keep more money in their pockets.
- While income security programs are the best tool to address food insecurity and poverty, making life more affordable for Ontarians can also move the needle on these issues and fits into the government’s existing priorities. Feed Ontario recommends the Government of Ontario:
- Help more families with the cost of living by increasing funding for school food: Growing the investment in the Ontario Student Nutrition Program would ensure that more children are prepared for long-term success, take pressure off household budgets, and build on the government’s past leadership.
In Budget 2025, Ontario has the opportunity to strengthen its workforce, reduce poverty, and build a more resilient economy. Feed Ontario is committed to working alongside the government to achieve a future where all Ontarians can succeed.
Endorsements
This submission has been endorsed by 140 Feed Ontario food bank members.
Read Feed Ontario’s full pre-budget submission.