Six hundred thousand people accessed Feed Ontario food banks last year. Two thirds of the people who access food banks are on Ontario disability support or Ontario Works. The government has left food banks to deal with our homelessness and hunger crises because they have refused to double ODSP and OW. Will this government do what is right and double ODSP and Ontario Works to ensure that food banks are not left to deal with the homelessness and hunger crises in this province?

Deborah, who is in the House today, was cut off ODSP support when she turned 65. Now her rent, which is geared to income, has increased, and she’s lost most of her health benefits. This has left her in an even more precarious situation than when she was on ODSP. She has no option but to go to a food bank for support.

Feed Ontario has become increasingly concerned that this government will consider federal CPP benefits as a subsidy to ODSP. Will this government commit to doubling ODSP and Ontario Works and not cutting off people like Deborah when they turn 65?

I want to thank Dr. Sally Palmer of McMaster University for these petitions to raise social assistance rates.

“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas Ontario’s social assistance rates are well below Canada’s official Market Basket Measure poverty line and far from adequate to cover the rising costs of food and rent: $733 for individuals on OW and $1,227 for ODSP;

“Whereas an open letter to the Premier and two cabinet ministers, signed by over 230 organizations, recommends that social assistance rates be doubled for both Ontario Works (OW) and the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP);

“Whereas the recent budget increase of 5% for ODSP, with nothing for OW, could be experienced as an insult to recipients, who have been living since 2018 with frozen social assistance rates and a Canadian inflation rate that reached 12%;

“Whereas the government of Canada recognized in its CERB program that a basic income of $2,000 per month was the standard support required by individuals who lost their employment during the pandemic;

“We, the undersigned citizens of Ontario, petition the Legislative Assembly to double social assistance rates for OW and ODSP.”

I fully support this petition. I will affix my signature and send it to the table with page Ethan.

I have the pleasure to rise today to present a petition signed by many members of my riding, including Ron Knox, and that were collected by my good friend Clarke Topp.

“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas Ontario’s social assistance rates are well below Canada’s official Market Basket Measure poverty line and far from adequate to cover the rising costs of food and rent: $733 for individuals on OW and $1,227 for ODSP;

“Whereas an open letter to the Premier and two cabinet ministers, signed by over 230 organizations, recommends that social assistance rates be doubled for both Ontario Works (OW) and the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP);

“Whereas the recent small increase of 5% for ODSP still leaves these citizens below the poverty line, both they and those receiving the frozen OW rates are struggling to survive at this time of alarming inflation;

“Whereas the government of Canada recognized in its CERB program that a ‘basic income’ of $2,000 per month was the standard support required by individuals who lost their employment during the pandemic;

“We, the undersigned citizens of Ontario, petition the Legislative Assembly to double social assistance rates for OW and ODSP.”

I wholeheartedly support this petition. I will add my name to it and send it to the table with page Morgan.