On Tuesday July 19th, the Cambridge Roundtable for Poverty Eradication and the Social Planning Council of Cambridge and North Dumfries convened a community dialogue on the Review of Social Assistance in Ontario, hosted at the Cambridge Self Help Food Bank. This event included a broad community representation from the local social services sector, legal services, labour, employment services, the faith community, immigrant services, and people with lived experience on social assistance.

During this event we heard personal experiences, observations, and comments on issues and challenges with the social assistance system in Ontario and possible solutions for reforming the system to meet today’s realities. The messages were clear:

• Social assistance rates are too low to support a dignified existence.
• People are unable to meet their families’ basic needs.
• The labour market does not always provide a viable path out of poverty.
• The complex rules and changes in eligibility requirements are increasingly stringent and difficult to navigate.

We also heard many ways that the system can be reformed to allow people to move from social assistance to work and adequately support those unable to work.

Though attendees were grateful for the opportunity to have their voices heard, there was consensus that interim report of the Ontario-wide consultations was needed in advance of the October 6rd provincial election.