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| Social Assistance Today1OverviewSocial assistance is intended by the government to be used as a last resort when people have no other financial options.Ontario’s social assistance system is made up of two programs: Ontario Works and ODSP. Ontario Works is intended to provide financial and employment assistance to help people in temporary financial need find sustainable employment and achieve self-reliance. ODSP is intended to help people with disabilities live as independently as possible and to reduce or eliminate disability-related barriers to employment. Together, Ontario Works and ODSP serve approximately 857,000 Ontarians each month. In 2009–10, total provincial expenditures on social assistance were about $6.6 billion, about six per cent of the provincial budget.
1 This section highlights some of the key features of Ontario’s social assistance system. For more detail about Ontario Works and the Ontario Disability Support Program, please see the social assistance policy directives at http://www.mcss.gov.on.ca/en/mcss/programs/social/directives/index.aspx, or the Ontario Works Act, 1997 and related regulations and the Ontario Disability Support Program Act, 1997 and related regulations at http://www.e-laws.gov.on.ca/navigation?file=home&lang=en. |
