Income Security Advocacy Centre - ISAC

05/11/2026

Consultation for the upcoming federal budget is open until May 22! Our recommendations include: Fix the DTC, make the CRA work for low-income people, broaden EI access & adequacy, invest in income security & self-determination of Indigenous Peoples. Read our full submission here, and send in your own!

The federal government has opened its consultation session for the upcoming budget, with a submission deadline of May 22, 2026 (details about how to submit your own recommendations can be found in our post here.) This year, we focused on the following four major recommendations: Make the Disability....

05/04/2026

It’s time to renew your Canadian Dental Care Plan coverage!

You have until June 1, 2026, to renew your CDCP coverage without experiencing gaps.

Don’t delay – renew today!

For more information on renewals, visit 👉 Canada.ca/dental

04/07/2026

Our take on Ontario's 2026 Budget: It offers a familiar promise of protection, but for whom? Take a look at our full analysis, including a review of social assistance spending (or not spending, as the case may be with OW), OSAP cuts, privatization & more.

Ontario's 2026 Budget arrives with a familiar promise of protection, but for whom? The province faces compounding pressures, including a deficit that has nearly doubled to $13.8 billion, ongoing U.S. tariff threats, and the ripple effects of global instability that are already filtering into the cos...

04/02/2026

HOLIDAY OFFICE CLOSURE:
ISAC offices will be closed on Friday April 3 and Monday April 6. Offices will re-open on Tuesday April 7. If you are looking for legal information during this time, check out Steps to Justice.

Step-by-step information about legal problems.

03/31/2026

Have you checked out our website lately? We have THREE new benefit-related resources available, plus info on the fed gov's ongoing pre-budget consultation! We aim to publish new stuff on our website 2-4 times a month but sometimes we have a lot to share!

NEW for Seniors & Health Care Providers supporting seniors who are leaving social assistance: Turning 65 is big milestone, but for low-income folks it can bring financial & health-related uncertainty. Check out our tip sheets to avoid income gaps after 65.

NEW resource for those transitioning off of social assistance: People stop receiving OW/ODSP for many reasons. The problem with transitioning off of OW/ODSP is that crucial health-related costs may not be covered. Extended Health Benefits may be an option! Check out our "Health Benefits when Leaving Social Assistance - Summary Chart and Quick Facts" doc for more info.

All of these new resources are posted on our website on the main page, in the Updates section, and in the Publications section.

We advance the systemic interests and rights of low-income and equity-seeking communities and meaningfully support Indigenous Peoples and communities, with a focus on improving income security programs and ending low-wage precarious employment. Latest Tweets

03/27/2026

ONTARIO BUDGET FIRST REACTION: We're alarmed by Ontario's 2026 Budget, released yesterday. Once again, the government has chosen to punish almost a million vulnerable Ontarians who rely on social assistance, leaving them further behind with each passing year.

While the deficit has nearly doubled to $13.8B, the government is looking to cut costs by enhancing the "integrity of Ontario Works.” That likely means more surveillance, barriers & degradation, while OW rates continue to fall further behind inflation every single year.

The gov has been forced to increase its projected budget for Children, Community and Social Services from the Fall Economic Statement, from $20.4 B to $21.5 B due to demand for social assistance programs. Yet even that isn’t enough according to the Financial Accountability Office. The FAO warned that even after this increase, the ministry is still 1/2 a billion dollars short just to maintain current service levels. The gap will only continue to grow.

Without raising social assistance rates, or at a bare minimum indexing OW to inflation, the government touts "Protecting Ontario" while leaving its most vulnerable residents with nowhere to turn.

We’ll have more to say about the budget in a response posted to our website soon.

03/25/2026

NEW: ISAC has released "In Their Own Words: A Recipient-Informed Case for Fixing Ontario's Social Assistance System", a report based on a survey of 200 recipients which includes original analysis & first-hand accounts of trying to live on social assistance. The report covers the impact of inflationary increases to social assistance, access to services and employment opportunities, & the intersection of disability and employment.

It includes specific recommendations and quotes shared by recipients about their unique experiences. We analyzed responses collectively, as well as specific responses from OW recipients and from ODSP recipients. This gave us keen insights into how recipients experience social assistance programs.

Some findings from In Their Own Words:

We asked: How have you experienced the rising cost of living? 82% of all respondents said there’s a significant decrease in how much they can buy with the same amount. This tracks with external foodbank data that shows a growing share of users receiving social assistance.

We asked: What challenges do you face transitioning off of OW? Nearly 60% said there aren’t enough suitable employment opportunities. Another 16% specifically said they can’ t find affordable/appropriate caregiving for a child, elder, or other family member who relies on them.

Two out of three OW recipients reported health or disability-related barriers to work, yet many remain on OW because their ODSP application was denied, delayed, or stuck in bureaucratic limbo. Two out of three ODSP recipients reported no meaningful change in purchasing power, despite rates being indexed to inflation. This is key because we frequently hear the ON gov refer to rate indexation as one of the ways they are "taking care" of disabled Ontarians.

The report also includes demographic analysis, allowing us to dive into the experiences of social assistance recipients based on their ages, their backgrounds, or their geographic location, comparing cost of living expenses and service experiences in larger or smaller communities. Nearly 1 in 3 Indigenous people responded to “What should the gov do to improve OW/ODSP?” with “Promote Dignity and Humanization”. That's more than double the overall rate of respondents who chose this response. There is a critical need for better treatment in service delivery.

The quotes included throughout the report are especially impactful. Here is just one of many: “Consider us human beings who did not ask to be disabled, are not lazy, and understand that poverty is a co-morbidity. We deserve some humanity and dignity.”

The report reccs won't surprise anyone who has looked closely at ON's social assistance programs but they are drawn directly from those experiencing the broken system right now. Recipients need: increased income assistance, an end to clawbacks & better coverage of health supports.

We will be sharing more data from the report in the coming weeks, but in the meantime, you can read the full report yourself at this link:

Nearly one million Ontarians rely on social assistance programs like Ontario Works (OW) and the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) for survival. These are programs of last resort, a lifeline for those with nowhere else to turn. So how well are they actually working? According to ISAC’s new ...

03/09/2026

We are still thinking about Friday's major win at the Supreme Court of Canada in the case of Quebec (Attorney General) v. Kanyinda. For more details on the case, why it matters, and ISAC's impact on the decision, check out our latest website post here:

On March 6, 2026, right in time for International Women’s Day, the Supreme Court of Canada released its decision in Quebec (Attorney General) v. Kanyinda. Eight of nine justices ruled in favour of Ms. Kanyinda, a refugee claimant who was denied access to Quebec’s subsidized childcare program. Ju...

03/06/2026

The Supreme Court of Canada’s decision today in Quebec v. Kanyinda is a huge win for substantive equality in access to benefits. ISAC Staff Lawyers Robin Nobleman and Adrian Merdzan are honoured to have been part of this important case. More analysis to come soon. In the meantime, read the decision here:

02/26/2026

The Law Times has published a story on the major Divisional Court decision released last week, including quotes from Nabila F. Qureshi, ISAC Staff Lawyer who represented the client along with Richa Oza (DVCLS) and Anna Rosenbluth (CRO):

"...[Qureshi has] observed instances of self-represented complainants giving up at the jurisdiction stage, after receiving tribunal notices requesting more information or indicating an intent to dismiss their case.

“It’s too legally complicated for them. They don’t have the time or the energy, especially if they’re vulnerable individuals with a lot of other things going on in their lives,” Qureshi says. “This means that people who have experienced discrimination are not able to take their cases forward, and that really undermines the core protections of the Human Rights Code.”"

You can find the full story written by Jessica Mach at lawtimesnews dot com (unfortunately we cannot link directly due to Facebook's rules about posting news)

02/24/2026

Fantastic decision from the Divisional Court of Ontario in Bokhari v. Top Medical Transportation Services regarding the Human Rights Tribunal’s improper use of “jurisdictional” screening measures to dismiss cases on their merits. This decision removes a serious access to justice hurdle for applicants alleging discrimination at the Human Rights Tribunal.

Huge congratulations to Nabila F. Qureshi, Richa Oza (Don Valley Community Legal Services), and Anna Rosenbluth (Clinic Resource Office) who represented Mr. Bokhari in this case, and to the wonderful intervenors from Ontario Human Rights Commission, ARCH Disability Law Centre, Black Legal Action Centre (BLAC), the Migrant Workers Coalition, and the Human Rights Legal Support Centre/Centre d'assistance juridique en matière de droits de la personne.

Read more about the case in our joint press release with DVCLS here:

Decision removes a serious access to justice hurdle for applicants alleging discrimination at the Human Rights Tribunal Toronto, ON. – The Divisional Court of Ontario has released a new decision, Bokhari v. Top Medical Transportation Services, 2026 ONSC 1073, with significant implications for indi...