ODSP disability forum questions
2022 05 18
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Last night's pre-election disability forum started as a disappointment because it was not, as many of us first assumed, a leaders discussion. Three of the major parties sent representatives - the PCs were the odd man out on that one, refusing to send someone even after invitation. Yet another example of how Doug Ford doesn't want to show up to work for Ontarians. The NDP rep, Monique Taylor, is a good enough egg, the Liberal rep (whose name I right this minute can't remember) has family members who are disabled and volunteers a lot, but he felt very virtue signally to me. The standout of the day, though, was Nicki Ward for the Ontario Green Party.
Talk about someone who knows their business. She was well-prepared and informed, was passionate and articulate. And best of all for the disabled of the province, she's lived on ODSP. She knows what it's like. A stellar choice on the part of the Greens. I commend them.
Not everyone's questions got attended to, including my own, but I'm going to attempt to replicate them here.
- Will you commit to eradicating arrears assessed against ODSP clients? >
- Some are tens of thousands in debt to ODSP because of overpayments, debts that could take decades - if ever - to pay off. Those monthly arrears payments seriously cut into what little people on ODSP do have. I would like to see any arrears assessed against ODSP clients removed, especially any assessed against them since the start of the pandemic. Give them a clean slate and let them start fresh. Many of those assessments against them stem from income that actually was reported to ODSP workers, but workers/staff did not enter into the system properly.
- Will you commit to creating a medical panel that assesses medical requests that are not covered by standard ODSP coverage?
- For example, some office suit should not be the one assessing whether I need a certain type of frames for my glasses. I was refused extra coverage for absolutely necessary frames, and that was $175 I had to find to pay out of pocket. A letter was included in my application from the optometrist stating why those frames were necessary, but the office that handles those requests refused the request.
- What protections and programs will you put into place to provide more gig-style work opportunities for disabled and chronically ill people who can work but need more flexibility than our current work system offers?
- These are the types of jobs that are the only way some disabled people can work. They provide incredible flexibility that is absolutely necessary when one lives with hampering and unpredictable conditions. You can't just institute a minimum wage requirement and hope for the best. Gig work is a different style of work that needs to be handled differently than we handle our current style of labour. Not only that, protections need to be brought in such that they won't push current gig providers out of the province. This is a potentiality I am currently facing.
- Will you commit to ensuring that all ODSP clients receive, as part of their ODSP coverage, access to news sites that force a paywall?
- It is frustrating to be unable to access news items at all, especially when those news items discuss us and our situation. The most recent example of this is an article by The Hill Times.