ISARC hosted their first interfaith fast, “Raise The Rates!,” to raise consciousness about the deplorable levels of social assistance rates in Ontario, to connect the interfaith community province-wide, and to create the solidarity of an interfaith initiative undertaken together.
For many years, ISARC (Interfaith Social Assistance Reform Coalition) has monitored the level of social assistance support provided to vulnerable Ontarians who are unemployed, underemployed or living with disabilities.
Most recently, in its fifth cross province consultation (2020) listening to stories and asking for recommendations from people living with poverty, ISARC heard yet again that social assistance rates are abysmally low, and that with no increase in social assistance rates since 2018, program recipients are worse off than ever.
A single adult on OW (Ontario Works) has a monthly income of $733, which amounts to only 56% of the deep poverty threshold.
ODSP (Ontario Disability Support Programs), designed for those who have barriers to employment, provides only a slightly higher income level. In June 2022, the current Ontario Government committed to raising ODSP rates by 5%.
The “social safety net,” as it is referred to, is supposed to provide the means by which someone can provide basic food and shelter for themselves and their family and live as a member of the community. Yet, it is estimated that more than 900,000 Ontarians seek to survive on social assistance incomes that leave them in deep poverty. Many of them are children.
The interfaith fast took place from November 14 – 18. Individual participants were invited to sign up, and faith communities were invited to submit a prayer or reflection. On each day of the event, one of these submissions was featured on our social media feeds and distributed to all of the fast participants. We had over 40 individuals sign up as participants, and 5 community prayer contributions. ISARC looks forward to improving on and expanding this event in subsequent years.