Billions and billions of dollars have been dished out by the federal and provincial governments to reduce the economic impact of COVID-19 and make people’s lives a bit easier during this unprecedented public health crisis, yet those who always seem to go without – low-income Ontarians, the working poor – are being left out, argues those who represent them.

Lawyers and staff at the Community Advocacy & Legal Centre (CALC) in Belleville have serious concerns for many of their clients who are struggling financially and anxious about the future and how they will get through it.

“We are hearing from clients who are increasingly unsure how they will make ends meet,” said Lisa Turik, a lawyer at Belleville’s Community Advocacy & Legal Centre (CALC). “They are facing enormous pressure from rising food costs, are struggling with getting to grocery stores and food banks, and finding some essential and sale items out of stock when they do make it out to buy food. Having only irregular public transit to rely on is making matters even more difficult.”

Ontario Works and the Ontario Disability Support Plan are providing additional financial support with an extra $100 for individuals and $200 for families of those receiving income support to help cover the costs of COVID-19. However, this is only a one-time benefit for the month of April at this time.

“Many people are not aware this benefit exists, and they still need to call their worker before April 30 to apply. And they should do so as soon as possible,” said Turik.

CALC is asking the government to make this benefit available again in May and make it automatic this time.

“This hardship is not going to end April 30. Everyone is facing higher costs. The government says it doesn’t want anyone to worry about paying rent or feeding their families. So why not make it simple, by automatically adding this COVID benefit to May’s cheque?”

CALC is one of many organizations asking the provincial government to increase the social assistance rates immediately.

“They are insufficient at the best of times, so this issue has become critical right now,” said Turik.

CALC staff are hearing about challenges navigating Belleville’s public transit system, which switched to on-demand only service March 28. These changes are complicating already difficult circumstances for people with disabilities who rely on public transit.

“We received a call this week from a disabled client, who like all the people we help, can only afford to shop at low-cost outlets. When she finally gets to a store, the items needed are often out of stock. So she’s had to go out multiple times for food and supplies. Because she needs to call 24 hours ahead to make a reservation for the bus, if stores have run out of something, it becomes a big problem. Getting home, sometimes people have to wait two hours for a bus. They can’t afford a taxi. It’s just an impossible situation. It could certainly be easier if people had more money in their pocket to cover all the extraordinary expenses from the pandemic,” said Turik.

There are many new programs trying to support vulnerable people during the COVID-19 pandemic. Free income tax clinics are slowly being re-opened to help people file their income tax return, to maintain their eligibility for tax credits, as well as apply for the “climate action incentive” benefit.

To help ensure people understand what financial help they may be entitled to because of the pandemic, CALC staff developed a simple chart (https://communitylegalcentre.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/List-of-available-benefits-during-COVID-19.pdf) and infographic (https://communitylegalcentre.ca/tcodownloads/financial-resources-during-covid-19/) which can be found on their new COVID-19 resource blog (https://communitylegalcentre.ca/blog/covid-19-information). This blog is updated several times a week with new legal and other information, including about free local tax clinics. People are encouraged to access the blog for the most up-to-date information as changes are announced by the government almost daily. Anyone with problems accessing income support they are entitled to, or experiencing difficulties at work, or with their landlord, is encouraged to call the community legal clinic at 613-966-8686 or email calc@lao.on.ca.

The Community Advocacy & Legal Centre (CALC) is a non-profit community legal clinic principally funded by Legal Aid Ontario. The clinic was founded in 1980 and provides poverty law services to low income residents of Hastings, Prince Edward, Lennox & Addington counties and Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory. The clinic’s main office is in Belleville, with satellite locations in Amherstview, Bancroft, Madoc, Marmora, Napanee, Picton, Trenton, Tweed and Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory. For more information, visit CALC’s website at www.communitylegalcentre.ca.