NDP incumbent Lisa Gretzky has been re-elected as the MPP for Windsor-West. June 7, 2018. (Photo by Paul Pedro)

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The MPP for Windsor West isn’t a big fan of social assistance changes announced by the Ontario government.

New Democrat Lisa Gretzky said the changes announced on Thursday will make life more difficult for vulnerable people. She added redefining disability to match a federal definition is a move that means many more Ontarians will be turned away when they apply for the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) because the most common federal definition applies to Canada Pension Plan Disability (CPPD) applicants, who can only get support if their illness is likely to prevent them from ever working.

“If Ford applies this definition to ODSP recipients, Ontarians whose disabilities allow them to work occasionally, or those who may one day be able to work, will be denied support,” said Gretzky. “This could include people with cancer, common forms of diseases like MS, and certain mental illnesses.”

The local MPP added there is nothing in the announcement to bring relief for Ontarians with disabilities who are unable to work.

“Many recipients of ODSP and Ontario Works have been anxiously awaiting this social assistance announcement, and have shared stories of heightened anxiety and depression, even suicidal thoughts during this distressing period,” she said.

The Ford government said the social assistance reforms will restore dignity, encourage employment, and empower the province’s most vulnerable to break free from the poverty cycle.

“Social assistance in Ontario today is an ineffective, disjointed patchwork of supports that traps people in a broken system,” said Minister of Children, Community and Social Services Lisa MacLeod. “Our plan is about a more effective, sustainable approach to helping people find and keep jobs and achieve better outcomes.”

Minister MacLeod said, currently, there are over 240 income support rates and combinations and a web of over 800 rules, making navigating the system confusing and time-consuming for recipients and caseworkers.

The province added that provincial employment services will also improve through better, more streamlined supports, placing a greater focus on outcomes and exploring options for more locally responsive outcome driven employment service delivery models.