Falling on the heels of the release of Ontario’s landmark poverty reduction strategy, Sick and Tired paints a grim picture of the health of the province’s poorest residents. This new report from the Community Social Planning Council of Toronto, University of Toronto’s Social Assistance in the New Economy Project and the Wellesley Institute documents the compromised health of social assistance recipients and the working poor in Ontario. Following a discussion of Ontario’s health-compromising social assistance system and troubling labour market realities, we offer recommendations to strengthen the Province’s poverty reduction plan, address the increased burden of ill health among poor people in Ontario, and promote equitable access to health services in Ontario. In addition to addressing poverty and health equity issues, many of our recommended actions, if enacted, will promote much-needed economic stimulus as an antidote to Ontario’s struggling economy and promote cost savings in the health care system.
Report