Change Your Thoughts And You Change the World.

Louis Shalako.

According to the news, clients of the Ontario Disability Support Program will now be able to earn up to $6,000.00 per year without deductions. If true, and if it works as advertised, that would be up from $2,400.00 per year as it currently stands.

What will happen, is that all ODSP (and OW recipients), will get a notice in the mail regarding the changes to the system. There are some less positive changes, including a new definition of disability, which will make it harder for those with mental health issues to qualify for ODSP, as well as injured workers.

Having fallen from a scaffolding and broken my back in three places, I can tell you that getting fucked over by a liar of an employer, and consequently denied WSIB (Workplace Safety and Insurance Board) benefits has had a serious impact on my life and my earning potential.

#ODSP #OW

Here's the thing with ODSP guidelines for business and employment. If I buy work boots, or a computer monitor for business/employment purposes, it must be deducted from income in the month during which the purchase was made.

This is quite typical of the legislation, which was written for the province by some of the most expensive lawyers in the world.

It's not a year-end deduction such as that almost any other company or individual engaged in business might enjoy. In that sense, it was always discriminatory. People on ODSP should be seen to be suffering, or the taxpayers get ornery.

Cynical but true--it is also true that a good chunk of my yearly income is subsidized by the taxpayers.

So, when I totaled up my earnings, mileage, other allowable deductions, and I was still above the former $200.00 per month limit, I had little choice but to invest more into the business. 

Reinvestment is all very well, but as I have stated in the past, I can't eat it. I can't put it on my credit card. Essentially, I can't use it to live on. I had no choice, or I would face the (former) fifty percent claw-back. If the allowable earnings have indeed been raised from $2,400.00 per year to $6,000.00 per year, I have more choices in what I can do with the money.

#social_services_reform

Doug. If I buy a computer for the business, the deduction only applies to the month the purchase was made. This should be a year-end deduction.

#Doug_Ford @FordNation #ODSP #OW #Louis

Ladies and gentlemen, if their plan is a bit short on the details, then we have the opportunity to offer some suggestions. #right

On Ontario Works, (welfare), the system requires that people be looking for work. On ODSP (disability), the system cannot force people to seek employment. Loosening up the ODSP guidelines encourages work for those able to do so to some extent. For example, I work part-time. With maximum benefits still running thirty-five to forty percent below the poverty line, loosening up the guidelines is one method (among many) to reduce poverty in the Province of Ontario.

#ODSP #OW

Questions remain.

When they say 'without deductions', bear in mind there are few details other than this announcement, and that Canadian journalists, for all of their virtues, have little or no experience in interpreting ODSP/OW guidelines for business and employment.

For the government to say you can earn up to $6,000.00 per year and there are no allowable deductions would be just plain ignorant. 

My interpretation is that clients will still be allowed to deduct reasonable business or employment expenses, including mileage and other costs. In which case, raising the allowable earnings is a progressive step for those able to take advantage of these provisions.

It is also an encouragement for others to do so.

Especially if they see it paying off--

If you have a dedicated business vehicle, you could deduct insurance, fuel, repairs and maintenance, any required upgrades (a trailer hitch for example) against earned income.  

#ODSP #OW #Louis

Unless someone tells me otherwise, the usual provisions apply.

So. Rather than ineffectual do-goodery, all let's-go-down-to-the-riverbank-and-hold-a candlelight-vigil-to-raise-awareness, here is one single, concrete and specific suggestion for reducing poverty and providing employment training for clients of Ontario Works, (welfare):

Provide enhanced benefits as an incentive to go to community college and gain the skills to make good wages in industry and commerce, including service industries. There should be no penalties for otherwise employable persons who go back to school (at any level), with a view to improving their employment potential or entering the marketplace as a business, start-up, or other enterpreneurial venture, i.e., capitalism.

#Doug_Ford @FordNation #ODSP #OW #Louis

Ladies and gentlemen. I have just begun to consult with this government.

#Louis

Top of Form

Bottom of Form