Ontario Social Assistance Rates Act, 2007 McMeekin, Ted — Bill 235 (38th Parliament, 2nd Session)

Bill 235, 38-2

Ontario — Bills

role="main" class="main-container container js-quickedit-main-content" id="main-content">

Bill 235, Ontario Social Assistance Rates Act, 2007

McMeekin, Ted

Please select

View bill

Status

Debates

Original

[38] Bill 235 Original (PDF)

Bill 235 2007

An Act to establish the Ontario Social Assistance Rates Board

Her

Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario, enacts as follows:

Definitions

1. In this Act,

"benefit

unit" means a person and all of his or her dependants on behalf of whom the

person receives or applies for social assistance; ("groupe de prestataires")

"Board" means the Ontario Social Assistance Rates Board established

under

section 2; ("Commission")

"Minister" means the Minister of Community and Social Services;

("ministre")

"social assistance" means,

(

a) income

support under the Ontario

Disability Support Program Act, 1997 , and

(

b) basic

financial assistance under the Ontario Works Act, 1997 . ("aide sociale")

Board

established

Assistance Rates Board and in French as Commission ontarienne des taux d'aide

sociale is hereby established.

Composition

of Board

Appointment

(1) The

Board shall be composed of at least six and not more than nine members appointed

by the Lieutenant Governor in Council.

Qualifications

(2) The members shall be persons who have, in the opinion

of the Lieutenant Governor in Council, expertise in poverty research and

current research regarding the costs of living in Ontario communities.

Same

(3) In addition to the qualifications set out in subsection

(2),

(

a) at

least two of the members shall be persons who have, in the opinion of the

Lieutenant Governor in Council, expertise regarding the costs of living for

disabled persons in Ontario communities; and

(

b) at

least two of the members shall be persons who have received social assistance

at some time within the 10-year period before being appointed or are receiving

social assistance at the time of their appointment.

Term

(4) A member shall be appointed for a term of two, three

or five years.

Chair

and vice-chair

(5) The Lieutenant Governor in Council shall designate one

of the members as chair and may designate one or more other members as

vice-chair.

Remuneration

and expenses

4. The members of the Board who are not members of the public

service of Ontario may be paid the remuneration fixed by the Lieutenant

Governor in Council and the reasonable expenses incurred in the course of their

duties under this Act.

Powers

of Board

(1) Except

as limited by this Act, the Board has all the powers that are necessary or expedient

for carrying out its duties under this Act.

Experts

(2) The Board may retain experts as it considers necessary

from time to time.

Annual

report

(1) The

Board shall provide an annual report in accordance with this Act to the

Minister on or before December 31 in every year.

Duties

(2) The Board shall perform the duties that are assigned

to it by or under this Act.

Meetings

(3) The Board shall meet at least six times annually for

the purpose of preparing the annual report.

Additional

reports

(4) In addition to the report described in subsection (1),

the Board shall provide additional reports and information about adequate

standards of living to the Minister on request.

Contents

of annual report

Regions

(1) The

annual report shall include a list of defined regions identified by the Board

on the basis of different costs of living in different parts of the Province.

Regional

rates

(2) The annual report shall include recommended social

assistance rates and processes for providing social assistance for each region

identified under subsection (1), including consideration of,

(

a) monthly

basic needs rates at a set amount that will enable benefit units to obtain,

(

i) nutritious

food baskets,

(ii) basic

telephone service,

(iii) basic

transportation,

(iv) personal

needs items, including clothing, personal hygiene products and household cleaning

supplies,

(

v) items

and services relating to the educational and recreational needs of any

children,

(vi) any

necessary modifications to a rental unit in order to accommodate any

disability,

(vii) additional

expenses that may be incurred by persons with disabilities in order for them to

participate fully in society, including expenses relating to education, over

the counter medical goods, entertainment and clothing, and

(viii) other

basic goods and services to fulfil needs specified by the Board as basic;

(

b) maximum

monthly shelter allowance rates, including reference to,

(

i) Canada

Mortgage and Housing Corporation research on local rents,

(ii) any

other research that the Board considers relevant regarding local rents and

shelter expenses, including utilities, heating costs, furnace or hot water tank

rentals, property taxes and fire insurance, and

(iii) separate

recommendations regarding housing that is modified for disabled persons;

(

c) the

level of benefits to be provided to benefit units under the Ontario Works Act, 1997 ;

(

d) the

level of benefits to be provided to benefit units under the Ontario Disability Support Program Act, 1997 ;

(

e) other

statutory benefits that are actually received by benefit units, including the Ontario Child Benefit;

(

f) the fact that many

recipients of social assistance under the Ontario Works

Act, 1997 are, for extended periods of time, unable to supplement

their income through employment; and

(

g) the

fact that many recipients of social assistance under the Ontario

Disability Support Program Act, 1997 are, due to the long-term

nature of many disabilities, unable to supplement their income through

employment.

Same

(3) The Board shall consider the rates set under the Ontario Works Act, 1997 and the Ontario

Disability Support Program Act, 1997 and may recommend changes to those rates .

Variation

in rates

(4) The regional rates recommended in subsection (2) shall

be uniform within each region but may differ between regions.

Minister's

report

(1) On or before March 31 in every year, the

Minister shall publish a report responding to the Board's recommendations in

the annual report and shall set out a timeline for dealing with the

recommendations.

Tabling

(2) The

Minister shall submit any reports received from the Board to the Lieutenant

Governor in Council and shall then lay them before the Assembly if it is in

session or, if not, at the next session.

Annual

report made public

(3) The

Minister shall make the annual report available to the public within 90 days of

receiving the report.

Commencement

(1) Subject

to subsection (2), this Act comes into force on the day it receives Royal

Assent.

(2) Sections 1 to 8 come into force six months after the

day this Act receives Royal Assent.

Short

title

10. The

short title of this Act is the Ontario Social Assistance

Rates Act, 2007.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

The

Bill establishes the Ontario Social Assistance Rates Board, which has the

function of providing specific recommendations annually regarding social

assistance rates under the Ontario Works Act, 1997

and the Ontario Disability Support Program Act, 1997 .

Date Bill stage Activity Committee

June 4, 2007

First Reading

Carried

Debates and Progress

First Reading

June 4, 2007

Committee

Second Reading

Committee

Third Reading

Royal Assent :

Coming into force :

(1) Subject to subsection (2), this Act comes into force on the day it receives Royal Assent.

(2) Sections 1 to 8 come into force six months after the day this Act receives Royal Assent.

Was this page helpful? Yes , I found this page helpful. An optional survey will open in a new tab. No , I didn’t find this page helpful. An optional survey will open in a new tab.

Back to top

Document details

Collection	Ontario — Bills
Citation	Bill 235, 38-2
Type	bill
Volume / chapter	p38 s2 bill 235 html
Language	en
Format	html
Source	PROVINCIAL
Identifier	8e405d1699399c10b9fbeb4631db98bacf832946

Source file is stored in the law ingest library (html).