'It's not right': Thunder Bay MPP struggles with 2-week social assistance diet

A Thunder Bay MPP is calling on the Ontario government to increase Ontario Works (OW) and Ontario Disability Support Payment (ODSP) rates after struggling to live on current amounts for two weeks.

Thunder Bay-Superior North MPP Lise Vaugeois was among several NDP MPPs who participated in the two-week "social assistance diet," eating only what they could buy for $95.21, or $47.60 per week, which the NDP said is an "approximated two-week grocery budget for social assistance recipients."

The NDP said overall, ODSP recipients receive $1,227 per month, and OW recipients $733 per month, in total, to cover all living expenses.

Vaugeois said sticking to the budget was very difficult.

"Normally, I would go to the grocery store, I'll have a list," she said. "I'll get what I think I'm going to need. But I'm not thinking about staying within a very-restricted budget."

"Being on a restricted budget means way more planning," Vaugeois said. "And frankly, I failed several times. I would have what I thought was going to be enough for breakfast, and I would get partway through the morning and be hungry and not able to think well."

"And that happened sometimes in the afternoon, as well."

Vaugeois said she tended to find herself eating sandwiches, and "lots and lots of hard-boiled eggs."

"It's difficult to buy really nutritious food on the amount of money that we had, but I have to say I think that the money that we had was actually very generous relative to what I learned since," she said. "People living on social assistance often don't have any money leftover for groceries by the time they've paid for rent, maybe telephone, possibly Internet if they can get it."

"Getting food means going to the food bank twice a month," Vaugeois said. "Going to the Dew Drop Inn and whatever other places provide meals."

Vaugeois said she ran out of money with five days left in the experiment, but could fall back on what was in her pantry.

"People who are living on OW and ODSP don't have that anything to fall back on," she said. "So when they run out of money, the money's gone, the food's gone, the fridge is empty."

Vaugeois and the Ontario NDP are calling on the province to double OW and ODSP rates to help the 900,000 people in Ontario that receive social assistance.

She said current rates are essentially punishing people for having a disability, or for being out of work.

"We're constantly told that there's not money enough to go around," Vaugeois said. "I find that very difficult to believe when I see so much wealth in other parts of the province."

The NDP said its MPPs will "spend the coming weeks listening to people with lived experience on social assistance, advocates and social service organizations, and bringing their accounts to the government."