The Ontario Progressive Conservative party released a policy white paper on January 17th titled Paths to Prosperity: Welfare to Work. The paper outlines strategic policy options that would help move people into the job market and off social assistance.
“We have more than half a million unemployed and a huge pool of talent going to waste on welfare,” stated PC leader Tim Hudak. “But even if the economy were growing, the complex bureaucracies and rules that tangle up our welfare system are costly and unsustainable” (Digital Journal).
Some key policy options in the paper include: scaling back the benefits for those who have been on welfare for a long period of time, a transfer of social program delivery to non-profit agencies, charities and the private sector and fund distribution through debit-style cards that can only be used to purchase food.
For more information on the PC party’s proposed changes to social assistance please visit their website www.ontariopc.com or click HERE to access the full white paper.