This past July the Liberal government boosted the Ontario Child Benefit allowance from $50 to $92 to low income families. But, said Lynn Aquin of the Campaign for Adequate Welfare, the province then reversed itself and clawed back a significant portion of the benefit from the Ontario Works or Ontario Disability Support Program.

Ms. Aquin, during a presentation to members of the emergency and community services committee recently, said families that were hit the hardest had one child under 13 years. On average the family would receive about 66 cents per month more than they received last year, she said. The increase translated into about $7.92 per year to buy food, she said, at a time when food prices jumped by about seven per cent. A family of three spends, she said, about $3,300 for food a year.

“The whole clawback issue is ongoing,” said Ms. Aquin. “You never get ahead with inflation and the cost of living increasing.”

In 2008 the province introduced the Ontario Child Benefit which provided $600 per year for all children in low-income families. But, said Ms. Aquin, at the same time the province introduced the benefit, it cut the back-to-school and winter clothing allowances that amounted to about $250 per year.

Not only is the organization pleading for the elimination of the clawback policy, but it is advocating for the creation of a social assistance rates board to make sure social assistance rates provide for a decent standard of living.

In 2006 Hamilton councillors approved a motion to give back its portion of the clawback to social service recipients from 200608.

“What we need is a Harmonized Assistance Program,” said Councillor Sam Merulla, referring to the Liberal’s proposed harmonized sales tax scheduled to take effect next July.

“(The Liberals) can introduced something as complicated as the HST, but they can’t bring together a harmonized social assistance program. The clawback needs to be eliminated.”

Hamilton has received about $16 million in social services funding each year from the provincial government to help offset the rise in social services costs. Hamilton still has a poverty rate of about 18 per cent, one of the highest in the province.