WELLINGTON COUNTY – Fewer people are relying on social assistance than prior to the pandemic, but of the hundreds of county and Guelph residents who are, more are doing so for longer.
That takeaway comes from a report presented to the county’s social services committee in the summertime capturing case levels throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
Tasked by the province with managing social services for both Wellington and Guelph, county staff prepared a report analyzing Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services data from March between 2019 and 2023 to understand trends.
There was a 5.7 per cent increase in the number of people receiving payments from the provincially-funded program to 2,128 people at the pandemic’s 2020 outset from 2,012 in 2019.
That number fell dramatically by March 2021 following the introduction of the Canadian Emergency Response Benefit, but once federal income assistance ended in Nov. 2021, “application levels experienced an immediate increase,” wrote county Ontario Works director Stuart Beumer in a June report to the social services committee.
Anyone can find themselves relying on Ontario Works, or what Beumer calls a “last resort.”
“With the higher costs of living, increased housing costs and significant wait times to access specialized and primary health care, many more people are one step away from the possibility of needing help,” Beumer wrote to the Advertiser.
“Significant life disruptions such as a layoff, an unexpected illness or injury, or a family breakdown can contribute to anyone needing to seek out social assistance to make ends meet.”
Those relying on Ontario Works “are experiencing deep poverty and have exhausted nearly all of their assets,” Beumer wrote.
The gap between what someone receives on social assistance and the poverty line is significant, and rate increases over the years (none since 2018) have resulted in “negligible change,” the report states.
According to the report, a family of four in Guelph receives an income from Ontario Works that falls 70 per cent below the poverty line.
In 2021, Stats Canada defined poverty thresholds as $43,269 in rural areas of the county and $43,985 in urban areas.
An individual can receive a maximum of $733 per month on social assistance, but 50 cents is deducted from each Ontario Works dollar for every dollar earned from employment above $200 in a month. Deductions continue all the way down until there are no Ontario Works payments.
In March of this year, the province provided $1.32 million to Ontario Works recipients in Guelph and Wellington, not including other costs such as dental and prescription coverage.
That’s down from a high of $1.5 million in 2020, but up from a low of $1 million in 2021.
Caseload below pre-pandemic levels
The province had anticipated the number of people receiving a social assistance stipend would increase to pre-pandemic levels by early 2023, but growth here is slower, data shows.
In 2023, there were 1,844 people on Ontario Works in Wellington and Guelph, compared to 2,012 in 2019.
Recipients in Guelph account for nearly 80% of the caseload, with the remaining 20% spread across Wellington’s seven municipalities.
Looking only at the county, the 388 residents accessing assistance this year has nearly returned to a pre-pandemic total of 390 in 2019.
The county caseload is highest in Centre Wellington (109) and Wellington North (97), and lowest in Puslinch (11) and Mapleton (15).
In reference to the county municipalities, the report states populations levels and the availability of more affordable rental housing could explain the ranges.
Beumer told the Advertiser it’s difficult to identify exactly why, overall, local Ontario Works levels aren’t climbing back up as fast as predicted.
“The strength of the local labour market is a likely factor,” Beumer wrote in an email, noting the unemployment rate in the county and city is lower than the provincial average.
Provincial forecasts however suggest local caseloads may rise beyond current levels by 8.4% in 2023-24.
“This projected caseload growth suggests a monthly average of 2,064 cases in the current fiscal year, which would return the local caseload to pre-pandemic levels,” states the report.
Long-term reliance increasing
The number of people increasingly reliant on social assistance long-term is a worrying trend for social services staff.
“For a larger proportion of our clients, the program is not the short-term financial stop-gap between a layoff and a new job,” Beumer wrote.
According to the report, there’s an increase of nearly 21% in the number of cases on file for more than five years since 2019.
“The average length of time households remain on assistance has risen from 20 months in 2019 to more than 32 months in 2023,” the report states, noting a provincial average of 39 months.
Beumer said attention needs to be given to why that is, and suggested the cost of living, lack of affordable housing, access to childcare, and long wait lists for primary health care and mental health supports, as contributing factors.
“Investments in these areas by upper levels of government … can contribute to decreased reliance on social assistance and improved health and well-being of our communities,” Beumer wrote.
