FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE TORONTO, ON, April 27, 2023 — This May, Community Living Ontario (CLO) leads the celebration for “Community Living Month.” An annual, province-wide awareness campaign, Community Living Month promotes authentic inclusion for the more than 100,000 people in Ontario who have an intellectual disability and their families. People with an intellectual disability (which includes diagnoses such as Autism, … Read More
Celebrating Seventy Years of Community Living Part Three: Ensuring Real Work for Real Pay
by Gord Kyle By 1980, workers at the ARC industries in Carleton Place had waited as long as they were willing to wait. Their calls for better pay had not been listened to and action was needed. Sixteen workers walked out to press their demands, holding a much-publicized two-day strike. For many employers, the demands would have been granted without … Read More
Quick Overview of 2023 Provincial Budget Commitments
The 2023 provincial budget, released yesterday, includes the following commitments that have relevance for people who have intellectual disabilities, their families, and developmental service organizations: In addition to these new funding amounts, the provincial budget includes a promise that will be important to track: Community Living Ontario will continue to monitor these and other programs that affect our sector, and … Read More
Food for Thought: Taking a Look at KPMG’s Role in Developmental Services in Ontario
It recently came to light that the federal government has paid more than $66 million to the consulting firm McKinsey & Company since 2016, with $33.5 million paid in 2021-22 alone. While this is notable, it isn’t necessarily surprising: firms like McKinsey, KPMG, Deloitte, and Ernst and Young have played a significant role in federal and provincial policy-making for many … Read More
Celebrating Seventy Years of Community Living Part Two: Establishing the Right for an Inclusive Education
by Gord Kyle When Donald Frisby sat down to write a letter to Ontario Premier, George Drew, in February 1947, he likely was not sure what to expect. What he knew was that something had to be done to help the children in his small northern community of Kirkland Lake. His concern was for those children who had an intellectual … Read More
Celebrating Seventy Years of Community Living Part One: How The Community Living Movement Began
by Gord Kyle It was a warm evening as Wesley Stitt made his way along Carleton Street in Toronto. The rain the day before had passed and the temperature had risen to almost 18 degrees centigrade — a November 4th temperature that had only ever been surpassed one time before, forty-five years earlier. Wesley was not alone; others were making … Read More
Nicole’s Story – I Make My OWN Choices
Happy Holidays! This has been another year of growth and new challenges for all of us, but also a year where many of us were able to get together again in-person after months of uncertainty. Meeting people in-person is one of Nicole Flynn’s favourite things to do, and even more necessary and enjoyable in her new role as Community Living … Read More
Key Changes Announced in the 2022 Ontario Fall Economic Update
On November 14th, the Ford government announced several changes that will affect people who have an intellectual disability in Ontario: Changes to how work income is treated by ODSP People on ODSP will be able to keep up to $1000 in employment earnings every month without having their ODSP amount reduced. Above $1000, they will keep twenty-five cents of every … Read More
Op-ed: When Is a 5% Increase not a 5% Increase?
On September 1st, the Ford Government increased Ontario Disability Support Program rates by 5%. This means that the basic monthly benefit for a single person on ODSP went from $1,169 to $1,228, an increase of about $58 per month. Even with this small increase, ODSP recipients will still have incomes far below the poverty line. And with the exploding … Read More
Letter to the Editor: A Response to Recent Update Friday Story on Melly’s Market + Café
Note: We received the following letter in response to a story that was shared in the August 19, 2022 edition of Update Friday. The story highlights a new cafe in Whitby that purports to offer employment training for people who have an intellectual disability. However, there is more to the story than meets the eye, and this letter expands upon … Read More
