The $200 taxpayer rebate will help, but we need long-term solutions to lift Ontarians out of deep poverty

Today, the Ontario government announced a $200 taxpayer rebate to support families and children with escalating costs of living. The rebate will be provided to any individual who: 

• Is 18 years or older at the end of 2023; 

• Is a resident in Ontario on December 31, 2023; 

• Has filed their 2023 Income Tax and Benefit Return by December 31, 2024; and, 

• Is not bankrupt or incarcerated in 2024. 

Additionally, families who qualify for a Canada Child Benefit (CCB) payment for 2024 would receive an additional $200 for each eligible child under age 18.  For those who did not receive the CCB for 2024, an alternative process will be followed to provide the rebate. 

For the many Ontarians who are struggling to put food on the table and are having to make difficult choices between paying the rent, buying groceries, or meeting other basic necessities, this $200 rebate will be a modest but welcome relief.  

According to Daily Bread Food Bank’s latest Who’s Hungry report, over half (51%) of the over 150,000 new food bank clients across Toronto last year have at least one member of their household who is employed. However, although food bank clients reported higher incomes, employment rates, and work hours than ever before, their incomes are not keeping pace with the rising cost of living.  

Moreover, many Ontarians who don’t need this rebate, including people making well over $150,000 annually, will be getting it — while some people who do need the support will not. The rebate requires individuals to have filed their 2023 Income Tax and Benefit Return, which will leave out many low-income Canadians who we know are less likely to file their taxes than others. People who filed for bankruptcy in 2024 are also left out. 

Long-term solutions are needed 

This is a short-term and one-time support. As per government estimates, this rebate will cost the government $3 billion. Meanwhile, thousands of people on Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) and Ontario Works (OW) are living on social assistance rates that are over $1000 below the official poverty line. ODSP, for example, provides only $1,368 per month for a single individual. This falls far below the poverty line of $2,397 and even the deep poverty line of $1,798 in Toronto—measures which do not include the additional costs of living with a disability.  

Unemployed individuals receiving OW are even worse off, receiving only $733 per month—an amount which has been frozen since 2018 and is not indexed to inflation. As per estimates from the Income Security Advocacy Centre, $335.5 million (or just one-fourth of $3 billion) is what is needed to ensure OW rates keep up with inflation. 

At Daily Bread, we know that meaningful change needs long-term and bold policy solutions. For example: 

• Raising ODSP and OW rates above the poverty line and exempting the forthcoming Canada Disability Benefit from claw backs, which would lift up to 882,000 people who rely on social assistance out of poverty. 

• Ensuring that at least one-quarter of homes are permanently affordable supportive or social housing, with a minimum of 50,000 units in Toronto, as part of the provincial government’s plan to build 1.5 million homes by 2031. This would begin to address our severe affordable housing deficit. 

• Strengthening rent control by closing the existing loopholes, to help preserve housing affordability and provide renters’ security of tenure. 

Your support matters! 

Many generous donors have already offered to donate their rebate cheques to the Daily Bread Food Bank. If you are in a similar situation and can afford to pay it forward, consider donating Ontario’s $200 rebate to your local food bank. Through your generous support, we can support those in immediate need as we continue to advocate for long-term and meaningful policy changes.