The cost of living is skyrocketing, but people on social assistance are still trying to scrape by on government-issued payments that have stayed the same for years.
As Richard Vivian of GuelphToday reported last month, thousands of local residents who depend on the Ontario Disability Support Program have not seen a payment boost since 2018—even though inflation continues to soar, with the worst yet to come.
Jean-Paul Lam, a former assistant chief economist at the Bank of Canada and now an economics professor at the University of Waterloo, was a recent guest on Inside the Village, a news and current affairs podcast produced by Village Media. When asked about GuelphToday's feature report, Lam agreed that the Ontario government should index social assistance payments to inflation.
"Those are the population that are suffering the most: on fixed income, or payments that are not indexed to inflation," Lam says. "They are seeing a rapid erosion in their purchasing power."
Launched in April, Inside the Village provides a weekly window into some of the best local journalism from across Village Media's expanding network of community newsrooms. The podcast also explores issues and ideas that impact people all over Ontario.
Lam's full interview is here. You can find every episode of the show on this news site /insidethevillage, or wherever you download your favourite podcasts.
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