An old Tenet paraphrased, “Give a man a fish and he will dependent on you forever. Teach that man to fish and he will feed himself.”

I am on Ontario Works subsidy, today as I was back in February 2005, having been laid off from a job, then; now after the Lockdowns of Covid-19. In 2005 a Bigoted Employer had closed the store location, where I was employed with the stipulation that I be terminated; though I was their best Sales Associate. In 2023, trying as best I can to sustain a non-profit business. Understand the bare minimum offered by Ontario Works forces recipients into struggles for Rent & Food. The great discrepancy lay between what is given and what an individual needs to survive in these Inflationary Times.

Basic Shelter provided for a Single Male is $390.00 dollars per month, begging the question, where is anyone going to find lodgings in this Housing Economy, a reasonably rental of an Apartment is out of the question, when Rent for just a Room can reach near double, in not triple that sum.

The Basic Needs holds a similar precarious edge at $343.00; begging another question; who can live on $343.00 or less a month, considering the Rents for Room in excess of $600.00; more should one factor in Wi-Fi and or Utilities, Phone, and possibly Transportation. Worse, should a perspective Employer require an Employee to have their own vehicle, how would an Ontario Works recipient clear such Bills?

Back then 2005, I rented the Living-room in a One Bedroom Apartment, approximately the size of a Den; where I paid rent: $400.00 per month, leaving me $233.00 monthly for Food, Utilities and Living Expenses. Now, factor in paying $56.50 on the Phone Bill and Bus Pass, I am left with less than $100.00 to survive the month.

That was 2005; fast forward to 2020: The stipend from Ontario Works is unchanged; no Cost of Living increase or Rental increases factored in. Thus the situation becomes dire today: "My Rent is $650.00 for a Room; Cellphone is 56.50, which total $706.50. What does that leave me to survive the entire month: $26.50."

This brings me to the following Analogy; You won't give me fish; the fishing boats supplied have leaks, and the fishing rod has no string, no reel, no lure and no hook, yet the demand is to prosper? I am spending too much time trying to avoid sinking in this Quagmire, that I don’t have enough time to go fishing for a Job, and when I have time to look for a Job, I can’t catch anything without the appropriate attire or equipment, which can't be purchased, anyway. Is this the assistance that Ontario provides to those in dire need? Is there wonder at the increase in Crime and or Homelessness? Left to tread water without Lifelines, drowning in the murky waters of an unethical Society administered by unethical Ministries and Politicians that sees such struggle as parasitic.

I would suspect that if one is going to offer Basic Shelter it should reflect the minimum needed to find an actual Apartment in Ontario, or at least approve Legislation that restricts Landlords from taking advantage of O.W. Recipients. If Room Rental are greater than $500.00, then Basic Shelter needs to reflect the needs of the individual requiring Ontario's Assistance. Any augmentation in the $343.00 Basic Needs stipend to meet the inflated monthly Expenses: Food, Utilities, Phone, Gas and or access to Internet or Cable.

NO ROOM IN ONTARIO SHOULD COST MORE THAN BASIC SHELTER, which is what a Room is - no Kitchen, Bathroom, but shared accommodations with Strangers - that's as basic as it gets.

What those on Ontario Works are looking for is a Helping Hand Up and out of the PIT, not a Hand Out to stay in the Pit! I’ve worked in Ontario, since I was 14 years old in 2005 I was 46, and trying the best to bail the water out of the sinking boat I was in, where the Taxes paid on my Income fed Billionaires, who paid none. I was sinking under Corporate Socialism, where bloated wealthy Corporations demanding more hours, increased profits, but never shared a cent with those who laboured hardest for the revenue gains. They claimed they earned their $Billions, but none have ever worked for the wealth they have stolen.

Well, no one can bail Water, attach a Fishing line to a broken Rod, then a Hook and Lure to go fishing, when their heads is already below the Waterline.