Anti-poverty group protests frozen ODSP payments

Anti-poverty group Acorn Canada protests outside the provincial Ontario Works and Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) office in London, Ont. on April 13, 2022. (Bryan Bicknell / CTV News)

Anti-poverty advocates say Ontario Works and Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) rates have been frozen for far too long.

About 10 members of the London, Ont. chapter of Acorn Canada staged a demonstration outside the York Street provincial ODSP office Wednesday.

Acorn London Chair Nawton Chiles said rates have been frozen since 2018, while inflation has been rising rapidly. He said ODSP and Ontario Works clients are suffering because of the lack of income supports.

“It leaves them in a bad position, that’s for sure. Some people have to find other sources of income, sometimes under the table. Sometimes people just aren’t able to find that income and have to skip meals or get evicted,” he says. “It’s really a shambles.”