Prince Edward County council is joining the Town of Orangeville in asking the provincial government to at least double payments to people under the Ontario Works and Disability programs.
The motion, made by Councillor Bill Roberts, also asks that payments be indexed to inflation and that initial increases to recipients be above the cost of living to make up for the years they were frozen.
Roberts says Ontario Works and disability payments do not provide people with enough income for a basic standard of living causing hundreds of thousands of people in the province to live in poverty, causing food insecurity and health problems.
It’s estimated that between ten and thirteen per cent of The County’s population lives in poverty.
