Publications

2023

Stapleton, J. (2023). The “Welfareization of disability incomes in Ontario. In: Rioux, M.H., Viera, J., Buettgen, A., Zubrow, E. (eds) Handbook of Disability. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-1278-7_83-1 https://link.springer.com/referenceworkentry/10.1007/978-981-16-1278-7_83-1#citeas

Stapleton, J. and Yuan Y. (January 9, 2023) Designing a Canadian Disability Benefit (A Series of 10 Reports) from Fall 2021 Open Policy

2022

Frankel, Sarangi, L., and Stapleton, J. (December 26, 2022)  For a brief shining moment, Canada met its poverty goals: and then we backtracked   Toronto Star

Stapleton, J. and Mason, G. (October 31, 2022) Keep six federal ridings in Scarborough. Scarborough Mirror, Toronto.com

Stapleton, J. and Yuan Y.  (July 28, 2022) ‘Rent geared to income’ should apply to all Toronto Community Housing tenants, not just some. Scarborough Mirror, Toronto.com

Stapleton, J. (July 13, 2022) Poor people don’t have the resources to pay back CERB. Saltwire, PEI

Frankel, S. Konanur, S. and Stapleton, J. (June 22, 2022) CERB repayment options only for the lucky few. Rabble

Stapleton, J. and Yuan Y. (March 11, 2022) Scarborough’s ban on overnight parking is driving families out of Milliken. Scarborough Mirror, Toronto.com

Stapleton, J. and Yuan Y. (March 4, 2022) Ontario’s social assistance rates should be an election issue. Toronto Star

Stapleton, J., Yuan, Y., Ritchie, L., David, R. and Jagoe, R. (February 5, 2022) The end of large scale pandemic benefits in Ontario. Open Policy Ontario

2021

Stapleton, J. and Yuan, Y. (December 13, 2021) The Welfare Diet in 2021: The pandemic and a new age of inflation. Welfare Diet 2021 Presentation. Welfare Diet Data, 2021. Open Policy Ontario

Stapleton, J. and Yuan, Y. (December 1, 2021) What stops us from working? Open Policy Ontario for the Social Assistance Coalition of Scarborough

ISAC, Manson, T., McLeod, J. and Stapleton, J. (November 22, 2021) Letter: Cabinet Committee on Poverty Reduction. Income Security Advocacy Centre, ODSP Action and Open Policy Ontario

McLeod, J., Sarangi, L. and Stapleton, J. (November 14, 2021) Federal pandemic clawbacks are penalizing the poorest seniors. Toronto Star

Stapleton, J., Yuan, Y. (October 28, 2021) Renters face headwinds moving out of the eye of the pandemic storm. Toronto Star

Stapleton, J. (September 24, 2021) Homeowners can’t wish rooming houses away. Scarborough Mirror, Toronto.com

Maaranen, R., Stapleton, J. and Yuan, Y. (July 2021) Explaining Covid-19 hot spots in the Toronto CMA. Neighbourhood Exchange Research Partnership

Maaranen, R., Stapleton, J. and Yuan, Y. (July 2021) Community Housing and the Pandemic. Neighbourhood Exchange Research Partnership

Maaranen, R., Stapleton, J. and Yuan, Y. (July 2021)  Infographic: Covid19 – How we live and work matters. Neighbourhood Exchange Research Partnership

Soh, Bee Lee and Stapleton, J. (June 24, 2021)  Life stabilization on a welfare income is impossible. Toronto Star

Stapleton, J. and Yuan, Y. (March 2021) Finding unusual suspects: Why higher rates don’t lead to caseload growth. Open Policy Ontario for the Social Assistance Coalition of Scarborough

2020

Da Ponte, M. and Stapleton, J. (November, 2020) Aspiring to thrive: Building a shift to a new political economy. Shift and Build and Open Policy Ontario

Stapleton, J. (October 9, 2020) Upset beat Man o’ War, but did he really coin a new sportswriting phrase? Paulick Report: Shining light on the horse industry

Stapleton, J. and Yuan, Y. (October 2020) The Welfare Diet turns 25. Welfare Diet Welfare Data, 2020. Open Policy Ontario

Stapleton, J. (August 27, 2020) How can we improve income security in a post-CERB world? First Policy Response, Ryerson Leadership Lab, Toronto

Stapleton, J. (June 2020) Are CERB clawbacks an example of anti-black racism? Open Policy Ontario

Maaranen, R., Stapleton, J. and Yuan, Y. (June 2020) Cheap Mansions & Expensive Apartments: Why the rich pay less and the poor pay more. Neighbourhood Exchange Research Partnership

Stapleton, J. and Whatmore, L. (May 29, 2020)  The CERB helps Scarborough but not if we claw it back from our most vulnerable residents. Toronto Star

Stapleton, J. and Tweddle, A. (May 2020) CERB interactions with provincial and territorial social programs. Maytree Foundation

Stapleton, J. (April 2020) How Ottawa pressed provinces not to claw back pandemic benefits. Toronto Star

Stapleton, J. (March 2020) Helping the poor through the pandemic may be a matter of life and death. Toronto Star

Stapleton, J. (January 2020) ODSP needs support, not criticism. Toronto Star

2019

Stapleton, J., Hope, K. and James, C. (November 2019) The Working Poor in the Toronto Region: A closer look at the increasing numbers. Metcalf Foundation

Double or Nothing report coverStapleton, J., Maaranen, R., and Yuan, Yvonne. (September 2019) Double or Nothing: Why northern Scarborough has no Neighbourhood Improvement Areas and what we can do about it. Open Policy Ontario

Stapleton, J., and Soh, Bee Lee. (October 10, 2019) Voice of Experience: Engaging people with lived experience of poverty in consultations. Metcalf Foundation

Stapleton, J. (2019) “You Can’t Shrink the Economy Bigger”, pp.7-9, in Lee, C.R. and Briggs, A. The Cost of Poverty in Ontario: 10 Years Later. Feed Ontario

Stapleton, J., & Yvonne M. Yuan (April 15, 2019) What’s the true cost of food when you’re poor? Institute for Research in Public Policy

2018

Stapleton, J., (December 22, 2018) Federal poverty-reduction bill ‘important for Scarborough’. Scarborough Mirror, Toronto.com

Stapleton, J., & Yvonne M. Yuan (August 2, 2018) Ontario’s Welfare Diet in 2018. Institute for Research in Public Policy

Stapleton, J., (August 1, 2018)  Macleod’s policy changes will keep Ontarians trapped in poverty. Toronto Star (Op-ed)

A fortune left on the table: why should low-income adults have to pass up government benefits?Stapleton, J., (June 21, 2018) A Fortune Left on the Table. West Neighbourhood House & Open Policy

Stapleton, J. & Yip, Christine A., (June 21, 2018) Low Income Adults in the Informal Economy. West Neighbourhood House & Open Policy

Stapleton, J., (March 4, 2018) The Indian Dress Debacle. Self Published

2017

A basic income for CanadiansIncome Security Reform Working Group, Indigenous Income Security Reform Working Group, and Urban Indigenous Table on Income Security Reform (October 2017) Roadmap to Income Security. Submitted to the Government of Ontario.

Stapleton, J. (May 23, 2017) An old idea is new again. Mowat Centre. Full version: Canada’s forgotten centennial: 100 years of income taxes in Canada.

Stapleton, J. (February, 23, 2017) Pursuing policy advocacy in a post recommendation world: Moving beyond the smackdown of the alpha paradigms. Self-published

Stapleton, J. (January 30, 2017) A Basic Income for Canadians: What would change? The Metcalf Foundation

2016

The Cost of Poverty in TorontoStapleton, J. (December 18, 2016) Saks in the city: Labour market inequality in Toronto seen through the lens of the retail divide. Self-published

Briggs, A., Lee, C.R., Stapleton, J. (November 28, 2016) The cost of poverty in Toronto. Media coverage. Social Planning Toronto and Open Policy Ontario

Stapleton, J. (May 12, 2016) From solitary confinement to ‘one-to-many’. The Metcalf Foundation

Stapleton, J. (March 28, 2016) A young person’s guide to a guaranteed annual or basic income: Parts 1-7. Self-published

Stapleton, J. (March 28, 2016) A young person’s guide to a guaranteed annual or basic income: Part 6, Persons with disabilities. Self-published

Stapleton, J. (February 9,2016) Honey, I shrunk the poverty strategy. Self-published

Stapleton, J. (February 7, 2016) A young person’s guide to a guaranteed annual or basic income: Part 1. Self-published

Stapleton, J. (February 5, 2016) Solitary confinement: Two case studies and the income/employment conundrum. The Metcalf Foundation

2015

Every Ninth Child in Ontario: A Cost-Benefit Analysis for Investing in the Care of Special Needs Children and Youth in OntarioDoucet, R., Pooran, B., Briggs, A., Lee, C.R., Stapleton, J. (December 10, 2015) Every ninth child in Ontario: A cost-benefit analysis for investing in the care of special needs children and youth in Ontario. Open Policy Ontario

Stapleton, J. (October 9, 2015) Welfare Diet 20 years later. The Welfare Diet Data, 2015. The original Welfare Diet, 1995. Open Policy Ontario

Stapleton, J. (April 20, 2015) The working poor in the Toronto region. The Metcalf Foundation

Stapleton, J. (March 2, 2015) Scarborough’s self-inflicted wound. Self-publishedThe 'Welfare Diet' 20 Years Later

Stapleton, J. (March 1, 2015) The Cougar and the Iceman: Seabiscuit’s two Canadian jockeys. The Paulick Report

Stapleton, J. (February 4, 2015) Guaranteed annual income contains three word: Let’s talk about the ‘annual’ part. Vibrant Communities: Cities Reducing Poverty, Tamarack Institute.

2014

Welcome to the financial mainstream?Stapleton, J. (December 9, 2014) Same problems keep recurring in welfare computer systems. Op-Ed, Toronto Star

Stapleton, J. (November 3, 2014) Welcome to the Financial Mainstream? The hazards facing low income people when navigating the financial world. Houselink Community Homes. Launch Flyer

Stapleton, J. (July 21, 2014) Another species faces extinction. Vibrant Communities: Cities Reducing Poverty

Stapleton, J. (June 10, 2014) No bottom in sight. Vibrant Communities: Cities Reducing Poverty

Stapleton, J. (February 10, 2014) Catherine the Great and the OXFAM 85. Vibrant Communities: Cities Reducing Poverty

Stapleton, J. (January 21, 2014) They can’t but we can. Vibrant Communities: Cities Reducing Poverty

2013

Stapleton, J. (December 13, 2013) The ‘Welfareization’ of Disability Incomes in Ontario. The Metcalf Foundation

Stapleton, J. (November 22, 2013) When Good Advice Goes Bad. ImagineACity.ca, United Way Toronto

Stapleton, J. (November 1, 2013) Honouring Beryl Agnes Foster. For Every Child, UNICEF Canada Magazine

Stapleton, J. (October 16, 2013) Understanding Social Assistance Eligibility Testing in Ontario. Self-published

Stapleton, J. (May 14, 2013) How should we think about the earnings of social assistance recipients? Self-published

Stapleton, J. (April 26, 2013) It’s time to end the erosion of public assistance in Ontario. Toronto Star

Stapleton, J. (January 17, 2013) A ballplayer, a cop, a janitor and a welfare recipient. The Broadbent Institute

2012

25 is the New 21Stapleton, J. (October 30, 2012) Conrad Black and the Order of Canada. Self-published.

Stapleton, J. (2012) Do welfare rules provide a route out of poverty in Alberta? Vibrant Communities Calgary.

Stapleton, J. (2012) Janeiro lecture on inequality. Self-published.

Stapleton, J. (2012) The Great Recession Horror Trilogy – all in one place!

Stapleton, J. (March 27,2012). Pool, Cap and Cut: Reflections on the Ontario Government’s recent budget cutting. Vibrant Canada.

Stapleton, J. (March 20, 2012). It’s not that much money: Sixty Seconds on a calculator. Vibrant Canada.

Stapleton, J. (March 16, 2012). A Canadian ‘Affluence Line’: a Poverty line for the 1%.

Stapleton, J. (March 5, 2012). Cutting the Number of Ontario Racetracks would be a bad betThe Working Poor. (PDF) The Toronto Star.

Stapleton, J. (February 29, 2012) Ontario should help foster kids until they turn 25.

Stapleton, J., Tweddle, A., Procyk,S., Pooran, B., & Doucet, R. (2012). 25 is the New 21. Provincial Advocate for Children and Youth.

Stapleton, J., Murphy, Brian., Xing, Yue (Feb.11, 2012).  The Working Poor in the Toronto Region; Who they are, where they live, and how trends are changing. Summary and Full Report. The Metcalf Foundation.

Stapleton, J. (February 2012). PM’s new policy would force up to 50,000 to live in poverty for two more years. CARP.

2011

Stapleton,  J., Ayton, L., Procyk, S. (2011). Turn Out the Lights! Reference: 1851 postage.Trading Places: Single Adults

Stapleton, J. (2011). Less on their Plate: Canada’s poorest people facing a frightful food crisis. Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.

Stapleton, J., Bednar, V. (2011). Trading Places: Single Adults Replace Lone Parents as the New Face of Social of Social Assistance in Canada. Mowat Centre, Munk School, University of Toronto.

Stapleton, J., Pooran, B., & Doucet, R. (2011). Making Toronto safer: A cost-benefit analysis of transitional housing supports for men leaving incarceration. John Howard Society of Toronto.

Stapleton, J., Procyk, S. & Kochen, L. (May, 2011). What stops us from working? The Dream Team.

Baldwin, A., Procyk, S., & Stapleton, J. (Feb. 7, 2011). Income security: Collective responses for a prosperous Toronto region. Civic Action.

Stapleton, J. (Jan. 2011). What’s your government’s share of GDP? The answer is pointless. The Mark.

2010

Milway, J., Chan, K., Stapleton, J., & Cook, B. (Dec. 2010). The poor still pay more: Challenges low income families face in consuming a nutritious diet. Institute for Competitiveness and Prosperity.

Stapleton, J., & Procyk, S. (Nov. 2010). A patchwork quilt: Income security for Canadians with disabilitiesInstitute for Work and Health.

Stapleton, J. (Nov. 2010). Zero dollar Linda: A Meditation on Malcolm Gladwell’s “Million Dollar Murray,” the Linda Chamberlain Rule, and the Auditor General of OntarioThe Metcalf Foundation.

Johnston, P., & Stapleton, J. (Sept. 2010). Forging a new relationship with government. How the non-profit sector in Ontario can thrive in partnership with the government. Ontario Nonprofit Network.

Stapleton, J. (Sept. 29, 2010). The recession’s repeat performance. The Mark.

Stapleton, J. (Sept. 3, 2010). Sixty and single in Ontario. The Mark.

Stapleton, J. (Aug. 16, 2010). A country founded on statistics. The Mark.

Stapleton, J. (August, 2010). Prosperity and the economy barely surviving: The predicament of Toronto’s poor single adults. Vote Toronto 2010.

Stapleton, J. (July 6, 2010). In the 1960s, protests ended with concerts. It’s just one of the ways they were different from today’s protests. The Mark.

Stapleton, J. (June 16, 2010). The Battle Between Paradigms: With economic recovery, a new stimulus-based mentality has arrived to challenge the old laissez-faire way of thinking. The Mark.

Stapleton, J. (June 11, 2010). What to make of former Bank of Canada governor David Dodge’s predictions on Canada’s economy? The Mark.

Stapleton, J., & Tweddle, A. (May, 2010). Not so easy to navigate: A report on the complex array of income security programs and educational planning for children in care in OntarioThe Laidlaw Foundation.

Stapleton, J., & Tweddle, A. (May, 2010). Seven things you should knowThe Laidlaw Foundation.

Stapleton, J., & Tweddle, A. (May, 2010). A message to all mothers in Ontario. The Laidlaw Foundation.

Stapleton, J., & Shillington, R. (May. 2010). Cutting through the fog: Why is it so hard to make sense of poverty measures. The Metcalf Foundation.

Stapleton, J. (May 11, 2010). VE-day: Remembering Canada’s role. The Mark.

Stapleton, J. (May 10, 2010). Minimalist waitressing. The Mark.

Stapleton, J. (Apr. 29, 2010). The perfect calm: We may not be out of the economic storm yet. The Mark.

Stapleton, J. (Apr. 14, 2010). E-I spells post-recession welfare. The Mark.

Stapleton, J. (Apr. 15, 2010). Imagine a world without taxes. The Mark.

Stapleton, J. (Mar. 31, 2010). Back to scratch: The gap between the minimum wage and the welfare rate is as wide as it was during the Depression. The Mark.

Stapleton, J. (March 2, 2010). Down but not out: Reforming social assistance rules that punish the poor for saving. C. D. Howe Institute, e-brief.

Stapleton, J. (Feb. 24, 2010). The recession continues. The Mark.

2009

Stapleton, J. (Oct. 2009). Why don’t we want the poor to own anything? Our relentless social policy journey toward destitution for the 900,000 poorest people in Ontario. The Metcalf Foundation.

Stapleton, J. (Oct. 2009). Close encounters of the “thirties” kind. Ontario Alternative Budget 2009: Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.

Stapleton, J. (2009). Time for a “Made in Ontario” working income tax benefit. Institute for Competitiveness and Prosperity/Open Policy Ontario.

Stapleton, J. (May, 2009). The ‘ball’ or the ‘bridge’: The stark choice for social assistance reform in Ontario. Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.

Stapleton, J. (Feb., 2009). The silence of the lines. Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.

2008

Senate Report. (2008). Poverty, housing and homelessness: Issues and options. First Report of the Subcommittee on Cities of the Standing Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology.

Laurie, N. (2008). The cost of poverty: Analysis of the economic cost of poverty in Ontario. Ontario Association of Food Banks. November.

Pomeroy, S, Steele, M. Hoy, J, & Stapleton, J. (2008). A housing benefit for Ontario: One housing solution for a poverty reduction strategy. A proposal submitted to the Province of Ontario by a coalition of industry and community organizations. November.

Stapleton, J. (2008). Income security for working-age adults in Canada: Let’s consider the model under our nose. The Metcalf Foundation, November.

Stapleton, J., & Tweddle, A. (2008). Navigating the maze: Improving coordination and integration of disability income and employment policies and programs for people living with HIV/AIDS – A discussion paper. Canadian Working Group on HIV and Rehabilitation (REALIZE).

Stapleton, J & Shillington, R. (2008). No strings attached: How the tax-free savings account can help lower-income Canadians get aheadC.D. Howe Institute. eBrief, Sept. 30, 1-5.

Stapleton, J. (2008). Why is it so tough to get ahead. Perception, 29, 3&4, 18-20.

Baldwin, A., Drummond, D. & Stapleton, J. (2008). New assets and income policies to assist low-income adults under Ontario’s Poverty Reduction StrategyTD Bank Financial Group.

Stapleton, J. (April, 2008). ‘The last recession spook’: A very curable diseaseCanadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, 1-5.

2007

Stapleton, J. (2007). Why is it so tough to get ahead? How our tangled social programs pathologize the transition to self-relianceThe Metcalf Foundation.

Stapleton, J. & LaFrambroise, C. (2007). Coming of age in a man’s world. Life, times and wisdom of Dorothea Crittenden: Canada’s first woman deputy minister.

Stapleton, J. (2007). Don’t it always seem to go. Literary Review of Canada, April.

Stapleton, J. (2007). Let’s take reframing seriously. Self-published essay.

2006

Stapleton, J. & Nascimento, O. (2006). Poor immigrants in Canada: Are they working? A community perspective. Report to the 11th International Metropolis Conference. October 2-6, Lisbon, Portugal.

39th PARLIAMENT, 1st SESSION, Standing committee on human resources, social development and the status of persons with disabilities.

Stapleton, J. (2006). Commentary. The Walrus, September 17.

2005

Stapleton, J. (2005). Tracking those in povertyLiterary Review of Canada, November.

Stapleton, J. (2005). Connecting Public Policy with Frontline Experience. Ideas that Matter, 3, 39-42.

Stapleton, J. & LaFrambroise, C. (2005). The Campbell report: The origins of modern public assistance in Ontario.

2004

Transitions RevisitedStapleton, J. (2004). Like falling off a cliff: The incomes of low-wage and social recipients in the 1990s. In J. D. Hulchanski and M. Shapcott (Eds.), Finding room: Policy options for a Canadian rental housing strategy. Centre for Urban and Community Studies, University of Toronto.

Stapleton, J. (2004). Transitions revisited: Implementing the visionCaledon Institute of Social Policy.