Aging Society | Open Policy Ontario

27Mar 2015 by johnastapleton

The plight of low income hardworking seniors

This is the year that I become a senior citizen for the first and only time. I wrote a blog when I turned 60 for an online newspaper called ‘The Mark’ on what it means to turn age 60 when you are poor[1]. I spent the next four years on a self-motivated project called ‘Retiring on a low income’. I know from my ‘Google analytics’ that it is very popular as the material has been accessed about 45,000 times, mostly from new users. My blog on the subject, written in 2013, was the most popular blog on the Vibrant Communities website in 2014. I now want to set my sights on the issues that beset those who have already turned 65 but continue to live on a low income. Catherine…

16May 2014 by johnastapleton

No piece of cake! Linda Chamberlain applies for the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS)

I am supposed to know about retiring on a low income. That includes obtaining the Guaranteed Income Supplement for people who turn age 65.I am supporting the Old Age Security application of a woman named Linda Chamberlain. She turns 65 on July 3, 2014. This will be in some ways a dress rehearsal for my own application since I turn 65 in August 2015. Right now, Linda has no income other than her ODSP cheque and the odd gift from others. We did not apply for a meagre amount of CPP. I wrote about that here: Linda Chamberlain and CPP Linda’s move to Old Age Security is a good story. Her income will go from about $1,035 a month to $1,700. However, since she lives in subsidized housing, her rent…

21Jan 2014 by johnastapleton

A story of two poor seniors: Linda and Doris are the highest taxed people in Ontario

A woman I am helping by the name of Linda Chamberlain[1] will be turning 65 in July 2014. I am helping her fill out her Old Age Security (OAS), Canada Pension Plan (CPP) and Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) applications. She has given me permission to talk about her situation. Her income will go from about $700 a month from the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) to about $1,400 a month from OAS, GIS and a little known program called the Guaranteed Annual Income System for the Aged (GAINS-A)[2]. That’s the good news. Linda is eligible for $100 a month in CPP Retirement benefits but we did not apply for her CPP. Many community members have asked why we refrained from applying. My answer is that her CPP would be clawed…

04Mar 2013 by johnastapleton No Comments

Land of the 33 foot tall seniors

Can a blog create a ‘thought balloon infographic’? On the 17th slide of Frank Graves’ slide show on the 2011 federal election called The 41st Election: A Polling Retrospective Implications for Methodology and Democracy, the author notes the following fact: “Age is crucial with non-voters (those under 25 are six times more likely to not vote than those over 65)” Graves goes on to point out that seniors tend to vote Conservative and do so enthusiastically while young people tend to vote for the NDP and Liberals. He also notes that if ‘under 25’s’ voted proportionally the same as seniors, the NDP would have received a majority in the last federal election. Many theories have been proposed why young people don’t vote in federal elections. They are all depressing and…

18Dec 2012 by johnastapleton

How do we begin a dialogue about inequality with conservative Canadians?

As someone who spent a career in social welfare, I have often been a sounding board for conservative acquaintances, particularly those who are advanced in years. “I say, let them starve,” one of my relatives declared to me at a family dinner. What he meant by that is: “Why don’t these people behave? Why don’t they just do what they’re supposed to do? I went out, I worked hard, why shouldn’t they work hard? And if they don’t work hard, then they should starve.” In pondering how to respond to sentiments like these, I have been much aided by Jonathan Haidt, author of The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion.[1] Haidt himself is a liberal social democrat. But he has successfully analysed why conservatives and…

01Jun 2012 by johnastapleton

Talking to seniors about working poverty

I recently co-authored a paper on Working Poverty in the Toronto Region with some colleagues at Statistics Canada. I also have a PowerPoint presentation that I take on the road. I have presented to Annual General Meetings, think tanks, universities, groups of advocates, municipalities, special government panels, and to the public at large. One of the presentations to the public was at the Gardiner Museum as part of Open Doors Toronto. I tailored my presentation to a public audience. I took out the math and the technical discussion. The audience was polite and appeared interested and appreciative. At the end after about 40 minutes, I asked if there were any questions or discussion. Some polite and easy clarifying questions were asked and answered. Just as I thought we were winding…