Advocacy News
OASW Participates in Pre-Budget Consultation
Thursday, December 17, 2009
On December 4, 2009, Dr. Dan Andreae, Chair, Government Relations Advisory Committee, made a presentation at the Pre-Budget Consultation in Toronto led by Finance Minister Dwight Duncan.
Following the session, Dr. Andreae was the first to speak to the Minister on an individual basis and stated that OASW will continue to monitor the implementation of the Poverty Reduction Strategy for Ontario. In our presentation, we first of all emphasized that social work is a profession that looks for practical solutions. We stated that social workers are a cost-effective alternative to other professionals in the healthcare and social service system. While physicians and nurses who underlie the medical model of health care are in short supply and represent a relatively cost-laden alternative, social workers help meet comprehensive and broad-based health and social needs.
Secondly, OASW commended the McGuinty government for taking significant steps during the first year of the release of Ontario’s Poverty Reduction Strategy. We urged the government to not delay progress and to continue providing supports essential to keeping vulnerable Ontarians from falling through the cracks. We stated that significant investments towards fostering the well-being and increasing the productivity of our citizens must continue; otherwise, our society will be negatively impacted by higher costs for health care, unemployment, child welfare and criminal justice. In addition, prudent policy entails a thorough and proactive Social Assistance Review – a long-awaited and crucial step for poverty reduction in Ontario. We also acknowledged the government’s introduction of the Ontario Deprivation Index, which marks the first time that a government in North America has used a deprivation index and the first community-based poverty measure used by a government in Canada. We encouraged the provincial government to continue to lead the way in tackling the long-standing and grave problem of poverty with innovation, comprehensiveness and immediacy.
About OASW
The Ontario Association of Social Workers (OASW) is the voice of social workers in Ontario. OASW is a voluntary, provincial, non-profit bilingual association for social workers. All practising members have a university degree in social work at the bachelor's, master's or doctoral level. Incorporated in 1964, OASW has over 3,800 members and 15 branches across the province.
Contact: Pina Simonetta
Phone: 416-923-4848
Email: info@oasw.org
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