Ford government accused of xenophobia for going after temporary residents, undocumented migrants on social assistance

Instinctive response by advocates rather than acknowledging realities, which appear to be less than would first appear:

The Ford government is fuelling xenophobia by excluding temporary residents and undocumented migrants from accessing Ontario’s social assistance programs, critics say.

On Thursday, Children, Community and Social Services Minister Michael Parsa announced that the new rules, effective immediately, are meant to protect taxpayer dollars, ensuring Ontario Works and the Ontario Disability Support Program are focused on supporting only families and individuals who are legally authorized to live in Canada.

“They are promoting xenophobia with these speeches that migrants are stealing and leeching off the systems, which we are not,” said Luisa Ortiz-Garza, a migrant community co-ordinator at Parkdale Community Legal Services. “I think this is just an openly racist policy.”

Added MPP Lisa Gretzky, the NDP’s critic for children, community and social services: “We need to ensure that we are communicating with people responsibly and not using language that further marginalizes people that are already marginalized, and doesn’t feed into racist and discriminatory language.”

But a lawyer at Toronto’s Income Security Advocacy Centre said it’s far from clear that there are any substantial changes coming. Details have yet to be published. 

Source: Ford government accused of xenophobia for going after temporary residents, undocumented migrants on social assistance