Empower Simcoe Urges Action in 2025 Budget Talks
As Ontario’s government prepares the 2025 Ontario Budget, Empower Simcoe CEO Dr. Claudine Cousins shared with Zee Hamid, Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Finance, and local MPPs Jill Dunlop, Caroline Mulroney, Doug Downey and Andrea Khanjin, the urgent need for an increase in funding for Empower Simcoe and the Developmental Services (DS) sector.
Empower Simcoe has released its 2025 provincial pre-budget document, with a focus on five key recommendations:
- Implement inflation-indexed multi-year base funding contracts for developmental services organizations.
- Provide full passport allocations to all individuals eligible for the program.
- In line with recent increases to the ODSP basic needs and shelter amounts, tie all ODSP benefits, including the Personal Needs Allowance and Special Diet Allowance, to inflation.
- Commit to zero claw backs of the Canada Disability Benefit from people receiving ODSP.
- Establish strict quality and accountability standards in the sector, including mandatory accreditation, tying funding adjustments to safety and quality metrics.
“Empower Simcoe has lost over $6.2 million dollars in funding since 2019 – an erosion in funding due to the government’s decision not to tie the developmental services sector’s funding to inflation,” said Claudine. “These dollars would have been used to purchase groceries, home repairs, accessibility equipment, transportation, support worker hours and to provide cost of living wage increases to staff. This erosion has and continues to significantly impact our ability to provide the level care and supports that some of our community’s most vulnerable individuals need and deserves.”
Inadequate funding is threatening Developmental Services and the people who rely on them.
If you support Empower Simcoe’s recommendations, you can also forward them to your MPP – a list of MPPs can be found here.
