To the editor,
“If you’re unhealthy, I’ll take care of you the rest of my life, your life, we’ll take care of you. But if you’re healthy, get off your [butt] and start working like everyone else is.” -- Premier Doug Ford
These were your words.
As I told you when I reached out back in November, I have Pompe. Pompe is a deteriorating neuromuscular disease. It took over my body in 1999. I have not walked in over 20 years, and I rely on a ventilator to help me breathe. I’m clearly disabled and definitely “unhealthy.” Despite my condition, I have never let it deter me from living my life, continuing my education, and seeking employment. Below are a few examples of how you’ve made this very strenuous for me.
Despite your promise not to cut it, one of your first major decisions was to terminate the Ontario Basic Income Pilot Project. This affected not only me but roughly 4,000 other Ontario residents. This project was guaranteed to those who were chosen to participate for a minimum of three years, yet you terminated the project early, despite its success.
Another harmful policy you imposed on me and other Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) recipients was the enforcement of the “double dipping” rule when it comes to receiving grants and bursaries for education while on ODSP. This rule forced me into a financial dilemma – continue receiving ODSP while studying or accept full Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP) funding (including grants and bursaries) and lose ODSP support. In 2023, I was unaware of this new rule and accepted my full OSAP funding and was subsequently cut off from my ODSP support until I was no longer enrolled in university.
I acknowledge that you and your administration added an annual inflation rate to ODSP. You also changed the amount an individual on ODSP is allowed to make from $300 to $1,000 before clawbacks occur. Yet, you and your administration still try to keep us in poverty by clawing back 75% of anything over the allowed $1,000. Do you think any other Ontarian would accept losing 75% of their wages after earning $2,300? Why do we, the disabled, have to be punished for a circumstance we didn’t choose? There are individuals in this province contemplating Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) due to their financial situations, and it’s clear that you and your administration don’t care, as you keep holding us impoverished.
Despite my disability, I’ve been an active member of society. I helped found the Canadian Association of Pompe, volunteered with the Hamilton Challenger Baseball Association for many years, volunteered for a political party and helped them create a disability delegate, attended McMaster University, ran for Ward 1 Councillor of Hamilton in the 2022 municipal election, and, most recently, have been applying for jobs (approximately 100 over the last year). I’ve done all of this regardless of the fact that I can’t wipe my own butt, let alone get off it. So, I ask you again: how are you taking care of me and the hundreds of thousands of other disabled individuals in this province on ODSP?
I hoped that by contacting you, you would take this issue seriously, but once again you’ve proven to be just another politician who talks a good game but fails to follow through on their promises. This has forced me to take my concerns to the public. So, I ask: if anyone is hiring for an at-home position or something that I can fulfill (not commission-based), please reach out.
Sincerely,
Ian MacPherson
