Ontario Works has lived up to few of its promises. While many people have left social assistance because of Ontario's strong economic growth, little, if any, of this can be directly attributed to the Ontario Works employment programs. Those who remain on assistance still a very large number of people are living in increasingly desperate circumstances. For this group, there is substantial evidence that Ontario Works is hindering rather than helping them find work at all, let alone preparing them for a real escape from poverty. Inadequate benefits, tighter eligibility restrictions, the heavy requirements imposed without corresponding supports and the lack of real employment programs diminish opportunities.
Extreme poverty threatens health and well-being and therefore threatens employability.
The extreme poverty of life on welfare hinders many peoples' efforts to find a job. Recipients are finding it increasingly hard to maintain decent housing, feed and clothe themselves. For many people the result is an increasingly unstable and marginal existence, deteriorating physical and mental health. Typical rents in most parts of Ontario are beyond what social assistance recipients can afford. Most recipients are forced to divert significant amounts of income away from other necessities such as food, clothing, transportation or a telephone in order to pay for shelter.