4 ms·

If you cannot find affordable housing in Toronto, one of the most (if not the most) expensive cities in the world real estate wise, why not just move elsewhere?

If you cannot find affordable housing in Toronto, one of the most (if not the most) expensive cities in the world real estate wise, why not just move elsewhere? Surely the country side would be cheaper and have more fresh air.

kotaKat 4y ago
Because there is no "just" move. Ontario Disability Support is only $1,228 a month. The "shelter allowance" out of that is a whole $522 towards housing. Province-wide. Disabled people don't have equitable access to transportation, let alone a roof under their head. Moving isn't the answer. People on CERB (that is - the Canada Emergency Response Benefit) received CA$2000 a month as a baseline during the pandemic. ODSP recipients didn't receive any additional benefits. We need to raise the amount of money that disabled Canadians receive monthly. Nobody can live on what is essentially just a smidge over $900 US a month anywhere in Canada.
mgamache 4y ago
She may need access to medical care? Rural healthcare is really bad.
- sanjayio 4y ago
  Pretty sure Calgary, Edmonton, Fredericton, and all many more major cities in Canada have decent access to healthcare from rural areas with a car. Trying to live in Toronto has been a losing battle for a long time. The wait for health care even with appointments has been a losing battle in Toronto for quite some time.
  - eladyarom 4y ago
    I live in NB and access to healthcare in New Brunswick (Fredericton included) is not better than in Toronto, far from it. In rural areas it's even worse, and we're constantly seeing hospital shutdowns due to lack of staffing. We (and NS as well) have had a massive influx of people from Ontario since the start of covid and the explosion of real estate pricing, but we don't have the infrastructure to support it.
  - mgamache 4y ago
    "decent access to healthcare from rural areas with a car." It's the car part... She's wheelchair bound and probably can't afford a car let alone one she could drive.
- dsfyu404ed 4y ago
  You don't have to smell your neighbor's perfume when you live in a trailer on the outskirts of Grande Prairie
- willcipriano 4y ago
  If I wanted to die access to healthcare would be a anti-feature.
joenot443 4y ago
As most Canadians are aware, the media’s new attention on the intersection of MAID and housing prices is really just effective reporting because it’s a story we Canadians really want to hear. My cynical reading is that individuals are being encouraged by support workers to give an interview saying they’re considering MAID, with the hope that the media attention will help them find a place to live. Obviously I don’t know this exact person’s situation, but having lived all over Canada, I can’t imagine a scenario where I’d choose death over a life outside of Toronto.
- faeriechangling 4y ago
  I’ve pretty much never seen or heard of support workers or social workers encouraging mentally ill people to talk to journalists. What I will say though is that housing costs are a huge issue for people with mental health issues because those people usually are best off staying near support networks which are rarely in low cost of living areas.

kotaKat 4y ago

Because there is no "just" move. Ontario Disability Support is only $1,228 a month. The "shelter allowance" out of that is a whole $522 towards housing. Province-wide. Disabled people don't have equitable access to transportation, let alone a roof under their head. Moving isn't the answer. People on CERB (that is - the Canada Emergency Response Benefit) received CA$2000 a month as a baseline during the pandemic. ODSP recipients didn't receive any additional benefits. We need to raise the amount of money that disabled Canadians receive monthly. Nobody can live on what is essentially just a smidge over $900 US a month anywhere in Canada.

mgamache 4y ago

She may need access to medical care? Rural healthcare is really bad.

sanjayio 4y ago
Pretty sure Calgary, Edmonton, Fredericton, and all many more major cities in Canada have decent access to healthcare from rural areas with a car. Trying to live in Toronto has been a losing battle for a long time. The wait for health care even with appointments has been a losing battle in Toronto for quite some time.
- eladyarom 4y ago
  I live in NB and access to healthcare in New Brunswick (Fredericton included) is not better than in Toronto, far from it. In rural areas it's even worse, and we're constantly seeing hospital shutdowns due to lack of staffing. We (and NS as well) have had a massive influx of people from Ontario since the start of covid and the explosion of real estate pricing, but we don't have the infrastructure to support it.
- mgamache 4y ago
  "decent access to healthcare from rural areas with a car." It's the car part... She's wheelchair bound and probably can't afford a car let alone one she could drive.
dsfyu404ed 4y ago
You don't have to smell your neighbor's perfume when you live in a trailer on the outskirts of Grande Prairie
willcipriano 4y ago
If I wanted to die access to healthcare would be a anti-feature.

joenot443 4y ago

As most Canadians are aware, the media’s new attention on the intersection of MAID and housing prices is really just effective reporting because it’s a story we Canadians really want to hear. My cynical reading is that individuals are being encouraged by support workers to give an interview saying they’re considering MAID, with the hope that the media attention will help them find a place to live. Obviously I don’t know this exact person’s situation, but having lived all over Canada, I can’t imagine a scenario where I’d choose death over a life outside of Toronto.

faeriechangling 4y ago
I’ve pretty much never seen or heard of support workers or social workers encouraging mentally ill people to talk to journalists. What I will say though is that housing costs are a huge issue for people with mental health issues because those people usually are best off staying near support networks which are rarely in low cost of living areas.