We broadly engage with Hamiltonians through year-round speaking engagements, from groups like Cine-Psych to students in grade school learning to calculate what it takes for an adequate income to live on and what a living wage should be. If you are looking for a speaker for your group, please contact us.
Canada Disability Benefit
Finalized regulations and impact statement were published in the Canada Gazette March 12, 2025. The regulations come into force on May 15th, 2025. It is assumed applications for the benefit will be accepted after that date for initial payments beginning the end of July 2025. Details of the benefit can be found on Employment and Social Development Canada 
The Benefit is contingent on having a Form T2201, Disability Tax Credit Certificate approval. The Roundtable will be organizing with community members later this spring to arrange for assistance in applying for the certificate.
If you’d like to try it yourself you can apply with a printable copy of Form T2201, Disability Tax Credit Certificate or start an online version that can be shared with your medical practitioner.
Social Prescribing
We’ve been working with the Canadian Red Cross since September 2023 on a social prescribing initiative, which connects people to community resources, addressing broader determinants of health alongside poverty. More recently the Financial Assistance Social Prescribing (FASP) working group (2024-2028), led by the Canadian Red Cross in partnership with the Greater Hamilton Health Network, aims to improve health equity by connecting patients to non-medical supports such as financial aid, housing, and social services. Focused on Hamilton’s Wards 2, 3, and 4, the project will build an inventory of available services, develop training resources, and provide $2 million in grants to community organizations to expand social prescribing efforts. The Hamilton Roundtable for Poverty Reduction has been involved in an advisory capacity, providing guidance to support collaboration between healthcare providers and community groups, ensuring the initiative effectively meets the needs of vulnerable populations.. See the CRC FASP website for more information.
Personal Needs Allowance
The Personal Needs Allowance is a ‘stipend’ the provincial government provides to persons in residential care facilities and other types of care homes. While room and board are generally subsidized, the personal needs allowance is meant to cover all other needs including clothes and personal hygiene items, personal mobile phone plans, transportation, social outings, meals away from home, hobbies etc.. The current monthly amount is $149. This has not changed since 2019.
For more information on how amounts for specialized care residences allocated see Ontario Disability Support Program – Policy Directives .
The Roundtable has continually included the often overlooked benefit in their advocacy including the UN Right to an Adequate Standard of Living .
United Nations Human Rights Conventions
We are already starting to plan our 2026 submission for Canada’s Review under the Convention on Economic, Cultural, and Social Rights. Hamilton is a noted Human Rights leadership.
We collaborated with Canada Without Poverty to submit a report for Canada’s Universal Periodic Review 2017
In 2016, we submitted a report on Canada’s performance under the Convention on Economic, Cultural and Social Rights
Early work began with an educational panel discussion featuring human rights stalwarts Bruce Porter and Dr Atif Kubursi on Claiming and Enforcing the Right to an Adequate Standard of Living.
Claiming and Enforcing the Right to an Adequate Standard of Living (June 7th 2012)