Recommendations to guarantee economic security for Indigenous women in the DTES

Provincial income assistance

Recommendation 71: Provide income supports to youth transitioning out of government care until the age of 25 years old, regardless of whether or not they are employed or in school.

Recommendations to guarantee economic security for Indigenous women in the DTES

Provincial income assistance

Recommendation 72: Remove the age cap and the two-year eligibility requirement for income assistance for the Tuition Waiver Program for youth aging out of care.

Recommendations to guarantee economic security for Indigenous women in the DTES

Provincial income assistance

Recommendation 73: Eliminate the prohibition on accessing Rental Assistance Program (RAP) and Shelter Aid for Elderly Renters (SAFER) housing subsidies for people on income and disability assistance.

Recommendations to guarantee economic security for Indigenous women in the DTES

Provincial income assistance

Recommendation 74: Extend coverage for health supplements for people accessing income or disability assistance, such as counselling services that are particularly relevant for Indigenous women.

Recommendations to guarantee economic security for Indigenous women in the DTES

Employment security

Recommendation 75: Increase the minimum wage to $15 an hour by June 2019 for all workers with no exemptions, and increase it annually till it reaches a living wage that matches the cost of living.

Recommendations to guarantee economic security for Indigenous women in the DTES

Employment security

Recommendation 76: Free skills training, retraining, and apprenticeships for Indigenous women in the DTES.

Recommendations to guarantee economic security for Indigenous women in the DTES

Employment security

Recommendation 77: Rectify Indigenous women’s exclusion from the economy by:

1. Developing equitable and inclusive hiring policy and standards.
2. Creating a diversity of low-barrier jobs in the DTES with priority hiring and support for Indigenous women of the community.
3. Creating peer-based employment programs including navigation positions throughout the housing, mental health, substance use, and income support systems.
4. Ensuring Indigenous women peer workers are paid a living wage, have full benefits, and have the right to unionization.
5. Creating jobs that value and compensate skills such as weaving, beading, drum making, food harvesting, and traditional healing, and support the creation of an Indigenous women’s cooperative in the DTES.
6. Improving employment supports and workplace accommodations for Indigenous women who are single parents and/or in recovery to ensure that they are not setup to fail in their employment due to systemic barriers.

Recommendations to guarantee economic security for Indigenous women in the DTES

Employment security

Recommendation 78: Expand the Individual Placement and Support (IPS) model for all employment support programs.

Recommendations to guarantee economic security for Indigenous women in the DTES

Employment security

Recommendation 79: Recognize the role and contribution of volunteers in the DTES, and create accredited volunteer programs to transfer skills and enable access to employment opportunities.

Recommendations to guarantee economic security for Indigenous women in the DTES

Employment security

Recommendation 80: All levels of government should pay living wages to all direct and contracted government employees, and encourage other employers to do the same.