APOLNET | Special Groups - Alcohol & Welfare Recipients

Alcohol & Welfare Recipients

On November 14, 2000, Ontario's Minister of Community and Social Services, John Baird, launched province-wide consultations on mandatory drug treatment for welfare recipients. Under the proposed plan, those who refused treatment would be cut off social assistance.

The proposal was strongly opposed by many groups, including the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH). In a position statement released in November, CAMH , a provincial arms-length agency, noted that drug testing can detect the presence of substances but does not determine dependence or addiction. Denying social assistance benefits to those who cannot comply with abstinence-based programs fails to take into account harm reduction approaches and neglects the fact that the majority of individuals experience at least one relapse during the first year of treatment. It also points out that those who are on welfare are no more likely to use drugs than the working population; that mandatory treatment is generally used in cases where people break the law -- and poverty is not a crime; and that it would probably be an infringement of the Ontario Human Rights Code.

This information pack has been expanded and updated to provide even more links to relevant statistics, research papers, and background information, as well as prevention programs targeted to these five problem areas.

Getting Informed

Background Information
General and Historical Information