Maytree

Pe***ng benefits to the rate of inflation is a necessary first step, but alone it doesn't protect people from poverty.

It's encouraging that consensus is forming around indexing income supports in Canada. Yet two realities keep indexation from making benefits adequate:

1. When benefits start too low, they will still be too low after indexation.

2. The CPI averages inflation across all goods, hiding sharper price increases for essentials like food and housing that low-income households spend more of their budget on.

Governments must do more than prevent deeper poverty. They must fulfill their human rights obligations and ensure everyone can afford basic necessities.

Read Alexi White's opinion: https://maytree.com/publications/the-rising-cost-of-living-demands-more-than-benefit-indexation/

When government policies threaten life-saving services, what do you do?

In 2025, Angela Robertson and Bill Sinclair faced the closure of their organizations' supervised consumption sites – programs that provided critical health care to their communities' most vulnerable residents.

Discover their insights on how to lead fearlessly in times of crisis at the next Five Good Ideas session.

Wednesday, February 25, 1:00 PM ET

Register here:

Welcome! You are invited to join a webinar: Five Good Ideas for building fearless organizations. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the webinar. In the face of changing government policies, deepening inequality, and community crises, charities must act forcefully to respond to their clients’ needs. They need to be fearless and use all of their tools to advocate and manage risk. The Neighbourhood Group Community Services and Parkdale Queen ...

Canada needs to do better on human rights.

For 75 years, we've made commitments but haven't built the systems to protect people's civil and political rights.

Maytree and partner organizations just told the UN Human Rights Committee: Canada must create stronger mechanisms to protect rights and hold governments accountable.

Three key asks:
- Pass laws that create a binding national human rights framework across all levels of government.
- Track progress publicly so Canadians can see where governments are – and aren't – delivering.
- Fund community organizations permanently to monitor and advocate for rights.

We made 10 recommendations in total. Read them here: https://maytree.com/publications/canada-must-strengthen-its-mechanisms-for-the-domestic-implementation-of-civil-and-political-rights/

Five Good Ideas for building fearless organizations

In 2025, The Neighbourhood Group and Parkdale Queen West Community Health Centre experienced a trial by fire when their supervised consumption sites faced with closure.

Their leaders, Bill Sinclair and Angela Robertson, emerged from this challenge even more determined to fight for their clients.

Want to learn their five strategies for fearless leadership? Join us!

Wednesday, February 25, 1:00 PM ET

Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/1117697239146/WN_C2E1I5vbTSq59OXODtXOiw

This year marks 50 years since Canada signed the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights – a commitment that everyone has the right to the necessities required to live with dignity.

But poverty, homelessness, and food insecurity in Ontario are worsening at an alarming rate.

Ontario's 2026 budget is an opportunity to change course and fulfill its human rights obligations.

We're calling on the province to:

- Invest in income supports that will prevent poverty or help people escape it
- Prevent evictions, protect renters, and invest in affordable housing

Read our full budget submission to learn more about what Ontario must do to uphold the right to an adequate standard of living: https://maytree.com/publications/ontario-must-correct-course-after-50-years-of-stalling-on-poverty-and-human-rights/

Good news: The federal government is introducing a new Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit to help with food costs.

The problem? It doesn't go far enough.

Our analysis shows that while this benefit is a step forward, it has some serious limitations:

- The maximum amount is too low to make a real difference for families struggling with food insecurity

- When you look at all recent tax changes together, higher-income families are actually getting more support than low-income families

- Like other recent measures, this benefit is temporary; it phases down after 2030-31

The new benefit builds on ideas from the IRPP Affordability Action Council (where Maytree is a member), but we think Canada needs to go further. Low-income families need permanent, meaningful solutions, not short-term fixes.

What would truly help? Long-term investments in income supports that match the scale of the crisis.

Read our full analysis: https://maytree.com/publications/a-step-in-the-right-direction-the-new-canada-groceries-and-essentials-benefit-in-context/

Most succession plans skip the hardest part: the human side.

Annie Kidder, who co-founded People for Education and led it for 30 years, just walked through what really happens when a founder steps down – and it's messy, emotional, and deeply personal.

Her first tip? Get a therapist.

Her session covers the five things that matter when guiding a founder-led organization into its next chapter, from letting go of control to celebrating the transition publicly.

If you're a founder thinking about succession, or leading an organization through change, this conversation is honest, practical, and essential.

Watch here: https://maytree.com/five-good-ideas/five-good-ideas-on-surviving-succession-how-to-guide-a-founder-led-non-profit-into-its-next-chapter/

Ontario's homelessness crisis didn't happen by accident.

More than 30,000 people were homeless while receiving social assistance in July 2025 – up 72% since 2019. It's not an opinion; it’s the government's own data.

Here's the reality: A single room now costs more than the maximum monthly Ontario Works benefit. Even if someone spends their entire benefit on rent, they may not be able to afford housing.

And there's a cruel catch – if you lose your home, you also lose your shelter income. This makes it nearly impossible to get back into housing.

The people hardest hit? Indigenous communities, racialized groups, and people with disabilities – who were already facing structural barriers.

The province keeps focusing on short-term fixes while ignoring the root cause: a social assistance system that's pushing people into homelessness instead of preventing it.

Ontario must raise social assistance rates and ensure everyone receives their full shelter benefit.

Read our full opinion on why fixing social assistance is key to ending homelessness: https://maytree.com/publications/rising-homelessness-is-no-mystery-its-socially-assisted/

Meet the 2026 Maytree Policy School cohort

Maytree Policy School started today. We’re excited to welcome 20 social policy leaders working on issues from housing and workforce development to literacy and health equity.

Read their bios: https://maytree.com/strengthening-communities/maytree-policy-school/program-participants/

City of Toronto’s Housing Rights Advisory Committee urges Ontario to invest more in the Canada-Ontario Housing Benefit

On behalf of the Housing Rights Advisory Committee (HRAC), chair Elizabeth McIsaac has written a letter to Ontario’s Minister of Finance and Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing calling for increased investment in the Canada-Ontario Housing Benefit (COHB) in the 2026 provincial budget.

The housing crisis in Ontario is dire: Nearly 85,000 people experienced homelessness in 2025, including more than 30,000 people accessing social assistance who are unhoused – a 72% increase since 2019.

Under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, which all provinces in Canada have agreed to abide by, addressing homelessness is a legal responsibility. It requires governments to devote maximum available resources to progressively realize the right to housing. Ontario has the fiscal capacity to do more.

While the long-term solution requires expanding permanent, deeply affordable, and supportive housing, people need urgent support today. COHB has become the leading pathway out of homelessness in Toronto, helping thousands find rental housing. Yet funding is dropping significantly this year, limiting access for new renters.

HRAC urges the province to increase COHB funding in the 2026 budget and work with the federal government to ensure this critical program continues helping people move from homelessness to permanent housing.

Read the full letter:

Dear Ministers: Increase funding for the Canada-Ontario Housing Benefit in the 2026 Ontario Budget The Ontario government should increase funding for the Canada-Ontario Housing Benefit in the 2026 Ontario Budget and work with the federal government to ensure that this critical program can continue to help address the scale and urgency of the homelessness crisis.