Special Diet Fight Hits the Courts

Recognizing that many people receiving Ontario Works (“welfare”) or Ontario Disability Support Plan (“disability”) benefits have medical conditions requiring a “special diet”, the Ontario Government provides a small supplement to recipient incomes to assist with costs. In the past, one’s physician would complete a form and check off the type of diet their patient needs, such as “low salt”, “high protein”, “diabetic” or “low fat”, and the patient would return the form to their caseworker and they would receive additional funds from about $20 per month to up to $250.

While this program was in place since the early 1990s, it did not receive much air play until 2004 when Toronto anti-poverty group, Ontario Coalition Against Poverty, publicized the benefit and arranged for sympathetic health care workers to complete the forms for any recipient who wanted the benefit. At that time, health care providers could check off a number of diets that can in combination add up to $250 per person. This issue was red-flagged when it was learned that thousands of people suddenly made claims to the benefit in the Toronto area and to some extent, elsewhere.

In 2005, the program was tightened up substantially by then Minister of Community and Social Services. All recipients of the “special diet” were then required to undergo a review of their “dietary needs” and others requesting it in the future were to use new forms, which now only permitted people diagnosed with specific medical conditions, as opposed to those requiring specific diets, to qualify.

This raised havoc in the anti-poverty community, as the list of eligible medical conditions was limited and many people were left out. In addition, amounts offered for each eligible condition were insignificant compared to the actual costs of staying healthy with these health problems. For example, individuals with liver problems were given $10, people with diabetes $42 and “morbid obesity” only $20 (presumably for low-fat products). The argument, as some anti-poverty activists stated, is that welfare and ODSP rates are so low, it is impossible for anybody to stay healthy while living on such subsistence incomes.

Many health organizations, such as public health units, nurses associations and the Medical Reform Group (which includes doctors that believe health is related to socioeconomic issues) became involved. Assessments of actual costs for a “healthy food basket” for different family sizes were published for each region. It was pointed out that nowhere in Ontario was any individual or family on welfare or disability benefits able to secure reasonable housing and eat healthy at the same time.

Hundreds of recipients who had their “special diet” incomes cut or eliminated, or recipients who were denied “special diet” benefits because they did not have any medical conditions on the said list of eligible conditions, appealed the decisions. Many people approached the Ontario Human Rights Commission, arguing this policy on qualifying only certain medical conditions, but not assessing individual needs, was in fact a de facto form of discrimination due to disability. Others argued through traditional channels, using the Social Benefits Tribunal. None of these cases were heard yet.

However, after nearly two years of these claims winding their way through the system, the Ontario Human Rights Commission finally announced at least 77 cases involving the “special diet” will proceed to the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario, which is like a court specializing in human rights cases. This announcement is important, as very few cases handled by the Commission end up referred to the Tribunal.

In Ontario, the Human Rights Code has primacy over most provincial legislation and decisions passed by provincial government Ministries.

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