Policy arithmetic
Legislated destitution
Inadequate social supports are not a gap in the system. They are the system. The rates are written below the cost of a room, then the shelter line is withheld until you have a room.
What the statute pays versus what Ottawa costs
The withheld shelter trap
ISAC’s July 2026 rates sheet is blunt: people on OW or ODSP who do not pay for shelter (including people who are houseless) do not receive any shelter allowance. Ontario’s maximum shelter for a single person on ODSP is $611 — already a third of a one-bedroom. Without a lease, it is $0.
You cannot get the full amount of legislated poverty if you do not have a home. You cannot get a home on the amount you are paid without a home. That loop is not accidental.
The city pays more to warehouse you
A single person in Ottawa’s shelter system costs about $2,200 a month. That is more than a market one-bedroom. The person on the bunk receives, if they are on OW and have no lease, $343 in basic needs.