Surviving on Peanut Butter and Tuna

More than 350 people attended The Stop Community Food Centre’s Community Town Hall at the Artscape Wychwood Barns on Tuesday evening, April 13. Ten local celebrities reported on the results of their attempts to live on one week’s supply of food bank provisions.

None could make the food hamper they were given last through the week and several used community dining services provided by churches and charities to make it through the week.

All agreed that it was an eye-opening experience and acknowledged that they had the luxury to return to their normal eating practices, while people on social assistance certainly did not.

Video Overview of April 13 Event

www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQRqXeeS2L8

PFIB Campaign – Organizing for Impact

Eighty local leaders from communities across Ontario stretching from Sudbury to Hamilton and Cornwall to Windsor came together in Toronto on Wednesday, April 14 to share experiences and plan further action on the Put Food in the Budget (PFIB) campaign.

The latest update on Do the Math Team visits to local MPPs was released [Full Report; Summary Report] – 40 MPPs have now been met and half have actually done the survey. Several Do the Math Team members reported on their particular experiences with their MPPs (see videos below).

Four workshops were held to share different actions and tactics to use in continuing the cross-community PFIB campaign. All remain committed to advocating for the introduction of the $100 a month Healthy Food Supplement for all adults on social assistance and longer-term adequacy in social assistance rates.

Video Overview of PFIB Campaign Event -- April 14, 2010

www.youtube.com/watch?v=hqUeTq5sOVM

Nick Saul from The Stop

www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDx3Et9flPY

Nadia Edwards

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hlo1aUUKRTo

Danielle Yahalnitsky

www.youtube.com/watch?v=mnQOeSwrBhA

Susan Bender

www.youtube.com/watch?v=iIcSFTWqG7A

Bronwyn Underhill

www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6wfnR8yzuc

Rene Adams

www.youtube.com/watch?v=AOiF7EXs4oY

“Tom Cherry”

www.youtube.com/watch?v=csvqRtNey8c

If I had a 100 dollars…

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gcxis3CRa-4

OCAP Protests the Special Diet Cut

The Ontario Coalition Against Poverty held a march and rally in Toronto on Thursday, April 15 to protest the cut to the Special Diet Allowance that will severely affect about 170,000 people on social assistance.

Several hundred marchers expressed their anger and disdain for the Ontario Government’s inhumane action in the recent budget against Ontario’s most vulnerable people.

Video Overview of OCAP Event -- April 15, 2010

www.youtube.com/watch?v=kklpkMpX2ws

Key Note Speaker

Peter Clutterbuck Part 1

• Introduction
• History of the anti-poverty movement
• Provincial track record on poverty

Peter Clutterbuck Part 2

• Introduction of the 25 in 5
• Building of a coalition
• 25 in 5 goals

Peter Clutterbuck Part 3

• How we have been moving forward
• The consultation period
• 3 major themes emerging from consultations and community meetings

Peter Clutterbuck Part 4

• How to reduce poverty in Ontario
• Jobs, wages, housing, education, transportation

Peter Clutterbuck Part 5

• Conclusion
• Now is the time for a multiyear plan, policy action and more!

Panelists

Anne Tinker – Executive Director of Bridges Shelter in Cambridge

Deborah Schlichter – Executive Director House of the House of Friendship

Len Carter – Chairman of Waterloo Regional Labor Council

Melannie May Hogg – Citizen Advocate

Greg deGroot Maggetti – Opportunities Waterloo Region – Endorsing the 25 in 5

Brice Balmer – Opportunities Waterloo Region – Closing

• Brian Gatien, Chair of the Greater Sudbury Chamber of Commerce spoke to the business case for reducing poverty.
• Dr. Penny Sutcliff, Medical Officer of Health spoke to the health and social impacts of poverty.
• Laurie McGauley, a key leader in the local arts community, provided a fascinating explanation as to why ending poverty was good for the environment.

Janet Gasparini, Executive Director of the Social Planning Council of Sudbury invited participants to sign on to the 25 in 5 Declaration following the presentations as a way of showing solidarity with many across the province who believe the time has come to make significant reductions in poverty levels in Ontario.

The Social Planning Council has developed a local plan for poverty reduction and organizations were requested to ensure they had endorsed the strategy and were committed to working locally as well. Copies of the 3 presentations can be found at www.spcsudbury.ca.

Report submitted by Janet Gasparini, Social Planning Council of Sudbury

Janet Gasparini of the Social Planning Council of Sudbury provided an overview of the provincial and local strategies to reduce poverty and the work that had been done to date. The floor was then opened and individuals were invited to present their views.

The presenters represented a broad and diverse group of community members. The list included an individual living on ODSP, a municipal politician, anti-poverty activists, a college president, front line workers from social service agencies, a political science professor, the local and Canadian Labour Councils, candidates preparing for a federal election and staff from the Sudbury & District Health Unit. The audience members who choose not to speak were equally as diverse and all expressed a great deal of appreciation for the opportunity to meet, speak and learn more.

Ideas and issues expressed included:

• Concerns in regards to the impact of poverty on seniors
• Support for the Liberal plan with encouragement to enhance the skills strategy to include concentration on employability
• The need for a Poverty Reduction Chapter in the Northern Growth Plan
• The impact that not addressing learning disabilities has on lost productivity and poverty
  • 1 in 10 students has a learning disability
  • 35% of students identified with learning disabilities don’t finish school
  • 62% of students identified with learning disabilities were unemployed after graduation
• The federal Liberal party has committed to a 30/50 plan for poverty reduction – 30% reduction in poverty levels with 50% of children out of poverty in 5 years in Canada
• We need to eliminate poverty – not reduce it – We need a 40% increase to OW and ODSP rates now!
• Effective labour market strategies are key to poverty reduction including better wage subsidies and supports, full grants for training, effective unemployment insurance benefits
• Nordic model spends more on labour market policy and programs – has lower unemployment, lower levels of poverty, strong economy
• Must ensure that we have good jobs
• Increases in non-standard work is of concern
• Card certification for unionization must be reinstated
• National child care must be addressed
• Gender gap in wage differential must be addressed
• Improvement to the Employment Standards act to include all workers
• Supports are needed for children in the 8 to 11 year range including after school programs
• Supports for teen mothers are required
• While the government investment in school nutrition programs is good there is still a need for more
• Income is the best predictor of health outcomes – those with the most money have the best health and vice versa – we must address poverty as a social determinant of health
• Babies born to low income families have higher mortality rates
• Must ensure that policies that are enacted are inclusive – i.e. RESP’s for children in CAS care – good policy but excluded all current 7 to 18 year olds in care
• Children must continue to receive support from CAS post 18 years
• Mismatched programs between various levels of government is a huge waste of time
• Contributing takes many forms and should not just be considered making money
• Poverty reduction will take providing access to housing – a full spectrum of housing, increasing ODSP and OW, providing access to education and training, providing access to primary health care

Minister Bartolucci concluded by thanking everyone for coming and indicating how much he appreciated receiving the input. He reiterated that the government had not pre-determined the outcome of the consultation process and that input was very important. He agreed that labour market strategies were key and that those strategies had to be integrated in the education system as well as the workplace. He believed that we had to create a plan that matched what people actually needed and that while the Liberal government had made efforts to reduce poverty there was still more to be done.

The session concluded with thanks to all from the SPCS and a clear invitation to stay engaged. The week of October 13 – 17 will focus on cross provincial activities to support the strategy development and Sudbury will be involved.

A Community Dialogue on Priorities for Poverty Reduction in Ontario

“People shouldn’t have to fight for what they need”

On July 17th, 2008, residents of Thunder Bay gathered at the Lakehead Labour Centre to participate in a community dialogue to end poverty. The forum was hosted by Gilles Bisson MPP ((Timmins–James Bay).

Participants were given the opportunity to share and discuss the issues that they felt were important. Everyone was asked to split up into groups, and discuss the key concerns, or symptoms they observe in respects to poverty in our city. From these observations, the groups came together to form clusters of the observed poverty symptoms:

• Suicide, Mental Health, Counseling
• Food and Nutrition, Physical Health
• Housing and Income Support
• Dignity, Seniors, Children and Families, Individuals
• Racism
• Education
• Disabilities
• Violence

From this list, participants were again split up into groups, and suggestions were drawn up as possible remedies to the problem. Some of them are as follows:

• OW and ODSP rates are insufficient and need to be increased
• There needs to be more advocacy for mental health issues, and more follow up
• Eliminate the element of privatized heath care
• Increase awareness of the issues in our city
• All political parties should support the same common goals in respect to eliminating poverty
• We need more models for social housing and repairs for existing housing situations
• Eliminate the ‘working poor’ – Increase minimum wage
• Open more youth drop-in centers for youths
• Encourage and increase literacy rates in adults and children
• There needs to be a simplification of public forms ( OW or ODSP application forms)
• There is a negative perception of Aboriginal people within our community and that needs to be remedied
• Racism is a learned behaviour, education on acceptance should start at a young age
• Implement more nutrition programs in every school
• Post-secondary education needs o be made more affordable
• Hidden disabilities need to be recognized
• Remove the barriers people with disabilities face upon attaining employment
• Create more programs for children that will keep them off the street and out of gangs
• Improve education so to prevent stereotypes that lead to violence
• Develop better programs or counseling options for victims of violence

Gilles Bisson addressed the participants of the forum and spoke on the notion that communities throughout Ontario are facing similar issues and that action needs to be taken. It shouldn’t matter who wins in the coming election, as all political parties should be fighting for the same goals to end poverty. He ended the forum with the statement: “I am tired of a society that leaves people out”.

Prepared by Maryanne Matthews