On Monday November 8th, an OCAP delegation, mainly comprised of women
from Etobicoke's Somali community, crashed a fundraising event held by
'their' MPP, Shafiq Qaadri. They were confronting him over his Government's attack on the Special Diet for people on Social Assistance. Qaadri offered to meet with a delegation Friday November 12th at his constituency office, an offer which a large number of people accepted.
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CLICK HERE TO WATCH
Immediately above is a link to a video of MPP Shafiq Qaadri reading the letter delivered that day in its entirety at the Ontario legislature. It remains to be seen whether this provincial government will finally address the fact that it has yet to undo the damage inflicted on
Ontario's poorest communities during the Harris years, not to mention policy failings of this very government which has in fact led to even greater suffering of people on social assistance; Regardless, its cause for some amazement to listen to a Liberal MPP document the guilt of his own party in causing widespread misery to the very people they had promised to help when they were first elected after the Tory defeat...

On the evening of Wednesday November 10th members of Under Pressure, the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty and No One Is Illegal disrupted the Ontario Liberal Party's fundraiser dinner. A rowdy crowd of roughly 30-40 people assembled at the Crown Plaza hotel where the Liberals were having drinks and an expensive supper. The anti-poverty activists gathered outside tried to make their way into the event, but were pushed back by police. Luckily, one group of protesters had come dressed in suits and managed to get inside the event to confront Liberal party members.

Click here for more photos.

On Wednesday, July 21st, the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty (OCAP)
demonstrated against the devastating cut to the Special Diet benefit and to demand that the Liberal Government raise welfare rates by at least 55% - the minimum amount required to restore rates to where they were before the cut by Harris in 1995.

During the rally, over 300 people took to the streets, while a smaller group of people went in to the Liberal Party headquarters, to deliver an invoice to the Liberal Party “demanding full re-payment of benefits taken from people living on social assistance.The delegation of people who entered the Provincial Liberals HQ went to deliver a message about the impact of the cuts on poor people. Rather than receive this message, the powers that be chose to enforce their austerity measures with police action. Shortly after the group entered, Toronto Police arrested all 11 people, OCAP members, allies, and labour activists. Two people were released, while the other 9 were held overnight at 52 division and appeared for bail hearings in College Park Court Thursday.

There was a large presence of supporters from many organizations across Toronto in defense of the detainees. Represented by Movement Defense lawyer, Mike Leitold, all 9 were eventually released Thursday July 22 with sureties, and on conditions including to not be within 50 metres of the Liberal Party Headquarters.

Click here for updated Justice for Our Communities action information

NO TO G8/G20! YES TO TAKING BACK OUR CITY

Friday, June 25th, 2010
2:30pm
Allan Gardens (Carleton St. and Sherbourne St)
RALLY. MARCH. BLOCK PARTY. TENT CITY.

From June 25th and 27th, 2010, the world’s twenty richest countries (the G8 and G20) will send their ruling elite, along with heads of the IMF and World Bank, to meet in Huntsville and then in Toronto, to talk exploitation, wealth, and greed.

These ‘leaders’ have shredded the public sector and social spending, criminalized the poor, immigrants and racialized communities, continued to plunder Indigenous lands and trash the environment, deported our families and friends, gutted the unions, and closed hospitals and schools while they grant tax cuts to the rich and corporations and boost police and military budgets.

Next steps:
Raise the Rates Organizing Meeting
Sunday, May 2nd
2pm
Location: Centre for Social Justice 489 College Street, Suite 303 (College and Bathurst)

Click here for more photos!

On April 15th, over 700 people marched on the Provincial Liberal Government, rallying first in Allen Gardens Park and then converging at the Ministry of Community and Social Services. Arriving at the Ministry, the crowd took over the main entrance and the building was effectively on lock-down. The demonstration was loud, energetic and angry with a wide range of communities under attack and an array of allies from across Toronto calling for the restoration of the Special Diet, a 40% increase in welfare and disability rates, and to defend against the broader attacks on Public Services.