Tell your local Liberal MPP- Don't cut the Special Diet - RAISE THE RATES INSTEAD

DAY OF ACTION AT LOCAL MEMBERS OF PROVINCIAL PARLIAMENT
OFFICES ON THURSDAY MAY 20th

The Ontario Coalition Against Poverty (OCAP) is challenging the decision to eliminate the Special Diet for people on welfare and disability. We are demanding this vital benefit be left alone and that the Government Raise the Rates now!

Coming out of the momentum of April 15th, we are organizing a series of
actions to build up resistance to the attack on the Special Diet. To
ensure that the fight is taken into as many communities as possible, we
are calling for a day of action at local Liberal MPPs' offices on
Thursday, May 20.

TELL YOUR LOCAL LIBERAL MPP TO LEAVE THE SPECIAL DIET ALONE AND RAISE THE RATES INSTEAD

Day of Action at Local Members of Provincial Parliament Offices:
Thursday, May 20th

*See below for a list of confirmed locations
*See below at bottom for sample letter to MPP’s
*Email ocap@tao.ca for a copy of the May 20th Flyer
(or soon to be uploaded to the website)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Want to participate on May 20th but don’t know how? Get involved in one of these locations OR organize your own in your area.
Locations that are confirmed so far:

*Toronto Centre: 11am on Thursday, May 20th, Meeting @ Gerrard and
Parliament (Pigeon Park), Liberal MPP Glen Murray

Glen Murray is the new Liberal MPP for this area. His government has
just cut the Special Diet for people on welfare and disability. It is
brutal move that will make people hungry, make them homeless and make
them sick. On the 20th, OCAP will be going to offer the new MPP the
housewarming present he deserves - the anger and disgust of poor people he and his government have just attacked.

*Etobicoke North: 11am on Thursday, May 20th, Meeting @ Food Basics at
Albion and Thistledown (near Islington), Liberal MPP Shafiq Qaadri’s

*Etobicoke South: 1pm on Thursday, May 20th, Meeting @ 701 Evans Ave (Just south of Sherway Gardens, Queensway and The West Mall)
Liberal Minister of Children and Youth Services and Women’s Issues, Laurel Broten

*Davenport: 4pm on Wednesday, May 19th @ Davenport and Dufferin
Delivering messages from the community to Liberal MPP Tony Ruprecht’s Office

*Jane and Finch (York West): 1pm on Thursday, May 20th @ Mario Sergio’s
Constituency Office: 2300 Finch Avenue West
Contact Jane-Finch Action Against Poverty:
janefinchactionagainstpoverty@gmail.com

*St. Pauls: Join Health Providers Against Poverty with a delegation of
Health Providers to meet with Liberal MPP Dr. Eric Hoskins: 2:30pm on
Thursday, May 20th @ 803 St. Clair Ave. W

*Peel/Brampton:
Who: Peel Poverty Action Group
What: Provincial Day of Action to Raise the Rates
Where: Meet at the north side of Gage Park, Brampton (Hurontario and Queen)
When: 2pm, Thursday May 20th

Peterborough:
Who: Peterborough Coalition Against Poverty
What: Provincial Day of Action to Raise the Rates
Where & When: Go to rally at MPP Jeff Leal`s office @ 1 pm
contact pcap@riseup.net or (705) 749-9694 for more info

*Brant: Thursday, May 20th

*St.Catherines: 11am on Thursday, May 20th @ 2 Secord Dr.
Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, James Bradley

*Ottawa: 1pm on Thursday, May 20th, Meeting @ Park at the corner of
Montreal Rd and Begin St (Vanier)
Liberal Minister of Community Social Services: Madeleine Meilleur

*London: 11am on Thursday, May 20th
Rally @ Victoria Park (509 Clarence Street)

*Hamilton: Demonstration on Thursday, June 17th (TBA)

+More to come soon!

We leave it up to people to decide the kind of event that is right for
them. Some may choose to occupy an office. Some may think it better to
rally outside. Others may want to bring a delegation and call for a
meeting. Please let us know what ideas you have for ways to drive this
issue home at Liberal offices so we can share them with people in
other communities.

Whatever tactic you think is possible and works best for you, we are
calling on people across this Province to make May 20 a day when the cut
to Special Diet is put before the Liberals in a way they can't ignore.

The loss of the Special Diet means people will not have a healthy diet.
Some will be made homeless, many will suffer ill health and lives will be shortened. We don't just want to protest this attack but intend to defeat it.

If you want to be part of this fight back and the May 20th Day of Action, e mail us at ocap@tao.ca or call us at (416) 925-6939
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*SAMPLE LETTER TO MPP’s

May 20th, 2010

Dear Ontario Liberal Member of Provincial Parliament,

We, the members of your community, are disgusted by the decision of your
Government on March 25th in the 2010 Provincial Budget to scrap the
Special Diet Allowance. The Special Diet is money that people on Welfare
(OW) and Disability (ODSP) rely on in order to buy healthy food and make
ends meet. For years people have been forced to choose between two
essential needs: housing and food, as a direct result of inadequate OW and ODSP rates. On March 25th, 2010, this Government put forth the most
anti-poor budget since Harris in 1995. In cutting the Special Diet you
have chosen to be only the 3rd Government in Ontario’s history to CUT
Social Assistance. This is a brutal move that will make hundreds of
thousands of people hungry, sick, at risk of being evicted, or homeless.

In 1995 the Tory Government cut Welfare by 22% and froze Disability rates. Today, that cut in income is equivalent to approximately 55% with
inflation and cost of living increase for the last 15 years. The Liberal
Government campaigned against the Tories on a platform of ‘Poverty
Reduction’ and reversing the Harris cuts. But since 2003, little has been done to account for inflation let alone reverse the Harris cuts, and in fact people on Social Assistance today are worse off than they were in 1995. This is shameful.

Today we have visited your office to say loud and clear: how dare
politicians like you knock on doors in this neighborhood, asking for our
votes and then take away the money we need to eat and feed our families. It is a disgrace that you can force families to turn to food banks and send kids to bed hungry yet maintain a public office in the very community you are inflicting misery on.

We are here to demand that you give back the Special Diet Allowance
immediately, and that you finally reverse the 1995 Harris cut by raising
OW and ODSP rates to where people can live with health and dignity.

Sincerely,

Your constituents