Stop the train to Poverty

In this entry I am going to be extremely personal.  I don't discuss my personal life with many people but in this case I find it necessary to do so.

I suffer from bi-polar disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder and a myriad of anxiety disorders stemming from long-term violent sexual abuse as a child.  It took me most of my life time to identify these things and to get the proper support that I need to deal with these mental and emotional problems.  Currently I am on the Ontario Disability Support Program or ODSP.

Recently I discovered that @kathleen_wynne and the Ontario Liberal government is considering slashing the amount paid to ODSP and Ontario Works (welfare) recipients by almost half.  This would cut ODSP income to around 600.00 per month.  This is ludicrous.  I live in Toronto, where that wouldn't even cover rent. never mind any bills I might have, not to mention food.  There is also talk of slashing some of the special allowances like the special food allowance for those that need it and some of the other special allowances that are required by many of the most disenfranchised people in our society.

Already some allowances have been cut.  Last January, the Start-up allowance was ended.  That was the allowance that could be accessed once every two years if an ODSP recipient needed to move or needed to purchase new furniture like a bed if they developed a situation like bed bugs.  Guess what, that allowance is gone.  Many food banks also changed their rules last January, and ODSP recipients no longer qualify for food assistance.

If this cut happens, many more disenfranchised people will become homeless.  You cannot even find a cheap monthly hotel room for that rate, and even if you do, it is bed bug, and roach infested and you would have no money left over for food.

Many ODSP and OW recipients share apartments to share their costs, or they have subsidised housing.  The problem with subsidised housing is that the list can be up to 10 years long, and you have to remember to re-register every year.  If you forget, you can be removed from the list.

The fact of the matter is, there is no political party in the legislature that cares about the poorest and most disenfranchised people in our Province.  The Progressive Conservatives care about business and the upper middle class, the Liberal Party is all about the middle class, and the New Democrats are about the Unions.  Nobody cares about the poorest most disenfranchised people in Ontario. 


Mike Harris's Conservative Party cut the Welfare rate by over 21% in 1995 and it resulted in an increased homeless rate and poverty rate, and now the Liberal government (then a harsh critic of the move) is planning a similar move.  Somebody has to stand up for the rights of those of us who do not have a voice in the legislature.

I have posted a petition on the right side bar, I hope you will sign it.  (it has other petitions as well if you want to follow through the widget)  Call your local MPP and let them know you do not support this move.