NOTE DATE CHANGE 

Telling Our Stories: Disability Should Not Equal Poverty

 July 7, 2010--1:00 to 5:00 pm (previously planned for June 24)

Metro Hall Rotunda, Toronto

2nd Information Picket:  May 28, 2010   9:00 am to 11:00 am                                                       

655 Bay St.  Toronto 

Fight for Special Diet:  Contact your MPP

The Special Diet Allowance program is a long-standing part of Ontario’s social assistance system. It pays the extra costs for special foods needed by people with various health conditions, such as diabetes or MS.

The Coalition had an opportunity to meet with members of the Social Assistance Review Advisory Council (SARAC) in late January, and to present them with a list of quick changes that could be made to some of the "stupid rules" in ODSP.  This Council was recently appointed by the government to give advice on two things:  some "quick fix" changes to counterproductive rules, and the mandate and scope of a more conprehensive social assistance review to be carried out later this year.

The ODSP Action Coalition is requesting individuals and groups to endorse our Disability Declaration.  The Declaration sets out some of the rights that people with disabilities have according to the UN Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities, and then states what changes the Ontario government needs to make to ODSP to fulfill those rights.  Although Canada has not yet ratified the Convention, the Coalition beleives it is important for people with disabilities and organizations that work with them to use it in articulating how and why their needs must be met. 

Ontario is having an election on October 10th, 2007. Help the ODSP Action Coalition put disability and poverty issues in the spotlight. Use the ODSP Action Coalition's Election Kit to talk to candidates and the media in your community. The kit includes the Coalition's key messages, questions to ask at all-candidates meetings and backgrounders to distribute in your community.  There are also suggestions for getting disability and poverty issues into your local media. And don't forget to vote! 

ODSP Action Coalition election messages (MS Word document)

People with Disabilities Left in Poverty by Ontario Budget

People who need income support from the Ontario Disability Support Program will still find it next to impossible to pay their rent, eat a nutritious diet and cover their other basic needs after Finance Minister Sorbara’s budget comes into effect. “This budget does not treat people who cannot work due to illness or disability with the dignity they deserve,” says Nancy Vander Plaats, chair of the ODSP Action Coalition. 

The provincial budget will be announced at 4 pm on Thursday, March 22nd. Anti-poverty issues are expected to be a key theme. Read the ODSP Action Coalition's pre-budget submission and a letter we sent to MPP Jim Watson that argues for increases to social assistance rates. Watch the budget speech live on the Ontario Parliamentary channel on Cable 105 or by internet: http://www.fin.gov.on.ca/english/budget/ontariobudgets/2007/index.html.