Ontario Coalition Against Poverty | (original) (raw)

The Economy Goes Into Crisis NewsIt’s Their System, They Broke It, And We’re Not Paying To Fix It. We are watching the greatest financial crisis since 1929 unfold before our eyes. Even if they manage to shore up their system for the moment, there is no doubt that a serious international downturn in the economy is getting underway. As this situation begins to impact the lives of our families and communities, we must understand and prepare to deal with what the crisis will mean to us: People protesting the bail out in New York Submitted on October 29, 2008 - 6:12pm. OCAP Takes Back Cabbagetown Demonstrations and Actions | Homeless OCAP fought back against gentrification and the City's ongoing policy to push poor and, especially, homeless people out of the downtown core. On October 4th, we marched through the streets of Cabbagetown and made it clear that poor people who live in the neighbourhood and use services in the neighbourhood are staying in the neighbourhood. for more photos, click here Submitted on October 7, 2008 - 7:11pm. Getting the Special Diet: How the City is Illegally Prying into People’s Private Lives Raise the Rates (Welfare and ODSP)	WelfareGetting the Special Diet: How the City is Illegally Prying into People’s Private Lives David Miller and Councillor Joe Mehivc often talk about wanting to help poor people. The City has held poverty reduction meetings and passed this resolution in December of 2005: “TSS [Toronto Social Services] ensure that social assistance recipients receive all dietary benefits to which they are entitled and that TSS staff are properly trained to not eliminate any dietary benefits recipients are eligible to receive.” Behind the scenes, however, the City goes out of its way to violate people’s privacy and deny the special diet. Submitted on September 11, 2008 - 6:40pm. Open Letter to Mayor David Miller, Councilor Joe Mihevc and Streets To Homes Manager Iain De Jong Homeless Public Meeting on Streets To HomesThursday, September 18th349 Ontario St.(Between Dundas and Gerrard)Meal at 11:30Meeting at noonOrganized in conjunction with CUPE 4308 Dear Mr. Miller, Mr. Mihevc, Mr. De Jong: As you are aware, the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty has been a vocal critic of the City of Toronto’s Streets To Homes (S2H) program. Our primary concern is that the City has treated the S2H program as if it can replace all other forms of social support for Toronto’s homeless population. We’ve watched the City defund shelters and meal programs resulting in the loss of over 300 shelter beds in the past two years. Submitted on September 4, 2008 - 4:42pm. Poverty and Healthcare Town Hall Meeting Raise the Rates (Welfare and ODSP)	MiscellaneousSeptember 18th7:00pmRyerson University380 Victoria Street (Gerrard and Younge), Room: POD 250 Free- all welcome Short presentations followed by Q & APoverty, income security, and health are intimately related. Join for a discussion on the growing income and health gap, the privatization of health care and what we can do about it. Panelists: Natalie MehraDirector Ontario Health Coalition John ClarkeOrganizer Ontario Coalition Against Poverty Laura CowanExecutive Director Street Health Doris GrinspunExecutive Director Registered Nurses' Association of Ontario Submitted on September 4, 2008 - 3:23pm. Stop The Deaths News	HomelessCome out and demand that the City take action to address these deaths and the daily hell and conditions people are experiencing. NOTE:THE TIME HAS BEEN CHANGED TO 1PM Wednesday August 20 - 1pmOutside the Coroner’s Office15 Grosvenor Street(West of Yonge, North of College) Frank Julian, Carolyn Connolly, Dennis Bowen, Robert Maurice, Biniyam Selleshi In the last month, two more people in our community have died. We don’t want to have to bury another person from the neighbourhood. People are dying on the street and in shelters. People are dying in their apartments alone in the far corners of the city, with only a few dollars left a month after their rent is paid because they were shipped out of the neighbourhood by Streets to Homes. No more people should have to die because the City has abandoned them to struggle and suffer in poverty. The City has to stop telling the public everything is okay. How can everything be okay when we have already lost four people this summer?! Submitted on August 14, 2008 - 7:00pm. Victory at Everest! Disabled Activist Receives Public Apology for Discrimination Casework	News	Individual Cases Last Friday, August 8th, on the occasion of his birthday, Aaron Shelbourne - a disabled activist and a member of the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty (OCAP) – and supporters went to the Everest Restaurant & Lounge on Queen St. to demand a public apology from management. This was the second time Aaron went to Everest to demand an apology (video from the first action is available here). Over the past three months a powerful on-line campaign gained momentum to boycott the restaurant until they apologize to Aaron. The “Boycott the Everest Restaurant” group on Facebook has 1300 members, and the restaurant’s discriminatory practices are denounced on myriad other websites. Submitted on August 13, 2008 - 4:44pm. OCAP Challenges International Award Nomination For Toronto News	HomelessThe City of Toronto's 'Streets to Homes' program is a mechanism for attacking the homeless and driving them from the centre of the the City. It dumps people without supports in outlying areas and is a pretext for removing funding from the vital services the homeless need. This program is up for one of two awards that will be announced on October 6 and presented in front of the United Nations celebration of World Habitat Day. Below is the text of a letter that OCAP has sent to the international body that hands out the awards. August 13, 2008 World Habitat AwardsBuilding and Social Housing Foundation Submitted on August 13, 2008 - 1:24pm. 11th Hour Decision: Court of Appeal Throws Out Publication Ban Again First Nations	News	Tyendinaga(Friday, July 18th, 2008) After a decision by a Napanee judge, rendered at 10:30 am this morning, lifting a publication ban on Tyendinaga Mohawk Shawn Brant's preliminary hearing, Crown attorneys attempted to have the effect of the decision stayed, but failed. At midday, only Crown prosecutors (no defence lawyers) appeared before a judge of the Court of Appeal, and convinced the judge to issue a stay. The media was ordered to "immediately cease reporting on evidence heard at the preliminary inquiry and remove all related reports from websites". Then, at shortly after 5pm, lawyers for the CBC and Mr. Brant appeared before the same Appeals judge, along with Crown counsel. After substantial submissions, the judge lifted her earlier stay and dismissed the stay application altogether, ordering the publication ban lifted once more. Submitted on July 18, 2008 - 11:33pm. PREVIOUSLY BANNED EVIDENCE OF OPP COMMISSIONER FANTINO NOW OPEN TO PUBLIC First Nations	News	TyendinagaIpperwash recommendations flouted in policing of blockades at Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory The publication ban on Shawn Brant's preliminary hearing was lifted today in a Napanee Court, making crucial evidence available to public scrutiny for the first time. The preliminary hearing dealt with charges arising from Mr. Brant's participation in two highway and rail blockades held by Tyendinaga Mohawks in 2007 to pressure the government to resolve longstanding land claim and poverty-related grievances. Evidence released includes the testimony of Chief Fantino who, when confronted with the allegation that he failed to follow Ipperwash guidelines in policing Mohawk blockades, responded in part: "Those are just guidelines." Submitted on July 18, 2008 - 6:32pm. City meets to discuss poverty reduction: Two homeless men die just blocks away News	HomelessJoin us THURSDAY, July 17th, to protest the city’s refusal to address poverty in our community and to speak out against the recent deaths of two homeless men who died last week in our community. DATE: THURSDAY, July 17, 2008TIME: 11 AMLOCATION: Queen and Sherbourne St. On Monday, July 7, around supper time, Biniyam Selleshi, a young Ethiopian man in his mid- twenties was found dead in the Salvation Army Maxwell Meighen Hostel. On Thursday morning, July 10, Denis Bowen, 42, a native man known to many of us in the community, died outside a social housing building at 200 Sherbourne St. Submitted on July 16, 2008 - 12:37am. SAVE THE HOME OF THE LIU FAMILY!! News	HousingOCAP is working with the Save the Home of the Liu Family to try and prevent a well financed Christian charity from dragging Louise Liu into court and taking away the home that she and her disabled brother need. Louise's mother, Margaret, was a poor woman who came to this Country from Hong Kong with her kids, shortly after the death of her husband. She worked to buy a small home and always intended to leave it to her children. However, a couple of years ago, when she was well into her 80s and, after she had had a series of strokes, she made out a new will, leaving her home to the Chinese Christian Herald Crusades. Submitted on July 7, 2008 - 4:59pm. OCAP Demands City Restore Shelter Beds - Shuts Down City Council News	Campaigns	Demonstrations and Actions	Homeless Watch the Sun video. Today we went to City Hall to demand that Mayor David Miller immediately restore shelter beds in the downtown east side. We've lost over 350 shelter beds in the downtown core, and tens of thousands of meals over the past year, and the City has done nothing. "They closed University Settlement for renovations today, so where am I supposed to sleep now?" asks Chris. "I'm sleeping in parks, under bridges. They got empty rooms here in City Hall tho, maybe we should stay here?" Submitted on June 23, 2008 - 6:44pm.	OCAP is a direct-action anti-poverty organization based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. We mount campaigns against regressive government policies as they affect poor and working people. In addition, we provide direct-action advocacy for individuals against eviction, termination of welfare benefits, and deportation. We believe in the power of people to organize themselves.We believe in the power of resistance. OCAP WOMEN OF ETOBICOKEThe OCAP Women of Etobicoke is based in North Etobicoke, one of the city's poorest and largely immigrant suburbs, the organization is run by Somali mothers living in the area.OCAP Women of Etobicoke continue to be active in their community but are no longer maintaining an office. To reach them, call our main office: 416-925-6939