More on Community Start-Up & Maintenance Benefit
It’s not a frill: The province’s sickening decision on CSUMB:
http://www.thespec.com/opinion/columns/article/851306–the-province-s-sickening-decision
12 cities coming together in Hamilton on CSUMB this Friday (I’ll be there. Will you?):
http://www.cbc.ca/hamilton/news/story/2012/12/10/hamilton-homelessness-meeting.html
Social services groups appeal to Waterloo regional council to save the CSUMB:
http://www.cambridgetimes.ca/news/local/article/1551185–social-groups-plead-to-maintain-benefit-levels
Community protest at Minister Milloy’s KW office on Friday:
http://www.therecord.com/news/local/article/850126–housing-allowance-cut-prompts-another-protest-outside-milloy-s-office
- Press release on the protest: http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/community-groups-bring-protest-to-milloys-front-door-1735218.htm
- Video here: http://www.mediacoop.ca/video/kitchener-rallies-against-austerity-cuts/14988
As Toronto Council debates cuts to housing and homelessness progams, five residents die:
http://www.wellesleyinstitute.com/news/five-confirmed-homeless-deaths-as-toronto-budget-committee-debates-cuts-to-housing-and-homelessness-funding/
Ontario Liberal Leadership Race
Candidates are beginning to release their platforms:
Glen Murray on tax cuts:
http://www.renewliberal.ca/tax_cuts
Sandra Pupatello:
http://signup4sandra.ca/the-plan-forward-northern-ontario/
Charles Sousa on GTA and northern Ontario issues:
http://www.votesousa.ca/
Harinder Takhar on deficit elimination:
http://votetakhar.com/images/Deficit_Reduction_Plan_Backgrounded_FINAL.pdf
Kathleen Wynne on a wide variety of issues:
http://www.kathleenwynne.ca/thewa
Poverty Reduction in Ontario
Government must act immediately to meet their poverty reduction target:
http://www.therecord.com/news/local/article/849153–government-must-act-immediately-to-meet-child-poverty-target-anti-poverty-group
MCC-O blog on 25 in 5 report:
http://povertyfreeontario.blogspot.ca/2012/12/can-ontario-meet-its-poverty-reduction.html
Ontario’s Social Assistance Review
Why mandatory employment for people receiving ODSP won’t work:
http://ppgreview.ca/2012/12/07/odsp-reform-why-mandatory-employment-wont-work/
Other Ontario News
Horwath’s got personality, but where’s the policy?
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/story/2012/12/06/horwath-policy-personality426.html?cmp=rss
Law Commission of Ontario releases new framework for law affecting persons with disabilities – “The Framework enables policy-makers, legislators, courts, advocates, community organizations and others to understand and evaluate the effects of laws, policies and practices on persons with disabilities, and provides a foundation for law reform efforts in this area.”:
http://lco-cdo.org/en/disabilities-final-report
CAMH celebrates innovative supportive housing partnership:
http://www.camh.ca/blog/Lists/Posts/Post.aspx?ID=60
“Why can’t we exhibit the same passion for our poverty-stricken neighbours as we do for wealthy athletes or those terrible teachers and government workers?”
http://www.themeafordindependent.ca/editorial/46-editorial/2738-poverty-is-real-and-its-right-next-door
Ontario Common Front gathers in Toronto to strategize on battling austerity:
http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/cityhallpolitics/article/1299682–labour-groups-battle-provincial-cuts-to-social-services
Sun coverage of OCF meeting:http://www.sunnewsnetwork.ca/sunnews/canada/archives/2012/12/20121208-093343.html
Across the Country
BC advocates launch “BCs Hardest Working” project to highlight in-work poverty and growing inequality:
http://www.theprovince.com/business/Libs+Plan+enough+tackle+poverty/7659241/story.html#axzz2EOxqTiIF
People deserve justice rather than charity:
http://www.straight.com/article-849731/vancouver/raise-welfare-rates-so-people-dont-have-depend-charity
Child poverty in Manitoba an appalling 20%:
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/manitobas-child-poverty-an-appalling-20-per-cent-181497141.html
Federal Issues
UN says child poverty worsening in Canada: “Canada can afford to do better”:
http://dawn.com/2012/12/08/child-poverty-worsening-in-canada-un/
International
It’s official: The UK government confirms austerity policies are self-defeating:
http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/comment/2012/12/austerity-economics-doesnt-work.html#ixzz2EP58oIJ7
A sign of the recent sea change in the U.S. public discourse about income inequality:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/30/us/30iht-letter30.html?_r=0
In the UK, benefit cuts are likely to lead to more homelessness:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2012/dec/04/benefit-cuts-rise-homelessness
People with disabilities in Spain take to the streets to protest benefit cuts:
http://www.ctvnews.ca/business/spain-s-disabled-take-to-the-streets-to-protest-cutbacks-1.1062661
24% of the EU’s population is at risk of poverty or social exclusion:
http://www.euractiv.com/socialeurope/24-eu-population-risk-poverty-so-news-516413
In the UK, three years of 1% benefit increases will create a decade of destitution:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2012/dec/05/cap-benefits-shirkers-workers-poverty
UK’s “welfare to work” scheme isn’t working:
http://www.theupcoming.co.uk/2012/11/28/welfare-to-work-scheme-just-not-working-as-only-3-of-unemployed-find-permanent-job/
Economic growth depends on tackling poverty and inequality:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/the-northerner/2012/nov/30/work-and-careers-apprenticeships