A-Infos (en) Canada, OCAP* Raise the Rates May 12th March Report

‘WE DON’T NEED A DOCTOR’S NOTE TO TELL US WE’RE HUNGRY!’
OCAP MARCHES ON THE SOCIAL SERVICES MINISTRY
   On May 12, a crowd of over four hundred poor people and supporters took
the fight for decent income right to the doorstep of the Liberal most
responsible for imposing hunger on our communities, Minister of Social
Services Sandra Pupatello.  OCAP, joined by Ontario Common Front
organizations and supporters from Hamilton, Port Hope, Guelph,
Kitchener, Belleville, Ottawa, Peterborough and Kingston, marched to
the Ministry to demand that the $250 a month special diet supplement be
given to all 760,000 welfare and disability recipients in Ontario
without their having to jump through bureaucratic hoops.  Right now
people can access the previously little known supplement only by
finding a medical practitioner ready to state the obvious – that the
pittance provided by the McGuinty Government does not allow people to
pay the rent and eat properly at the same time.

   The March to Pupatello’s Ministry began with a terrific meal in Allen
Gardens that had taken long hours to prepare.  OCAP long ago learned
from our allies in the Mohawk Nation the great importance of ensuring
that the people we mobilize are well fed and strong so that they can
stand up and fight back in the face of poverty and injustice.  A range
of speakers from various Ontario communities, most of them with a
direct and personal stake in winning the food supplement struggle,
delivered a message that inspired the crowd and served notice to the
Liberals that the challenge they face can only grow stronger.

   Despite the fact that many of those who came out to march were people
with families who had not taken part in demonstrations before, they
joined us in taking over the streets.  No one that day was in the
slightest bit deterred or intimidated by the massive array of police
power that was on hand.

   Having headed along College Street to Bay Street, we turned north
towards our destination – the Ministry Offices at 900 Bay.  The Police,
never the deepest thinkers, seemed to be taken unawares by this, having
assumed we would go to the main Legislative Building.  They scrambled
to place a protective cordon in front of the Pupatello’s building.  It
was entirely fitting to have this happen.  A Government that keeps
760,000 living in poverty should expect to have to call on the cops to
protect it from the poor.  The whole building was locked down and no
one was allowed in or out during the time we were in front of it.

   Our march returned to Allan Gardens to disperse but then something took
place that highlighted how the food supplement struggle is different
and vitally important.  The many poor people who had come in from out
of town and who have huge trouble accessing medical practitioners in
their own communities attended an OCAP special diet clinic  in Regent
Park.  There a team of nurse-practitioners assessed 140 people (many of
them young kids) for the supplement.  They were given the forms and
prescriptions necessary for them and their families to receive the
extra income that will enable them to eat decently.  We are receiving
word that many people are already starting to get their special diet
money, including a large family stuck on welfare in Belleville who got
their first monthly increase of $2250.

For a long time, OCAP and others have challenged the obscene transfer of
wealth from the poorest to richest that has taken place in Ontario under
the Tories and, now, their Liberal replacements.  With the drive to win
the food supplement, however, we have found the means to take back some of
the precious income that the poor have been robbed of.  Very close to a
thousand people have accessed the supplement through our clinics and we
are only beginning to organize this struggle.  We will continue to demand
the extra $250 be given to all as an automatic entitlement, as a first
step towards providing income that lifts people out of poverty.  However,
until this is won, we will continue organizing with communities everywhere
to provide poor people and families with the means to attain the
supplement and survive with dignity.

  This campaign needs your support.  There are many practical ways for
anyone to get involved and help out.  Check out our website for details
or give us a call.

OCAP: 416-925-6939,  www.ocap.ca,   ocap@tao.ca

Or send cheques to: the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty
                                             10 Britain St.
                                             Toronto, ON
                                             M5A 1R6
========================================
* [Ed. Note: OCAP is antiauthoritarian anticapitalist
direct action social struggle initiative.]

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