Toronto Media Co-op

Local Independent News

More independent news:
Do you want free independent news delivered weekly? sign up now
Can you support independent journalists with $5? donate today!

Defiant poor pack rowdy public meeting

by Mick Sweetman

Gaetan Heroux holds up a copy of the program of the unemployed council movement of 1933 as he addresses a meeting of poor people on Friday, March 26. PHOTO: Mick Sweetman
Gaetan Heroux holds up a copy of the program of the unemployed council movement of 1933 as he addresses a meeting of poor people on Friday, March 26. PHOTO: Mick Sweetman

Toronto — Over 75 poor and working people held a rowdy public meeting Friday evening at St. Luke's church at Sherbourne and Carlton. The meeting followed the Ontario budget announcement that cut the Special Diet supplement for people on social assistance.

A.J. Withers from the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty (OCAP) kicked the night off by calling for an immediate 40 per cent increase to social assistance. Withers said, “Right now a single person on welfare gets a shamefully low $364 a month for rent. A person on ODSP gets $464 for rent. Yet for a one-bedroom in this city, the average price is $927 a month. No matter how you do the math, social assistance rates never add up.”

Outlining the impact of the elimination of the special diet supplement. Withers claims the cut of the benefit, which pays a maximum of $250 a month, means a 30 per cent loss to a single person on Ontario Works (OW) and a 19 per cent drop in income for someone on the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP).

Withers spoke passionately to the crowd, “This cut will devastate us. It will devastate our families and communities. This summer we will see an increase in homelessness, hunger and desperation as many people lose the only means they have to support themselves.”

The meeting had a large panel of long-time downtown anti-poverty activists and social agency workers who addressed the question of what role agencies play in struggles by poor people in Toronto.

One agency that has historically played an important role in supporting and advocating for the demands of poor people in east downtown is Street Health. Founded by homeless people and progressive health-care workers in 1986, Street Health was a leader in providing cutting-edge and innovative solutions to health care to poor and homeless people while advocating for an end to the poverty that created the need for their services.

However, it was clear from the speakers, which included former Street Health workers such as street nurse Cathy Crowe, that the agency has changed.

The current board is trying to bust the union, CUPE Local 4308, that Street Health workers joined in April 2008 in response to an increasingly  hostile work environment and has cooperated with the Neighbourhood Link agency to evict long-time ID worker Gaetan Heroux from the building on Dec. 7, 2009.

Crowe said that many agencies used to support anti-poverty coalitions such as the Toronto Disaster Relief Committee and would allow use of their buildings for meetings and agency workers to attend on work time, which supported homeless people's participation. That role by the agencies is missing today as they move away from advocacy towards simple service provision.

Crowe opined, “Street Health is the worst example of what's been happening, but we need to force the agencies to come together. There has to be the expectation that they support the needs of poor people in this community.”

Brian Dubourdiex who has been homeless and organizing poor people in east downtown for over 20 years spoke on the beginnings of Street Health: “I settled in 20 years ago to a hostel called Salvation Army. I met some friends and we formed an organization called Street Health. It was a great organization run by homelessness people. It was run and commanded by street people.

“I sat on that board for six years, and you know what? I enjoyed my six years on it, but the last year I didn't enjoy it because I saw the decline. I saw them systematically take homeless people off the board. I saw them invest money in friggin' goddamn stock markets. They lost a bunch of money - so no socks for the homelessness. I saw positions go a year without being filled just to pay up accounts. That's ridiculous. This is not the same Street Health that I knew. I knew a Street Health that swung above its weight and [where] people advocated. Anyone that advocates now for Street Health, tries to help out the homelessness, is silenced - they're cut off. That's what disgusts me about this unit. I will not deal with that unit. That's why I want to see Street Health  go down.”

Gaetan Heroux has organized with OCAP and various east downtown agencies for over 20 years talked about the history of resistance by poor people in Toronto.

“What kind of tactics did they use?" asked Heroux while holding up a copy of the program of the unemployed council movement from 1933: "Mass meetings. Mass demonstrations and parades in public meeting squares. Hunger marches both at the local, provincial and national level. Strikes of relief workers. Mass picketing of homes and offices of officials to demand improvement of conditions of the unemployed. Surrounding and occupations of homes of workers to prevent evictions or seizing furniture. Circulating petitions for unemployment insurance and other demands. Supporting strikes of employed workers. Organizing protests and demonstrations against layoffs. Holding public hearings to expose and reveal conditions of the unemployed. Public trials of grafting officials.

“This community has a long, long, long, history of resistance. And every time we take to the streets we should know that there were people before us who were doing the same.”

After the panel finished, announcements were made imploring people to join the organizing for a similar public meeting in the west downtown neighbourhood of Parkdale on April 9, at 6 p.m. at the Parkdale Activity and Recreation Centre. OCAP is also mobilizing for a rally and march on the McGuinty government on April 15 starting at Allan Gardens Park at noon.

Ending the night and summing up the defiant mood of the room, an unidentified man spoke from the floor and said, “I was very disturbed on my way here. Over the last few weeks I began to study the problems as they affect a major community leader. I must tell you on my way someone said to me 'You should not go to that meeting. That guy, that bald-head guy, the mad-man that is leading it, he will get arrested and you might be arrested too.' I still came. I said, 'We will be arrested together!'” To which the audience broke out into loud applause.

 

This article was originally published on http://linchpin.ca


Socialize:
Want more grassroots coverage?
Join the Media Co-op today.

About the poster

Trusted by 1 other users.
Has posted 4 times.
View Mick Sweetman's profile »

Recent Posts:


Mick Sweetman (Mick Sweetman)
Toronto
Member since December 2009

About:

Mick Sweetman is a journalist in Toronto. His stories and photographs have been published in Alternet, the Calgary Strait, Canadian Dimension, Clamor, Industrial Worker, The Media Co-op, New Socialist, The Northeastern Anarchist, On the Prowl, Rabble.ca, Strike!, They Call it Struggle for a Reason, Vox Magazine, and Znet

1029 words

Comments

HELP !!!!!!!!

Please ... This is an Urgent Matter I'm Using Most of My "Special Diet" money to pay My Rent

!  We Cannot Let These Incredibly Rich, "Fat Cats" Steal Our Only Means of Survival Away

From Us ... We Must Fight These Cold Hearted Individuals Who, Have Already Sliced Away

Our GST Cheques Within The Next 2 Years ... This Too Must Be Fought Tooth and Nail ...

We Must Defend Ourselves and Never Surrender ... These "Fat Cats" Like Dwight Duncan

and Co. Must Be Stopped ... Canada Has Let Far too Many Hindu's, Muslim's, Terrorist's

Etc. into Our Fine Country and if You Check into it They are Living a Much Better Quality of

Life (Financially Catered to By This Same Gov't.) and For this Reason and They are Telling

Every Relative they Know To Get Over Here fast as Their Country Because of their Non-

Christian Beliefs is in Ruins and Our Gov't is Caring More for These Sc oundrels than They

are For The Less Fortunate People's Who are Disabled and on ODSP & Need This

Essential Monies Now & If Anything We NEED an IMMEDIATE INCREASE NOW not a

Decrease ... This Country was Founded on Good Christian Morals Such as "Love Thy

Neighbour as Thyself" ... We Need To Take Care of Our Own First and The Disabled Must

Be a Priority as These People NEED The Help The Most Considering The ODSP

Recipient's are Fighting The Uphill battle Everyday of Their Lives as Most of Them Were

Born with These Physical and Mental Problems ... What are These Politicians and

Administrative Fat Cat's at The Top of the ODSP Ladder Trying to Do Starve Us or Make

Sure We have So Little (While They are Making in Excess of 100 Grand a Year) and they

Expect us to Live a Whole Month on What They Make in a Couple of  Days Wages ???

Let's All Get Together and Do Something Now ... If you Have 1 Match Stick You can Snap it in

Half Easily However, If You and I Have a Whole Big Buch of Match Sticks in Our Hand ...

it Is Impossible to Break Them ... So Let's All Stand Together and Fight for Our Human

Right's (Prayer's to The Lord Will Also Help as He Hear's, Listen's and Will Answer Us

When We Call Upon His Holy Name) This is Good Friday, The Day He Died for All of Us So

Let Us Pray That He Will Fight Our Battles For and With Us Also ... Bros. and Sister's !!!

AMEN !!!

Thank You and Will Will Overcome These Cold Blooded, Heartless Types that are Trying to

Do This to Us ... How Would they Like it If We Told Them They would Only Be Getting 50

Grand This Next Year and All That Follow ???   They Would sure Raise a Stink !

WE WILL NOT BE MOVED !!!  The ODSP Recipients is The Very Last Place They Should Be

Cutting Back not The 1st !!!

"Dalton" I Hope You Read This ... We Voted You in Now it is Time for You To Do What IS

Right !!!  NOW is The Time Dalton !!!  The Peolpe Have Spoken !!!

 

Sincerely;

F. M.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The site for the Toronto local of The Media Co-op has been archived and will no longer be updated. Please visit the main Media Co-op website to learn more about the organization.