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| Toronto Region ODSP Action Coalition |
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| Some folks met with Deb Matthews (author of the "Deb Matthews Report") (PDF) in July, 2008. The government's press release on the "cabinet" committee is posted here. Stories about the "cabinet" committee on poverty reduction began in the Toronto Star on October 30, 2007; see also the editorials for June 29, 2007. See also the home page of Michael Prue, M.P.P. Matthews had been on Global TV's "Focus Ontario" on November 10, 2007 (see picture), and she spoke to the government "taking its time" to further study poverty... see this copy of the transcript which includes Matthews' published remarks... this information was very hard to find on the Global TV web page, which counts the Ontario gov't as a major advertiser. |
| Note: some people have trouble with PDF; if you need the Deb Matthews transcript in an alternate format, please send an e-mail to torontodisabiliyaction@yahoo.ca |
| In late 2008 the provincial group meetings tended to focus on the 25-in-5 group. If you haven't been to the official government poverty reduction web page, click on this link: http://www.growingstronger.ca/english/default.asp We have a bit of information in re: the recent (March 18) public health event which featured Dr. David McKeown. One recipient had her picture in the paper re: calling for the extra food money, and she also has a video clip up, on YouTube. We also have images from John Bonner re: that particular event. |
| Last summer we posted to the effect that the Ombudsman's annual report for 2007-2008 includes a follow-up on the 2006 report on DAU delays. The full title is "Losing the Waiting Game": Final Report, Investigation into Unreasonable Delay at the Ministry of Community & Social Services - Ontario Disability Support Program's Disability Adjudication Unit (May 2006) [CRO No. SAS-O-00061]" |
| We talked a bit about fundraising at our Sept. 25 meeting at the 519. There were ome mentions of the city strike and community participation money, and air conditioners at our August meeting, including the stringent application process for a 7000 b.t.u. AC.... August was a safety focus group at the 519, and the August Queen West meeting proved problematic... some notes on the provincial conference that took place back in April are posted... there were 100 people at the town hall meeting at Metro Hall in June... Deb Matthews was supposed to have visited Diane Finley in Ottawa on May 14... the rally at Queen's Park re: rural hospitals got some media coverage... Cheryl Smith posted an interview with Judy Rebick... The CCD item re: Canada, ratification etc. was the most-recent national news we had in. The social policy committee held hearings re: Bill 152 (rare appearance by the SPC, this) but we don't have any detailed notes; see also ISAC's home page and newsletter at www. income-security.org ... there were also hearings of a sort |
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| Click to enlarge scanned April 8 TorontoStar item |
| undertaken, in the spring, by the federal human resources committee, the one that is supposed to be looking out for the "status of persons with disabilities", ergo ratification of the U.N. disabilities convention. This is not an easy entity from which to extract information... There was a question asked in the House about ODSP on April 1st, and the conference was mentioned. At one point the Speaker cut Deb Matthews off. Then, in the very next question he cut off Madeline Meilleur! See Hansard for the text of this session. |
| One new file we have in from this summer is a summary write-up by ISAC of the changes to ODSP re: addictions and alcoholism etc., and disability... adjudication. The reason this has not been posted is that sometime early Saturday, September 19, our mirror for this information went down... something to do with the hosting company being sold off, first time this has ever happened since 1996 etc. Anyway that slowed us down quite a bit. |
| (For some reason the above "addictions..." link does not show up, on ISAC's page, if you "search" for it. It is, however, listed in their "Resources" page.) |
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| The Legislative Assembly of Ontario resumed sitting... on Monday, September 14. |
| No updates to Sept. 30; this file is not intended to be "complete". Carol Goar wrote about an ODSP case and the system-bureaucracy in Friday's Toronto Star, p. A23. We might be making progress in the on-line meetings dept.: there is the CDWO consultation with Charles Beer on Oct. 22nd (this is to be an on-line town hall type of meeting) and we are going to test some new connectivity options. |