Ontario group demands welfare reform By DARREN YOURK Globe and Mail Update Kimberly Rogers was found dead Aug. 11 in a sweltering Sudbury, Ont., apartment where she had been serving a six-month conditional sentence for welfare fraud. A straight-A social-services student at Cambrian College, Ms. Rogers had pleaded guilty to defrauding the provincial government. She admitted to taking student loans while still collecting welfare. Her welfare benefits were cut off and she was ordered to repay the government about $13,300. The ruling left her unable to pay her bills and she lost access to her depression medication. She was eight months pregnant when she died. Motivated by Ms. Rogers' tragic end, a group of citizens from Sudbury have began a fight for welfare reform in their city that they hope will expand to all of Ontario. The Committee to Remember Kimberly Rogers held a press conference in Sudbury Thursday to release a number of recommendations for social policy changes at the municipal level. "We don't think our municipality is at the core of the problem," said Jennifer Keck, a committee member and an associate professor at the School of Social Work at Laurentian University. "But we need our local politicians to have courage to speak out against having to implement unfair and unjust laws." The Ontario Works Act says any person who is convicted of fraud in relation to the receipt of public assistance is automatically cut off from receiving any those benefits for life. After Premier Mike Harris's government announced it was cracking down on welfare cheats, Ontario became the only province in Canada to ban those convicted of welfare fraud from the welfare rolls. "For many people welfare fraud is actually a crime of survival," Dr. Keck said. "People do not have enough money. ... This is nothing short of a war on the poor." The committee is pushing for the City of Greater Sudbury take steps to protect its more vulnerable citizens from what they consider 'Draconian' Tory welfare policies. Among their recommendations is having the city implement a process that would allow welfare caseworkers to take extenuating circumstances into consideration before referring fraud cases to the police. They also call on Sudbury city council to urge the provincial government to waive the automatic suspension rule in cases that would cause harm and danger to the individuals involved. "Initially all we knew is that we wanted to make sure this didn't happen again," said Dr. Keck said. "We came together because we were appalled that this could happen in our community. ... Today's announcement is just the beginning. We hope this (the recommendations) will create more than a ripple effect. Frankly, I'll be disappointed if it doesn't create a wave." The inquest into Ms. Rogers' death ordered by Ontario chief coroner Dr. James Young has yet to begin. Ms. Rogers' was able to have her welfare benefits reinstated last May after she launched a Constitutional challenge to the provincial law. The court had yet to rule on her challenge at the time of her death. Shelley Martell, NDP Community and Social Services critic said Thursday she applauds the committee's work, but hoped for more direct action at a provincial level. "The committee has been very proactive," Ms. Martell said. "But if the government would just assume its responsibilities there wouldn't be a need for this committee and they wouldn't have to step in to see what they can get local politicians to do in the absence of leadership and any compassion from the province. "This is a provincial responsibility and the province has got to deal with the consequences of very regressive policies." This May, the committee will spotlight Ms. Rogers' Constitutional challenge by launching a public education campaign that will focus on the need to change provincial welfare policies. "Nothing we can do will bring Kimberly Rogers back," Dr. Keck said. "But I have an image of Kimberly Rogers as a woman who was willing to stand up for herself and launch a Charter (of Rights and Freedoms) challenge against immense odds. If she was willing to stand up I think we owe it to here to keep standing up with her."