|
December
30, 2004
Take Action!
Tsunami
victims, how to help
Let's
make the New Year a celebration of global community, partnership
and charity.
December
14, 2004
Take Action!
In the aftermath
of the devastating Supreme Court of Canada decision in the
"Auton" case on November 19, 2004, the focus has
shifted to the political area to help get children with autism
the medical care they require. T o
this end a national autism petition campaign has been started
and we would appreciate your support.
Please visit
www.canadaautism.com
and tell your colleagues within the autism community about the
petition campaign. The website allows you to download the petition
in either official language. Just get a minimum of 25 signatures
and send it to your MP! It's that easy! Thank you for your attention
to this matter.
December
13, 2004
addition to the site
Joanne
Bury's Speech to CAW workers at Port Elgin
The following
is a speech I gave to CAW workers at their Paid Education Leave
programme at Port Elgin. While a lot of my story is not news to
you, it is news to most ordinary voters. I believe if most regular
people knew how horribly we are treated, just because we became
sick or lost our job or whatever caused us to need social assistance,
they would be appalled. Although, this is very hard to do, I am
quite comfortable public speaking - I have been doing it all my
life. So, I am going to keep speaking, to anyone who has a group
who will listen to me, and then go out and make the change needed
to allow me to live in the dignity I deserve.
I would like to collect more stories of "everyday" treatment
at the hands of this horrible system, especially from people on
OW. Also, if any service group, union local, community group or
otherwise, in your area, would like me to come and speak, I will
do so but I need my expenses covered and I get to say what they
are. I am determined to keep speaking until those in Canada who
need social assistance are helped not punished.
Read Speech
December
10, 2004
addition to the site
Charter
Challenge of the National Child Benefit
Supplement
Dec. 10, 2004: Today the Income Security Advocacy Centre
(ISAC), the Centre for Equality Rights in Accommodation (CERA)
and the Charter Committee on Poverty Issues (CCPI), have formally
launched a legal challenge to the clawback of the National Child
Benefit Supplement from families on social assistance.
Pinpoint
URL to download the press release as a Word doc.
http://www.opicco.org/docs/Press-release-Charter-Filing.doc
Pinpoint URL
to to download the backgrounder as a Word doc.
http://www.opicco.org/docs/NCBS-Press-Kit-%20Backgrounder.doc
November
25, 2004
Announcement
Lucy
Lu receives pardon
‘It's
great. I was so relieved,' Lucy Lu says of parole board pardon
Lucy Lu has been pardoned by the National Parole Board. Lu, the
Chinese immigrant who took sanctuary in Calvary Bible Church in
2000 when the government tried to deport her over a manslaughter
conviction of which she maintains she’s innocent, was told
Monday that the federal government had granted her a pardon of
her conviction. The pardon allows Lu to seek permanent residency
in Canada and clears the way for her lawyers to argue that the
immigration department’s case to have her deported should
be dropped. The immigration case is the only outstanding legal
process remaining against the Kingston shoe store clerk, whose
plight garnered tremendous support in the city and from around
the world. “It’s great,” Lu said yesterday at her
workplace. “I was so relieved when I heard that the pardon
had been granted. This is a big step for me and I’m thankful
for all the support I’ve received from Kingston and around
the world.” Read More
October
12, 2004
additions
to the site
Ontario
Liberal Government Introduces
New Disability Accessibility Bill
Major Stride Forward In Our Decade-Long Campaign
Ontarians with Disabilities Act Committee, North Bay Chapter
press release Oct-12-2004
October
7 , 2004
additions
to the site
Homelessness
is a Human Rights Violation - It's Time for Action!
Support NAPO's Housing Action
September 24, 2004
additions
to the site
Child
Advocacy Project - a joint project of Justice for Children and
Youth, Pro Bono Law Ontario and the Advocates' Society
September
14, 2004
additions
to the site
More
money for health care isn't a panacea
by Phil Upshall, Canadian Alliance on Mental Illness and Mental
Health
As
Canadians wait with some disillusionment to see if our first ministers
can find a health-care "fix for a generation," we're
going to put a fresh idea on the table: more money isn't always
the way to solve our health-care problems. That's not to say that
our health-care system isn't chronically underfunded, or that
it's capable of sustaining the increasing pressures placed on
it by an aging population and the costs of new treatments and
technologies.But believe it or not, many health issues can be
improved, if not resolved through the consensus of premiers and
the prime minister to establish common approaches to common health
issues right across the country. Read
More
Prisons
are inadequate responses to poverty, homelessness & mental
illness
by
Kim Pate, Canadian Association of Elizabeth Fry Societies (CAEFS)
The news is
full of stories these days about human rights violations by Canadian
authorities: the apparent Canadian complicity in the detention,
deportation and torture of Maher Arar and others since 9/11; deadly
police mistreatment of Aboriginal people in Saskatoon; the terrorization
and deaths of young people in state care, like David Meffe. For
me, these abuses provide a stark reminder of why the Elizabeth
Fry Societies three years ago asked the Canadian Human Rights
Committee to conduct a comprehensive review of human rights violations
experienced by women prisoners in Canada. Read
More
September
12, 2004
Research
Posting added to site
Women
Living With Fluctuating Chronic Health Conditions: Research Study
On (In)visible Disabilities
seeking participants ...
- Living
with the shifting visible and invisible effects of a chronic
condition such as multiple sclerosis, fibromyalgia, chronic
fatigue syndrome, irritable bowel syndrome, interstitial cystitis,
Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis or environmental illness
for at least one year or more
- Between
20-45 years of age
- Living
within the greater Toronto area
- Interested
in sharing their experiences through creating and working with
photographs
September
11, 2004
additions
to the site
Tanis
Doe Online Memorial Chat - Wed., October 6, 2004
Tanis
Doe, Ph.D. (and her pseudonym/alter Vicky D'aoust), who
died on August 4, 2004, left behind many friends, colleagues,
students, mentees, and admirers. She will be remembered for
her innovative research (in which she used participatory action
research to amplify the voices of people most directly affected
by programs and policies); for her advocacy (speaking internationally
about topics such as parenting with a disability, bioethics,
disability and Deafness, and the value of diversity); for
her inspired teaching (at the University of Victoria, Ryerson
University, the University of Washington, and Royal Roads
College, among others) -- but also for her brazen sense of
humor, her creativity, her dancing, and her fondness for bumper
stickers, sci-fi television, sunflowers and Snapple. People
will have a chance to remember and share their experiences,
thoughts and feelings about Tanis (a.k.a. Vicky) in one of
her favorite environments -- cyberspace.
An
online Tanis Doe memorial chat will be held on Wednesday,
October 6, 2004, from 2:00 p.m.
to 7:00 p.m. PST (that's 3:00 to 8:00 MST; 4:00 to 9:00 CST;
and 5:00 to 10:00 EST). The chat will take place
in an Internet chat room using AOL Instant Messenger (AIM).
To join the chat, send an instant message (IM), anytime during
that time period, to TanisDoeMemChat,
and ask to be invited in. Then you will get a message inviting
you into the chat room to share stories and memories. You
can
come and go at any time during the session. This will be an
experiment in virtual community, of which Tanis would approve
heartily! Bring your own Snapple. ;-)
If you
don't have AIM, you can download it for free and get a screen
name at http://www.aim.com
Other software also supports AIM; you know it if you use it.
:-)
If you
have questions, email Laura@cripcommentary.com
September
2, 2004
In the news ...
Single
moms win 9-year legal battle - Province drops welfare appeal -
'Spouse in house' rule demeaning Tracey Tyler,
Toronto Star
A
bitter nine-year legal battle between the Ontario government and
single mothers living in poverty may have come to an end, with
the province's attorney-general dropping efforts to resurrect
the "spouse in the house" rule. The rule, introduced
by the former Conservative government as part of an attack on
welfare abuse, resulted in some 10,000 recipients losing some
or all of their benefits after moving in with someone. The rationale
was that their co-habiting partners were supporting them. Read
More
August
21, 2004
Additions
to the site:
Falun
Gong marks third year of protest - Practitioners, claiming persecution
in China, are a fixture outside the consulate
by Chris Johnson, Vancouver Sun, dated August 20, 2004
August
9, 2004
Additions
to the site:
In
Memoriam - Tanis Doe, PhD
 It
is with deep sadness that I report the passing of Dr. Tanis
Doe, advocate and educator. Tanis passed away in her home
in Victoria, British Columbia late Wednesday, August 4, 2004 due
to a pulmonary embolism. Doe is survived by her daughter, Ann
Marie, and a loving community of friends, colleagues, mentees,
lovers, dance partners and family in every sense of the world.
Read More: | Obituary
| Pictures
| About Tanis
|
August
4, 2004
Additions
to the site:
Ontario
Needs a Raise: Vigil and Rally
In Memory
of Kimberly Rogers
When:
Wednesday
August 11th from 12 Noon to 1 pm
Where:
address change! 900 Bay St. M1-57
Macdonald Block
Join
with others on August 11th to remember those who have suffered
under inadequate conditions, and to demand an immediate raise
to social assistance rates.
In
1995, the Tories slashed already low welfare rates by 21.6%. With
increases in the cost of living, today the cut is approximately
34.4%. One in Six people in Ontario live in poverty. The Inquest
into Kimberly Rogers’ death found that Ontario social assistance
rates do not reflect an adequate standard of living. In the Jury’s
recommendations they included that social assistance rates be
reviewed to ensure they reflect the actual costs of housing, food
and other basic needs. Now,
a year a half after the Inquest, and 10 months into the new Liberal
government, those same conditions and policies that set the stage
for the tragedy of Kimberly Rogers’ death are still in place.
We need to demand that Ontario's new Liberal Government take a
stand against poverty; a 3% raise to social assistance is not
enough!
Sponsored
by: Ontario Needs a Raise Campaign
For
more Information contact:
call: 416-516-1422, ext. 222. or email: ocsj@ocsj.ca
August 3,
2004
Additions
to the site:
The Left Must Stand With the Haitian People
by Yves Engler
Four
and a half months ago the Liberal government sent troops to a
foreign country without the legally elected host government's
permission. Since February 29, Haiti has been occupied by foreign
troops and a pro-U.S. government has been installed. The Canadian
media, and the rest of us, have been nearly silent. At the end
of February, Haiti was front-page news. The Globe and Mail's Paul
Knox was there and CanWest's 11 daily papers ran stories from
the Montreal Gazette’s once-progressive Sue Montgomery. Both
reported on President Jean-Bernard Aristide's authoritarianism,
drug connections and “thuggish” supporters, known as
the chimères. Neither gave much credence to other side
of the story and now that Aristide is in exile in South Africa,
the Canadian media have lost all interest. So, what's going on?
Read More
July 25,
2004
Additions
to the site:
New
Funding to Restore Community Use of Schools
The McGuinty government has announced $20 million of annual funding
to ensure Ontario schools will once again be accessible for community
use at nominal fees. This new funding will address a problem created
by the education funding formula introduced by the former government,
which excluded the cost of community use and forced many School
Boards to dramatically increase user fees. Read
More
New
Housing Study Documents Growing Need
The Ontario Non-Profit Housing Association and the Co-operative
Housing Federation of Canada – Ontario Region recently released
a comprehensive study of housing conditions and unmet needs in
Ontario. Where’s Home 2004 provides a detailed housing profile
of 21 separate Ontario communities. Read More
Child
Care Announcement Signals Policy Shift
Ontario
recently announced funding to support the creation of 4,000 new
subsidized child care spaces. The $58 million investment comes
from federal transfers, and will be flowed to municipalities for
local child care initiatives aimed at children under five years
of age. Read More
Additional
Resources for Community Support Services
In
early July, the province announced just over $100 million in new
funding for community support services, home care and supportive
housing. These new investments are designed to increase the capacity
of Ontario’s health care system to provide care and service
at the community level and allow more people to get care in their
own homes, thus reducing the strain on hospitals and freeing them
up to focus on acute care. Read More
New
Children’s Vaccine Program Launched
The McGuinty government recently released details
on how it will implement the $156 million Childhood Immunization
Program first announced in the spring Budget.
Read
More
Seniors
Housing Affordability
Statistics Canada recently released a report looking at housing
costs experienced by elderly families. It found that two-thirds
of seniors are homeowners, 90% of whom have paid off their mortgages.
Read More
Recent
Newcomers Earn Less
Immigrants who came to Canada in the 1980s and 1990s earn approximately
one-third less than immigrants who arrived in the 1960s, according
to data released by Statistics Canada. Read
More
July 20,
2004
Additions
to the site:
World
Health Organization Supports Domestic Violence Prevention
Interpersonal violence devastates lives and families, and it also
imposes major economic costs on societies around the world. Some
nations spend more than four percent of their Gross Domestic Product
(GDP) on violence-related injuries, and low-income nations may
be hardest hit. Those are among the conclusion of The Economic
Dimensions of Interpersonal Violence, which was released in June
by the World Health Organization (WHO). Read
more
July 17,
2004
Additions
to the site:
Genocide
in Canada
BC United Church source confirms program to systematically
destroy documents related to crimes against First Nations including
rape, torture, murder, sexual sterilization, organ removal, and
an organized pedophile and sex slavery network. Read
More
July 16,
2004
Additions
to the site:
Call
for Solidarity - Maher Arar
 The
public inquiry into what happened to Maher
Arar is underway, and the Maher Arar Support Committee
has asked the Solidarity
Network, and its members, to pass on an important call
for solidarity.
Maher has
launched a website at www.maherarar.ca
which provides summaries of transcripts from the inquiry,
news releases from the Maher Arar Support Committee, and information
on how to support his struggle for the truth.
The site also
includes a section called "Have
your say" which encourages the public to submit their
thoughts on what is happening.
July 15,
2004
Additions
to the site:
In
defence of freedom of speech: disability activist
by Barbara
Anello
The
Canadian Radio - Television and Telecommunications Commission
(CRTC) decided yesterday to pull the license of Quebec City's
most popular radio station, CHOI FM because morning hosts, Jeff
Fillion and André Arthur, repeatedly
offended "Canadian values". This
is the first time the CRTC has revoked a license for the conduct
of radio hosts. ... At the end of the day, it's my view that the
CRTC, an unelected body, is not the appropriate body to determine
what constitutes "acceptable Canadian values" -- that's
a job for Canadians and our elected representatives.
July 7,
2004
Additions
to the site:
Lesbians
and Breast Cancer Project - Final Report released
Research
Report: The Lesbians and Breast Cancer Project, June 2004
Download
the Final Report as a PDF file (PDF,
112 pages, size 585 kb) 
Download
the Final Report as
a WORD doc (MS Word doc, 112 pages, size 459 kb)
Welfare
incomes far below poverty line across Canada
(Globe & Mail)
Welfare incomes have so deteriorated through cuts, freezes
and inflation that they are well below the poverty line across
the country, a report said Wednesday.
$20M
to fix welfare pay delay
(Toronto Star)
Glitch in welfare computer program has Liberals,
Tories playing blame game
670,000 people in Ontario must wait for 3 per cent increase
It could cost another $20 million to fix the Queen's Park computer
problem that has Liberals and Tories pointing the finger of blame
at each other.
July 6,
2004
Additions
to the site:
Louise
Arbour Takes Up Mandate of High Commissioner
Mrs. Arbour was, until June 2004, a member of the Supreme Court
of Canada. She served as chief prosecutor for the International
Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda from 1996
to 2000, during which time she indicted former Yugoslav and Serbian
President Slobodan Milosevic, among others, for war crimes and
crimes against humanity for his part in atrocities committed in
Kosovo.
Study
On Domestic Violence - Family Violence Punished Less - Stats Canada
A new study finds spouses are less likely than strangers to go
to prison for committing almost any type of violent crime. Statistics
Canada says convictions in violent cases involving spouses resulted
in prison terms in 19 per cent of cases. Read
More = >
July 4,
2004
Additions
to the site:
Amnesty
International to Investigate Disappearances of Aboriginal Women
in Canada
by
Marlene Westfall
Our
aboriginal sisters have experienced what I am going to term a
genocide in our own country. The word 'Genocide' was termed by
Raphael Lemkin after WWII as he and others were horrified at witnessing
Nazi terror although they were considered "rumours"
at the time. 'Genotype' denotes a biological type determined by
the genetic characteristics common to a group. 'Cide' is a suffix
signifying killer; destroyer; or a killing. Lemkin was almost
single handedly responsible for getting the United Nations to
adopt genocide as a criminal atrocity in the political evolution
of a nation. Read
More >
During the
Federal Election, we will be focused on election-related issues...
please refer to http://dawn.thot.net/election2004/
June 9
-11, 2004
Additions
to the site:
Here
Marks your Grave
Sudbury
Women’’s Centre des Femmes - Press Release - June 9,
2004
Sudbury
- June 09th, 2004 - "Here Marks your Grave"...There
were many inquires today at the Sudbury Women’’s Centre.
Some callers asked as to "why there was not a protest"
and other calls and e-mails whose comments were filled with horror,
disgust and disappointment when the first pictures of the "tombstone"
were released. Read More =>
Rexdale
Women's Centre Letter to Sudbury Mayor David
Courtemanche
dated June
9, 2004
Monument
to victims of domestic violence unveiled
By
Laura Stradiotto, The Sudbury Star
Wednesday,
June 9, 2004
June
8, 2004
Additions
to the site:
Beijing
+ 10 Review: A Feminist Strategy for 2004-05, A Working Paper
for NGOS on How to Move Forward
This paper emerged from the Center for Women's Global Leadership's
(CWGL) various activities and meetings to contribute to efforts
towards making women's participation more decisive in the UN review
of the Beijing Platform for Action BPFA and the Millennium Declaration
and Development Goals (MDG).
May 28,
2004
Additions to the site:
Surviving
on Hope is Not Enough: Women's Health, Poverty, Justice &
Income Support in Manitoba
Respect,
better benefits, information and advocacy will reduce stress and
enhance independence. Women’s health is harmed by stress
created by the welfare system, according to a study sponsored
by the Prairie Women’s Health Centre of Excellence. The report
will be launched on May 28. According to principal investigator
Rhonda Wiebe, “In our study the women described the stress
of being dependent on a system that shames and scrutinizes them,
withholds significant information from them, is inaccessible at
critical times in their lives, and blatantly expresses no interest
in understanding the day-to-day factors in their lives.”
May 25,
2004 (updated June 25, 2004)
Additions to the site:
Take
the Equality Rights Survey #5
View
Results from first 100 respondents
(PDF)
View
Results from most recent Survey
(PDF)
Canadian
elections: we all have a short memory
by Jonathan Nzouankeu dd May 25, 2004
Christie
Blatchford, Globe & Mail and CFRB commentator is venting this
morning: how can the Liberals dare to think that they are the
only party to know what Canadians really need. I usually don't
get too involved into Canadian internal politics. After 4 years,
I still consider myself "new" in this country and I
like to actually "know" what I'm talking about. I just
felt like sending a quick note from
someone observing with amusement the political makeup and wondering
what all this commotion is about. The mailing list is short and
so will be my point: Christie is worried about how much money
the Liberal government is planning on taking out of our pockets
for Health care, hinting that the Conservatives would do a better
job. Read More
May 19,
2004
Additions to the site:
Ontario
Budget: May 2004
Media
coverage of the Morning After Pill issue
Earle's
Story - A Call for Endorsements
Earle Rheaume has an interesting and compelling
story to tell. While it deals with an ugly experience
he had with the Ministry of Community, Family and Children's Services,
the issue is a systemic one in that it extends to many others
across the province on any given day.
Read
More
May 18,
2004
Additions to the site:
judge
Ramsay case: Prince George perpetrator of violence against young
First Nations women
Call to Action to write emails/letters of concern
and support on this issue. These attacks are part of the on-going
extreme levels of systemic violence experienced by First Nations
women.
Health
Canada proposes non-prescription status for 'morning after' pill
Canadian
Women's Health Network applauds move, but says it is not enough
--
'Over the counter' access to emergency contraception essential
Simply
People: Celebrating Our Lives and Our Identities
Post-Secondary
Students with Disabilities Organize a Celebratory March For People
With Disabilities June 20, 2004
May 12,
2004
Additions to the site:
 Canadians
for Equal Marriage (CEM) This
federal election will determine if equal marriage legislation
is passed & whether a number of very anti-gay candidates are
elected to Parliament. Please visit www.equal-marriage.ca,
and see how easy it is to make a difference in this crucial human
rights battle.
Poetry
by Robin Jones, Survivor
Women’s
monument deserves proper home
Editorial:
Northern Life dated May 12, 2004
Canadian
labour believes pay equity is mandated by Charter of Rights and
Freedoms
The
Canadian Labour Congress will be in the Supreme Court of Canada
tomorrow, Wednesday, May 12, 2004, to argue that the Canadian
Charter of Rights and Freedoms also apply to governments when
they prepare their budgets. The
case is a long-standing pay equity dispute between the Newfoundland
government and its employees. At issue is whether a law that repeals
pay equity payments that are owed to women workers, to redress
wage discrimination, violates equality rights under the Charter.
In resolving this issue, the Court will be asked to examine the
government’s duty to consider Charter equality obligations
in their budgeting process. en
francais
May 11,
2004
Additions to the site:
Women's
Equality Rights Are Not For Sale!
Women's
Legal Education and Action Fund (LEAF) to Argue at the Supreme
Court of Canada for Women's Right to Equal Pay for Work of Equal
Value
On
Wed, May 12th the
Women's Legal Education and Action Fund (LEAF) will
appear before the Supreme Court of Canada in the case of NAPE
(Newfoundland Association of Public Employees) v. Newfoundland.
At issue
in this case is whether the Newfoundland government's reneging
on an agreement to compensate its female employees for discriminatory
wages violates the equality rights guaranteed to women under the
Canadian Charter of Rights & Freedoms. The question is, can
Newfoundland pay women less than men for work of equal value?
This
case affects 5,300 female employees of the Newfoundland government,
and has the potential to set a precedent for female employees
across Canada. Read
More =>
May 6,
2004
Additions to the site:
Editorial in the Sudbury Star, May 6, 2004
INVITES your Feedback -
Please provide it!
May 5,
2004
Additions to the site:
CAEFS
Fact Sheets
National Elizabeth Fry Week - May 3 - 9 2004
2nd
National Disability Rights Conference
The Canadian Labour Congress is proud to announce
that our Second National Disability Rights Conference, “Doing
MORE – Moving FORWARD” will be held November 11 to November
14, 2004 (registration desk opens at 4 p.m. on the 11th) at
the Fairmont
Queen Elizabeth Hotel, Montréal, Québec. The
Conference will do MORE to build the voice of activists
with disabilities and our allies. We will do MORE to build
our political agenda. We will do MORE to build our understanding
of issues impacting on the lives of disabled activists. We will
do MORE to build on the work done since the first conference.
Read More
May 3,
2004
Additions to the site:
TAKE
ACTION to STOP a Women's Monument from being erected in a Sudbury
Graveyard
On April
29th, Sudbury City Council passed a motion to approve the erection
of a women's monument in a local graveyard. DAWN stands in solidarity
with our sisters at the Sudbury Women's Centre des Femmes
who oppose the highly inappropriate placement of a women's monument
in a cemetery.
Take Action
Read
Responses
Read Media Coverage
April 30,
2004
Additions to the site:
Consultation
Launched on Rental Housing
Legislation
to Curb Sixty-Hour Work Week
New
Provincial Rent Bank and Energy Emergency Fund
Legislation
to Allow Family Medical Leave
Report
Finds Domestic Homicides Predictable and Preventable
Additional
Funding for Autism
Minimum
Wage Workers and Low-paid Worker Mobility
Source:
United Ways of Ontario's Government Relations Bulletin
- Issue dd
April 30, 2004
April 22,
2004
Additions to the site:
Tenant
Action Group (Belleville) Puts Grocery Stores on notice
TAG Press Release dd April 22, 2004: If the provincial
government forces welfare and Ontario Disability recipients to
scrape out an existence on starvation level benefits then we are
left with little choice but to steal food for our children to
survive. When it comes to providing the basic necessities for
your household honesty in Belleville is a privilege. Read
More =>
Ontario
Disability Support Program (ODSP) and Ontario Works (OW)
Quarterly Statistical Reports - Caseloads and Beneficiaries
(CSRL)
- 5 years
of statistics on ODSP and OW caseloads (i.e., number of households)
& beneficiaries (i.e., number of individual recipients)
- includes
stat breakdowns by family type (singles / couples / sole support
parents)
Ontario
Disability Support Program Quarterly Statistical Report
Ontario
Works Quarterly Statistical Report
NOTE
from Gilles Seguin, publisher of CSRL:
Kudos to the Ontario Government for finally making ODSP statistics
publicly available for the first time since the mid-1990s! [the
policy of the former government was to make OW statistics available
on the website, but if someone wanted to know the number of
people on ODSP, they had to submit a request, by regular mail
or e-mail and wait for a beneficient bureaucrat of the Ontario
Government to reply...]
Note to explain the previous note: Why is it important
for ODSP stats to be as readily available as OW on the government's
site? Because any comparison of Ontario's welfare stats with
those of other Canadian provinces and territories must include
both the "expected-to-work" and the "not-expected-to-work"
components of the welfare caseload.
April
19, 2004
Additions to the site:
March
for Dignity - Rally for a Raise
On Thursday,
April 29th, a courageous group of seniors, people with disabilities
and people on social assistance will arrive in Toronto after walking
150 MILES from Sarnia, through Woodstock, London, Kitchener and
Hamilton to Toronto on a March for Dignity
to protest provincial government policies that force them to
live thousands of dollars below the poverty line. Read
More =>
April
13, 2004
Additions to the site:
Homeless
Women Crisis - Homeless women 10 times more likely to die:
AIDS, drugs, suicide common causes, researchers
find
Homeless women
in Toronto are dying at 10 times the rate of other women between
18 and 44, according to a new
study released today in the Canadian Medical Association Journal...
HIV-AIDS and drug overdoses are the most common causes of death
among younger homeless women. Read
More
April
10, 2004
Upcoming Conferences in April 2004
April 28
- 30, 2004 | Edmonton, AB
The
3 R's of Sex: Relationships, Reproductive Health and Recreation
Conference
The Alberta Society for the Promotion of Sexual Health
is holding a sexual health conference on April 28-30, 2004 entitled
"The 3 R's of Sex: Relationships, Reproductive Health and
Recreation". For
more information, please contact: Alberta Society for the Promotion
of Sexual Health. Tel: (780)424-6312 ext.2226 Fax: (780)425-1782
Email: aspsh@ppae.ab.ca
or visit their website at http://www.aspsh.ca
April
30-May 1, 2004 | Toronto, Ontario
Transitions
Conference: Sharing & Shaping - Building skills for living
in the adult world
The conference will focus on five areas: supportive living,
independent and assisted living options, family life, support
systems and information for families and caregivers; leisure and
lifestyle, choices for active and healthy living; post-secondary
opportunities, education, volunteering, employment; medical, taking
charge of your health; and Youth Day.
Follow this
LINK for conference announcements
in May 2004
April
8, 2004
Additions
to the site:
March
for Dignity from Sarnia to Queen's Park!
Thursday April 29th at 11:00 am - Rally at Queen's
Park, Toronto
Ontario voted for REAL change, not SPARE change and
we need YOUR voice to make sure it happen. Show that you support
dignity for all people in Ontario. The March starts in Sarnia
on April 24th enroute to Queen's Park. Read
More =>
Poverty
in Canada: Media Coverage: Stats Can Report - Low income in census
metropolitan area
April
7, 2004
of interest ...
Stats
Can releases Report
"Low income in census metropolitan areas"
http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/040407/d040407a.htm
Facts
from StatsCan report on income levels in 27 major Canadian cities,
- Median annual income of families in 2000 was $62,300, a 1% increase
from 1990. That contrasts with the 1980s, when median incomes
rose 5%.
- Recent
immigrants, aboriginals & single-parent families are at
the highest risk for low income.
- The percentage
of recent immigrants with low income was 35% in 2000, compared
with 17.7% in the general population. In 1980, 23% of immigrants
had a low income.
- Among
aboriginals in cities, 41.6% were living in low income in 2000,
more than double the national average.
- For single-parent
families, the rate of those with low incomes dropped across
the country to 46.6% in 2000 from 54.2% two decades earlier.
- Among
individuals with low incomes in 2000, 51.1% of their income
came from government assistance, compared with 42.7% in 1980.
City's
minority women face tough struggle
A hidden story in the poverty report
by Royson
James, Toronto Star, April 7, 2004
Multiple
marginalization. Erasure. Counted out. Democratic and social fissure.
Social isolation near epidemic proportions.
These are a few of the words and phrases found in the first seven
paragraphs of a 110-page report from 2003 that told us exactly
what this week's United Way report on poverty says — only
in more direct and compelling language. The release of the United
Way's "Poverty by Postal Code" sent me scurrying
back to last year's study — a call for validation and recognition
that received hardly a mention. "If Low-income Women of Colour
Counted in Toronto," prepared by Punam Khosla, is at once
riveting and revolting. In powerful language, it adds flesh and
gives voice to the women who bear the brunt of oppressive poverty
in the city's neighbourhoods. Read More http://tinyurl.com/2945t
April
6, 2004
Additions to the site:
Walking
on Eggshells: Abused Women's Experiences of Ontario's Welfare
System
April
5, 2004
Additions to the site:
New
United Way Report 'Poverty by Postal Code'
Documents Changing Toronto Neighbourhoods
United
Way of Greater Toronto Press Release
Key Findings
Links to Report online
Links to Media coverage
April 3, 2004
Additions to the site:
Together,
We Build a Better Toronto
2nd Forum in a series hosted by the Truth-Compassion-Forbearance
Advocacy Society (TCFAS) Tues.
April 13, 2004 from 6:30 pm – 9:30 pm
Council
Chamber, Toronto City Hall, 100 Queen Street West
April
2, 2004
Additions to the site:
Coming
Out - About Lesbians and Cancer
The Lesbians and Breast Cancer Project Summary Report
The Lesbians and Breast Cancer Project was a community-based
participatory study conducted in Ontario, Canada in 2003. Read
More =>
PDF
version (535 kb)
March
31, 2004
Additions
to the site:
Fast
Food Calorie Disclosure Bill (C-398) Advances; Legislation
would also require Better Ingredient Lists on Food Labels &
Nutrition Info for Fresh Meat
The
House of Commons sent to the Health Committee, private member’s
legislation requiring fast food chains to disclose calorie information
on menus. The bill would also require large full-service chain
restaurants to disclose additional nutrition information on menus,
food manufacturers to improve ingredient lists on processed food
labels, and meat packers to put nutrition information on all fresh-meat
labels. The Committee is required to report back to the House
by September 30, 2004. Read
More =>
Killing
The Messenger: Op/Ed by tOM Trottier
The
new legislation to protect whistle-blowers wouldn't have protected
Gary Lovett. He got fired for telling the media that Canada's
base in Afghanistan didn't have adequate fire-fighting gear. Though
his pay came from the Canadian government, it flowed through a
contractor, SNC Lavelin, so the generals could get him fired by
snapping their fingers. Read
More =>
March
24, 2004
Additions
to the site:
Responses
to Budget 2004:
March
23, 2004
Featured sites - disAbility issues
Chem-Tox.com
"Research on health disorders resulting from petroleum-based
chemicals used in consumer products and job environments are available
from the links below. Petroleum based chemicals are being found
to cause significant attritional effects to the nervous system
and immune system after prolonged exposure. Illnesses identified
in the medical research include adult and child cancers, numerous
neurological disorders, immune system weakening, autoimmune disorders,
asthma, allergies, infertility, miscarriage, and child behavior
disorders including learning disabilities, mental retardation,
hyperactivity and ADD (attention deficit disorders). . . . The
majority of information at CHEM-TOX has been attained from research
from the University of Florida and University of South Florida
Medical Libraries. Every attempt has been made to provide information
clearly and accurately - The medical/scientific journal name and
date, along with the university and scientists involved in the
research are listed with each article."
Pollution
- "Pollutants in the air are caused by natural events (like
bushfires and windstorms) or human activities (including industrial
processes or driving motor vehicles). Examples of pollutants include
gases, chemicals and airborne particles (such as dust and pollen).
High levels of pollution can be a health risk, and may cause asthma
and other health complaints."
The
ABCs of ADHD
"Dr. Clive Schwartz is an assistant professor and consultant
at the Hospital for Sick Children, University of Toronto. He has
a number of research interests, including the comorbidity between
attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and learning disabilities
such as dyslexia."
Children
With Disabilities
"The Children
With Disabilities Web site offers families, service providers,
and other interested individuals information about advocacy, education,
employment, health, housing, recreation, technical assistance,
and transportation covering a broad array of developmental, physical,
and emotional disabilities."
Violence
And Abuse Against People With Disabilities: Experiences, Barriers
And Prevention Strategies
(Word doc)
by Laurie E. Powers, Ph.D. & Mary Oschwald, Ph.D.
Center on Self-Determination; Oregon Institute on Disability and
Development; Oregon Health & Science University
March
22, 2004
Additions to the site:
Stop
Violence Against Aboriginal Women
Join
the Native Women's Association of Canada's (NWAC)'s Sisters
in Spirit Campaign,
a pan-Canadian
initiative supported by a broad coalition of organizations, intended
to draw public and political attention to the disappearances and
murders of more than 500 Aboriginal women across Canada. Launched
March 22, 2004
Falun Gong
persecution spreads to Canada
Ottawa does little to counter campaign by Chinese envoys
by John Turley-Ewart - National Post
March
19, 2004
Additions to the site:
Campaign
to Stop Violence Against Women
Amnesty International - An Open Letter To The Women’s
Movement
...
This campaign is designed to sound the alarm about violence against
women as a human rights crisis, educate the broader public about
the issues, mobilize both women and men to work to counter violence
and to use the power and persuasion of the human rights framework
in the efforts to stop violence against women.
March
18, 2004
Additions to the site:
Social
Factors Drive Health Outcomes
Hospital
Funding to Come With Accountability
Report
Calls for New Investment in Non-Profit Agencies
Province
Beefs up Family Responsibility Office
New
Public Policy Resource for Non-profits and Charities
New
Money for Children’s Aid
Municipalities
Empowered to Hike Property Taxes on Businesses
Courts
Upholds Charitable Property Tax Exemption
Source:
United Ways of Ontario's Government Relations Bulletin
- Issue dd
March 16, 2004
March
13, 2004
Announcement
Featured
Sites
FOUND - Nelly Botelho!
The Botelho Family would like to thank all of you for the love,
help and support you have shown them through the horrible ordeal
of Nelly's disappearance. Nelly has been found and is being re-united
with her family. Thank you. ~ Beth
Jordan for the Botelho/Medieros Family
March 12, 2004
Additions
to the site:
Women
Reps Arrested at the Legislature Today
BC Coalition of Women Centres press release March 12, 2004
Five representatives from the BC
Coalition of Women's Centres refused to leave an office
at the BC Legislature this morning after a meeting with Ida Chong,
Minister of State for Women's and Senior's Services. All of the
representatives were arrested this morning and were later released.
They will be holding a press conference at 1 pm today. Read
More =>
March 11,
2004
Additions
to the site:
Action
Alert: Stop Racist Backlash in | 
