The letter of the day is P.... for pesticides and poverty...

Submitted by lauren muffin on May 30, 2006 - 11:00am.

tags:

As to keep up to date with the state of the pesticide ban in London. A 4-3 vote was cast last night recommending the ban of cosmetic pesticide use. The article printed shows the very saddening perspectives of London locals that are against the ban. It seems this is an attack on their industry and not a plea for the sake of our health and the planet. *sad face*

Check out the article in the free press here : http://lfpress.ca/newsstand/CityandRegion/2006/05/30/1605395-sun.html

Also I was reading about the protest against poverty which took place in Stratford yesterday. Below is a link to the article. Does anyone know fellow comrades that were there? They should post on this site so that people like me know this type of rally is going on. Just a thought. Anyway the protesters were outside the opening of the straftord festival and the main mission of the gathering was concern over the rates of ODSP and welfare being far too low. I personally have experienced the difficulties of attempting to survive on the small amount that is offered by the welfare system while finishing my high school education. I also have a family member far to ill to fight against this kind of injustice, but having a very difficult time dealing with the small amount of money she is left to live on. This is an interesting movement that looks to have been put together by O.C.A.P (ontario coalition against poverty.) I really like the great numbers of people that are active these days. It’s great.

http://lfpress.ca/newsstand/CityandRegion/2006/05/30/1605395-sun.html

Also check out the OCAP page, there is a good article on this issue.

http://www.ocap.ca/

Anyways, have a nice day people
Lauren Muffin

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welfare and deductions..

Submitted by lauren muffin on May 30, 2006 - 3:49pm.

actually when i was on welfare and in highschool i had a job on the weekend working at a car dealership and i only had a percentage of the $525 taken away. I think it was something like x$ X .33 (x = money made that month) was removed from the check and the max amount you could reach was 750(approx). but it was done a month later which sometimes left you way short for a month if your hours varied. still is was a very small amount for a person to live even close to comfortably. especially someone like me that very much perfers to live alone.

system.. poop....

right it's not the whole enchilada

Submitted by alex homanchuk (not verified) on May 30, 2006 - 4:24pm.

I think currently the general rule is 50 percent of income deducted (with some exceptions) ex. you make 200 dollars your payment = 525 - 100 = 425 therefore you end up 100 bucks ahead. it's not really that straight forward from what i recall though, it's doubtful that "rewards" would fall under the typical earning exemptions.

*Edit*

found some info: http://www.mcss.gov.on.ca/CFCS/en/programs/IES/OntarioWorks/FAQs/q-ow-earningsexemptions.htm

ontario works policy directives

Submitted by Trev McNaughton (not verified) on May 30, 2006 - 4:13pm.

http://www.mcss.gov.on.ca/NR/MCFCS/OW/English/16_4.pdf <- here's a link to the OW page, a pdf about deductions

here's there policy directives. http://www.mcss.gov.on.ca/CFCS/en/programs/IES/OntarioWorks/Publications/ow-policydirectives.htm

I've only glanced over the deductions part briefly, but have read most of it (as it pertains to my job). I thought I'd post.

its a shame that alot of people on assistance aren't given this stuff to read, nor really have it explained to them. mind you if someone slapped this on a desk, I'd be pretty intimidated by it.

The optics of welfare

Submitted by alex homanchuk (not verified) on May 30, 2006 - 2:40pm.

The state of welfare is absolutely abysmal. The paltry sum afforded to the welfare recipient is hardly livable (max for a single person in London is 525.00 a month, any earnings are deducted from this sum) and the support infrastructure is a complete joke. There are plenty of hoops to jump through to ensure that you are quickly disqualified and dropped from the dole. This is an issue that makes me particulary upset especially given how often it is manipulated for political gain (ex. Mike Harris "welfare cheats" and the libs are no better). Anyway, i thought i would post an article that i recall completely incensed me at the time, witness the liberals Masturbatory-Self-Congratulatory-Christmastime-Welfare-Wank. Below is an excerpt of the original article that can be found on Lexis-Nexis Academic (accessible through Western Libraries).

SECTION: NEWS; Pg. A01

LENGTH: 551 words

HEADLINE: Honest mother's $40,000 escapade

BYLINE: Richard Brennan, Toronto Star

BODY:

Welfare recipient Debbie Peliti's adventure with $40,000 in cash took her from the street to a bank to the Legislature.

First she found the money lying on the street.

Then she got a $2,000 reward after turning the money in to the TD Bank.

Then she found out she had to give the reward to the government or have it clawed back from her welfare cheques.

That brought her to the Legislature yesterday, where she won a standing ovation from MPPs and a promise from the government that she can keep the $2,000.

"It is just so important for us to send the right signal," said Premier Dalton McGuinty, who personally thanked Peliti for her honesty.

[The right signal would fix this broken system and not make special exceptions for the sake of self-aggrandizing optics]

This is an excerpt from the original Toronto Star article retrieved from Lexis-Nexis Academic and falls under the provision of so-called users' rights embodied within the Copyright Act's section III Infringement of Copyright and Moral Rights and Exceptions to Infringement - specifically subsection 29.2 (Fair dealing)
for more information see CANLII @ http://www.canlii.com/ca/sta/c-42/

second protest?

Submitted by Trev McNaughton (not verified) on May 30, 2006 - 1:09pm.

I could be mistaken, but is this the second anti-poverty protest in stratford this month? I thought I read an article at work last week about one in stratford. either way, stratford seems to be bumpin these days..

as a side note, I like this quote " Stratford police Insp. John Roper said 33 of his force's 45 uniformed officers were standing by.".. when I first read it, I thought it said they were un-informed.. which they probably were..