Social Audit Beginning ISARC’s Social Audits are beginning across the province. Waterloo Region took place on February 25. Chatham-Kent began on March 22, North Bay on March 23 and 24, and South West Ontario (Rural) will happen on March 31. Other audits in the province are occurring in April.
Click here to read about Brice Balmer's account of the social audit that took place in Waterloo Region.
Go to www.isarc.ca/socialaudit2010.html to learn when and where the Hearings will take place, and to access the Guidelines and various resources we have put together.
If you would like to become a part of the Social Audit in your local area, contact ISARC at info@isarc.ca. Top
Meeting with Honourable Laurel Broten Read about ISARC's meeting with Honourable Laurel Broten, Minister of Children and Youth Services on March 9. Top
Special Diet The Income Security Advocacy Centre (ISAC) reports that on February 17, the Human Rights tribunal of Ontario found that the government’s Special Diet program violates the Ontario Human Rights Code. They also reported that the Government might be considering eliminating the Special Diet Program entirely. Click here.
The 25in5 (which ISARC is part of) suggest the following action to Protect Special Diet:
Contact the Ministers and your MPP: Tell them Special Diet is too important to be cut! Send a letter or email to Minister Meilleur, Minister Broten, and the Premier.
You can use the 25in5 letter as a template for your own letter. You can also use the ISARC letter.
Call, write or email your MPP about the importance of the Special Diet Allowance.
The ODSP Action Coalition has prepared a lobby kit with tips about points you can make in phone calls or letters. See the lobby kits here.
A list of all MPPs (including postal addresses, phone numbers, and emails) can be found here.
If you send a letter, please send The 25in5 Network a copy at info@25in5.ca. Top
Put Food in the Budget Endorse an immediate $100/month Healthy Food Supplement as a first step towards a healthy diet.
Do the Math is a survey that calculates what it costs each month to live a healthy and dignified life. Top
2010 Ontario Budget,
March 25, 2010 Minister of Finance, Dwight Duncan, will present the 2010 Ontario Budget on Thursday, March 25, 2010
See the pre-Budget Submissions of:
ISARC: It takes a village to raise a child, Submission to the Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs (January 26, 2010 in London)
Ontario Alternative Budget The CCPA Ontario office released its Ontario Alternative
Budget, Steering Ontario Out of Recession, and its prescription for this year's provincial budget, calling on the Ontario government to make job creation - not deficit reduction - a top priority. Top
Ottawa Poverty Reduction Last November, with the support of the City’s Poverty Issues Advisory Committee, the Ottawa Poverty Reduction Network (OPRN) approached the Community & Protective Services Committee to ask the City to develop a municipal Poverty Reduction Strategy.
On December 10th, Human Rights Day, City Council approved the request. A cross-sectoral Steering Committee, co-chaired by Barb McInnes of the Community Foundation and Colleen Hendrick from the City and including two OPRN members, developed Phase 1 of the Strategy and it was approved by CPS on January 21st. You can see the report here. On January 2, City Council adopted the Poverty Reduction Strategy. Top
Remembering Paula Finbow by Jim Paddon, Vice-President, Ontario Council Society of Saint Vincent de Paul
It is with profound sadness that I had to accept the death notice of Paula Finbow last month. Paula was president of the Etobicoke Council of the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul and was a member of our Ontario Council's Voice of The Poor advocacy committee, of which I am the Chair. Paula was a true friend of the poor and a strong advocate of the changes needed in Ontario and Canada to address poverty reduction. She attended several ISARC meetings, either with me, or in my place, and she was certainly a strong supporter of ISARC. Paula spoke at ISARC’s April 2009 Religious Leaders Forum, reflecting on her involvement in the Prayer Vigil.
Her death leaves a large void in our advocacy efforts but her memory will help to sustain us in our continued work. May God bless her and the many people living in poverty whose lives she touched. Top
Breaking Down Barriers: A Multi-Faith Guide to Accessibility in Places of Worship This new Guide outlines a step-by-step process for removing barriers to accessibility in places of worship, and is based on the Accessibility Standards for Customer Service of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005. Published by Reena, an organization that actively supports the social inclusion of persons with developmental disabilities, a copy can be downloaded at http://www.reena.org/publications.html#03. Top Our diverse religious traditions have different approaches to how we pray for our politicians and government. This series explores the question from the perspective of our various religious communities. Our latest response is from a Unitarian Universalists perspective.
How Do We Pray For Our Politicians and Government? - a Unitarian Universalists perspective by Rev. Jeffrey Brown, Minister, Unitarian Congregation in Mississauga
The Interfaith Social Assistance Reform Coalition (ISARC) was born out of the hope that together a coalition of faith groups could contribute to new public policies based upon greater justice and dignity for Ontarians marginalized by poverty
ISARC’s Social Audits are beginning across the province. Waterloo Region took place on February 25. Chatham-Kent began on March 22, North Bay on March 23 and 24, and South West Ontario (Rural) will happen on March 31. Other audits in the province are occurring in April.
Put Food in the Budget
How Do We Pray For Our Politicians and Government?