Thursday, April 15th
12Noon
Allan Gardens Park (Sherbourne and Gerrard)
free meal

-Raise Welfare and Disability rates by 40%
-Stop the attacks on the Special Diet
-Defend Public Services

In 2003, the Liberals were elected on the promise of change'. Those empty promises have done nothing to end poverty. The reality is that poor people in Ontario are worse off than we were 15 years ago. And now, things are about to get even worse.

Video: Watch OCAP crashing Liberal heritage dinner OCAP Organizes to Raise Welfare/Disability Rates.

On Thursday, February 25th, 2010, diners at a lavish Ontario Party Liberal fundraising event, which cost attendees $950 per plate and $9,500 a table, did not finish their meals in comfort.

Members of the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty (OCAP) organized to crash the fundraiser, at which Premier Dalton McGuinty was scheduled to speak, in an act of outrage at the fact that rich Liberal Party supporters could spend more on a meal than people on welfare and disability have to live on for a month. While the Liberals feast, literally thousands of people in this city go without food or shelter.

At about 7:00 p.m. at the Metro Convention Centre, 50 low income people
and OCAP supporters managed to disrupt the fine dining and cocktails, walking past police and security and proceeding right to the front of the banquet hall. Just as hundreds of dinner attendees gathered in the reception area sipping on champagne, OCAP occupied the centre area chanting Raise the Rates and We are hungry, we’re angry, we won’t go away!. The group was loud, energetic and determined despite physical attacks by Toronto Police and Liberal Party members.

A letter from Doctor Roland Wong to Dalton McGuinty about someone unjustly being denied the special diet.

The Ontario Government’s pre-budget consultations are currently underway at Queen’s Park. The Federal budget is set to be released at the beginning of March (that is unless Harper decides for another spontaneous vacation), with the Ontario Budget, and most Provincial budgets, then set to be released by the end of March or beginning of April.

It will, no doubt, be the same tired old routine. Agencies,services,and organizations will line up to sing for their supper in front of the all-party Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs. The committee will be sent the same message that the government has gotten and ignored time and time again – that people in this province are suffering,that the people of Ontario cannot handle further cuts to programs or cuts to jobs,that their poverty reduction strategy is failing and that this province desperately needs to see a raise in funding for social assistance,childcare, and education.

December 8th, 2009 - Today, starting at 11:30am, members of the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty (OCAP) and more than 150, to at times 250 people, who are struggling to survive on Ontario Works and ODSP occupied the 12th floor and main lobby of Toronto's Metro Hall - the head of Welfare bureaucracy in Toronto.

Despite intimidation, the group refused to leave and instead demanded the right to have their Special Diet forms properly processed. The group was loud and determined - chanting "We won't be quiet 'till we get the special diet!". Social Services responded by vaguely telling the group that they are waiting on 'clarification' from the Province on policy around the Special Diet. They then issued an ultimatum and sent in a large team of police, including ETF, who were preparing to mass arrest and physically remove people from the building. After almost 4 hours, the group was forced to exit the building. But this fight is not over - the group from today has vowed to return with an even larger number of supporters.