[homeles_ot-l] Fwd: ] PRE-BUDGET CONSULTATIONS

[Terrie]

--

The purpose of attending pre-budget consultations or making written
submissions is to pressure the provincial government to include funding for
people with disabilities and people on social assistance when they announce
the provincial budget in the spring. So the more community agencies and
organizations that make deputations, the better chance we have of
influencing the provincial government.

Although the coalition will be making a deputation, we would like to
encourage organizations and groups across the province to register to make a
deputation in their own communities or make a written submission.
Information on how to register and what you need to do is below. Groups and
organizations should register under their own names and not as the ODSP
Action Coalition. Once our written submission is ready, we will get it out
to everyone so you can adapt it or use parts of it for your own
presentations. In the meantime, I am attaching the fact sheet we did on
increasing OW and ODSP rates, as it contains some statistics you might find
helpful. If anyone else has materials or statistics you think might be
helpful, please share them with the e-list.

1) *The Pre-budget consultations of the Standing Committee on Finance and
Economic Affairs *

The Committee has scheduled the following pre-budget consultations:
Toronto:                Jan. 21 and 28
Sault Ste. Marie: Jan. 22
Timmins:              Jan. 23
Thunder Bay:       Jan. 24
Kingston:             Jan. 29
Guelph:                Jan. 30
London:               Jan. 31

All interested groups or organizations who wish to be considered to make an
oral presentation should contact the Clerk of the Committee at 416-325-3883
by 5:00 p.m. on Friday, January 11, 2008.  (I believe they accept collect
calls if you are outside of Toronto).  If you would like to present in
Toronto, which will likely be full, you should include an alternate location
if you would be willing to travel to another hearing in the event you are
not chosen to present in Toronto.

Everyone who registers will be informed later next week if you will be able
to present and assigned a time. You will have 15 minutes, with a maximum of
10 minutes for your deputation and the remaining time for questions from
committee members. You can have more than one presenter, as long as you stay
within the time allowed, so the coalition would like to encourage groups to
include ODSP recipients as one of your speakers.

Those who do not wish to make an oral presentation but who are interested in
commenting on the issue may send a written submission to the Clerk of the
Committee at the address below by* 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, January 31,
2008*.There is no particular format or word limit that has to be
followed.

Pat Hoy, MPP* Chair/Président*

William Short * Clerk/Greffier*
**
**Room 1405, Whitney Block/Bureau 1405, édifice Whitney

Queen's Park, Toronto, ON M7A 1A2

Telephone/Téléphone: (416) 325-3883

Facsimile/Télécopieur: (416) 325-3505

TTY/ATS: (416) 325-3538

________________________________________________________________________________


*2) The Minister of Finance's Pre-budget consultations *

The Minister of Finance, Dwight Duncan, is also holding his own pre-budget
consultations across the province. Some hearings have already been held and
the others are scheduled this week, including:
Kitchener on Jan. 9th, from 10-1 pm and Stratford on Jan. 10th from 10-1 pm.
I have contacted the clerk to find out more information but have not heard
back yet so cannot tell you if more hearings are planned, what the format is
or what is involved. However, I suspect there will be more hearings
scheduled.

 To get on the list of presenters or to find out the full list of cities
that the Finance Minister will be travelling to, email
mariya.genkova at ontario.ca and provide your name, email, tel #, name of
org,and location where you'd like to present. Again, only organizations and
groups can make presentations and you should register under your own
organization's name and not the ODSP Action Coalition.

If your organization is not chosen to make a presentation or you would like
to offer your ideas as an individual, you can also make a written submission
or provide answers to a series of questions on the Finance Ministry's
website: http://www.fin.gov.on.ca/english/consultations/prebud08/.


__,_._,___



-- 
Terrie ( mocharebyl at gmail.com )
"If you see an injustice being committed, you aren't an observer, you are a
participant." June Callwood
Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
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