[homeles_ot-l] 1. Lisa MacLeod's announcement of Social Assistance reforms on Thursday; 2. Reports from Campaign 2000; 3. Ottawa Public Health webinar and report

[Linda Lalonde]

Hi folks,

I'll start with the more ominous news and then tell you about some helpful reports that are out this week.

1. Lisa MacLeod will be announcing the changes to social assistance (SA) tomorrow afternoon, Thursday Nov 22, at 1 pm at Queens Park. She's being joined by Merrilee Fullerton who is Minister of Training,Colleges and Universities which gives a hint about some of the reforms she's bringing in. This is what's coming out of the 100-day review of SA that she proposed last July at the same time as she cut the scheduled increase to SA from 3% to 1.5% and froze a long list of positive reforms that were supposed to kick in this fall.
The media release is at: https://news.ontario.ca/mcys/en/2018/11/ministers-of-children-community-and-social-services-and-training-colleges-and-universities-to-make-a.html and the announcement will be live-streamed on YouTube at: https://www.youtube.com/c/GovernmentofOntarioAnnouncements
Note that MacLeod is the MPP for Nepean and Fullerton is MPP for Kanata-Carleton so they are both, theoretically, accessible to people in the Ottawa area. Here's how you can contact them:
merrilee.fullerton at pc.ola.org
Suite 100 - 240 Michael Cowpland Dr., Kanata, ON K2M 1P6
Tel   613-599-3000   Fax   613-599-8183 
lisa.macleodco at pc.ola.org
Unit 10 - 3500 Fallowfield Rd., Nepean, ON K2J 4A7
Tel   613-823-2116  Fax   613-823-8284 

2. Campaign 2000 released its report on child and family poverty in Ontario this week. Here's the info:

Released on November 20th, National Child Day, the 2018 national report card “Bold Ambitions for Child Poverty Eradication in Canada,” provides a current snapshot of child and family poverty and demonstrates the need for a costed implementation plan to eradicate child poverty in this generation.
Ahead of the 2019 federal election, Campaign 2000 invites all parties to commit to the missing piece in Canada’s anti-poverty agenda: universal childcare. Without affordable, accessible, and quality childcare, parents cannot lift themselves and their children out of poverty.Ontario also released their annual report card on child and family poverty calling for bold action against poverty. Click on the following links to read and download the new report cards and other materials as they become available:
National Report in  English and French
Media release in English and FrenchInfographics: report card overview, childcare and inequality
Ontario Child Poverty Infographics & Media Release, November 2018
Please click on the Media Release and five infographics listed below:Ontario Campaign 2000 Media Release, Nov. 2018Poverty Hurts OntarioIncome SecurityWorkers’ RightsUniversal ChildcareAffordable HousingReference List
3. Ottawa Public Health is releasing their annual Nutritious Food Basket report tomorrow at noon. It documents what it costs to live in Ottawa with examples for families of different sizes. There's a webinar from 12 - 1 pm and you can register at: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/the-2018-nutritious-food-basket-and-food-insecurity-in-ottawa-webinar-tickets-28453848226. There are still spaces. After the webinar, the report and accompanying materials will be on the OPH website at ottawapublichealth.ca.

The news from the province is unlikely to be good and will include rollbacks of existing benefits as well as added conditions for receiving assistance. Will it be as harsh as the Harris cuts in the 90's? We'll soon find out.
Linda.
P.S. Please excuse if this comes through wonky - I had a lovely tune-up of my computer yesterday and it hasn't quite recovered yet. There are particular fonts and text sizes it seems to favour so it just inserts them randomly. “Life is an adventure of passion, risk, danger, laughter, beauty, love; a burning curiosity to go with the action to see what it is all about, to go search for a pattern of meaning, to burn one's bridges because you're never going to go back anyway, and to live to the end.”  Saul Alinsky   
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