New Mayor Meets with Representatives of Poor Communities at OCAP Office

Last Thursday, February 5th, a common front of organizations and
individuals living and working in poor communities went to the Community
and Neighbourhood Services Committee of Toronto City Council.  We came to drive home the fact that the long years of Tory rule in Ontario, combined with property developers running City Council, have created a rampant poverty crisis.  Services have been gutted, cops have been allowed to terrorize poor communities, affordable housing has not been built, and racist immigration policies have cast a shadow over people in many parts of the City.

The people who filled the committee room to overflowing, however, did not come out to tell sad stories, hoping for crumbs to be tossed by Council. Instead, they presented ten very strong and clear demands (listed below) that address concrete ways in which Toronto government could significantly stem the crisis.  Welfare policies could be amended to reduce the rate of evictions.  The supply and protection of housing for the poor could be attended to. Municipal services could be made accessible to undocumented families without people having to fear immigration authorities.  The out of control police budget could be frozen and vital resources used to meet social needs, instead of funding intimidation and terror in our communities.

Once the deputations had been forcefully and uncompromisingly delivered,
people moved to the Mayor's Office to demand that he meet with us and
answer to the ten demands.  An understanding was reached that Miller would be made available the following week. Soon thereafter, he requested the right to come to the OCAP office for the meeting, which we agreed to. On Wednesday, February 11th, David Miller entered the OCAP office to be received by a room packed full of many of the same people who had been at City Hall the week before.  It soon became clear that Miller had expected a "feel good session", in which he would hear our concerns, be pressed for little of substance, and retire in a warm glow.

Instead, he was forced to try and answer specifically to each of our ten demands.  He bristled and attempted to use his "guest" status to absolve himself from scrutiny.

None of this worked. He was grilled systematically on the ten points and
related issues by many in the room.  His responses were far from
impressive.  He rejected anything out of hand that would mean standing up to the cops or higher levels of Government.  He said he would consider a portion of what we had put forward but would give no promises.  He did inform us that a survey is now underway of empty property in the City with a view to conversion of these sites into housing.  Even here, however, specifics and timelines were missing.  The meeting concluded on a strained note, as we pledged to mobilize around the demands as seriously as the situation in our communities calls for.

David Miller came to our office to meet with us where his predecessor
would not have done so - but, frankly, so what? We do not place any great weight on such meetings.  The issue is this: will his approach actually mean major action to relieve the crisis of poverty in this City?  Based on our meeting with the new Mayor, we remain unconvinced by his purportedly "progressive" credentials.  He will take some steps the last Mayor would have opposed.  But, in the end, only serious mobilization and the solidarity of communities under attack can win what we need.  Miller talked the language of "change".  We intend to take the action necessary to force it out of him.

TEN DEMANDS FOR ACTION ON POVERTY

Welfare Policies to Keep People Housed

1. Toronto City Council must set an example in Ontario by refusing to
clawback the child tax credit from Ontario Works recipients.

2. Stop handing over information to the police for 'welfare fraud'
prosecutions and establish a 2% maximum recovery rate in overpayment
situations.

Housing as a Right not an Empty Promise

3. Ensure that enough social, supportive and accessible housing is built
to eliminate the waiting list.

4. Freeze all condo development in neighbourhoods where low income housing stock is threatened with displacement.

5. Launch a program to retrofit empty buildings, starting with municipally owned 'surplus housing', and ensure the impending rental unit inspection and repair by-law before city council is implemented effectively and immediately.

6. Inject money into shelters immediately, including shelters for abused
women and children. End all seasonal closing of shelter space.  Shelter
space in this city must be brought up to decent, livable standards.

The Needs of Communities vs. Law and Order

7. Freeze the Police budget, eliminate Community Action Policing and put
the freed up resources into meeting the real needs of poor communities.

8. A strict 'Don't Ask' policy for all city workers towards people
without status and no police resources to go into Immigration enforcement in our communities.

9. Repeal all municipal by-laws that are used for 'social cleansing' of
neighbourhoods and the persecution of homeless people, such as 'Camp in
Park Without Permit'.

Community Needs and Access

10. Abolish user fees and restore cut services in all municipal community centres and settlement agencies

PARTICIPATING GROUPS

No One is Illegal, Arab Student Collective, Thistletown Community, 220 Oak Street Tenants Association, Metropolitan Hotel Workers Committee,
Parkdale Activity and Recreation Centre, Jane Finch Community Centre,
Coalition Against Psychiatric Assault, Project Threadbare, Toronto
Disaster Relief Committee, CUPE 4308, Ontario Coalition Against Poverty

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                   Ontario Coalition Against Poverty
          NEW ADDRESS!: 10 Britain St.  Toronto, Ontario  M5A 1R6
             416-925-6939   ocap@tao.ca   www.ocap.ca
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