A Submission from the Office of Welland, Ontario NDP MPP Cindy Forster
Queen’s Park’s, September 18, 2012 – Cindy Forster, MPP for Welland, warned against the devastating impacts the McGuinty government’s plan to cut $4.2 million from programs that help prevent homelessness will have on the region.
Welland, Ontario riding MPP Cindy Forster
“I’d like to invite Minister of Community and Social Services John Milloy to come to Welland and see for himself the impacts these cuts will have on our community,” said Forster. “These cuts will only lead to increased demands for emergency shelters and emergency hospital care costing taxpayers much more than preventing homelessness in the first place.”
In a June report, Community Services Commissioner Katherine Chislett warned these cuts will lead to increased suffering and increase the stress on an already overburdened social services sector.
The cuts will likely add to the already dramatic 47 per cent increase in the number of people receiving social assistance since 2007 in the Niagara region, leaving short-staffed caseworkers unable to provide the supports needed for people to get back to work.
“Thousands of Niagara Region residents each year depend on emergency assistance to keep a roof over their heads, yet the McGuinty government remains oblivious as it continues to cut vital social supports like the Community Start Up and Benefit Program,” said Forster.
(Niagara At Large invites you to share your views on this post, rememberingthat NAL only posts comments by individuals who also share their first and last name.)
Niagara At Large 
Unfortunately, I am already seeing the “effects” of these cuts in our community. People in subsidized housing who are ‘over housed’ are being told to move to a less sized unit, but after CSUMB’s gone, is the Niagara Regional Housing going to cover the cost of the move they are demanding? Our water and utility bills are way too high in Niagara, and we’ve seen situations where people had to choose to keep the lights on or eat/feed their kids. This is going to become more prevalent. Also, there is a Home Repair Benefit that is also going the way of the same do do bird as the CSUMB. Outside the GTA, many ODSP and OW recipients are homeowners and they don’t exactly have a landlord to call if the roof is leaking or the plumbing breaks. What are they supposed to do? Wait until the city condemns their home and they lose it? Yeah, real smart guys, real smart.
LikeLike
Angela
At the same time the Corporate Liberal government as well as the CORPORATE conservatives under HUDAK keep cutting and insinuating they will certainly do even more to cut Corporate taxes as the Chambers of Commerce keep hammering away for them to do so constantly in the Corporate owned medias.
Recently there was a fantastic and revealing program, chaired by Bill Moyer on PBS that examined and exposed the hopes, dreams and aspirations of of the 1% in the USA. It was not pretty and Cindy apparently can see that it is happening in Ontario, and in Canada…. as the 1% buy and own our so called politicians. They have no choice for if these politicians refused to bow and kiss the ass of the one per cent they will be pushed aside (by money) as others rush to take their places on the gravy train. This is not fantasy. It is happening as words are written.
LikeLike