Disability Activists picket Queen Street restaurant

Release Aaron Shelbourne is a disability rights activist and a member of the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty (OCAP). He has Cerebral Palsy and uses Alternative Augmentative Communication Source: OCAP Media Release
Aaron Shelbourne is a disability rights activist and a member of the
Ontario Coalition Against Poverty (OCAP). He has Cerebral Palsy and uses
Alternative Augmentative Communication (AAC), which involves using his eyes
to communicate and the facilitation of an assistant.

Mr. Shelbourne went to Everest Restaurant on Queen St today to demand an apology from management that has told him they don't serve customers in
wheelchairs, and asked him never to come back. Mr. Shelbourne was joined
by 20 supporters today. Mr. Shelbourne entered Everest asking to speak with restaurant manager Karma Sanchok who had previously told him they don't serve people in wheelchairs. Mr. Shelbourne sought a public apology from Ms.Sanchok and the restaurant, and a promise that this kind of blatant discrimination would not continue. Ms. Sanchok refused to speak or engage with Aaron in any way, speaking only to his non-wheelchair-bound supporters and quickly retreating behind the counter refusing to apologize or speak directly to Mr. Shelbourne as a fellow human being. Ms. Sanchok proceeded to call the police to forcibly remove Mr. Shelbourne and his supporters from the restaurant.

Mr. Shelbourne's simple, just request for an apology was rudely ignored.
This is unacceptable, and Mr. Shelbourne is not prepared to allow this kind of discrimination to continue unchallenged. He calls on supporters, allies and members of the public - especially those using wheelchairs - to go to Everest Restaurant and demand an explanation from the management!

Mr. Shelbourne and his supporters and allies will be back at Everest en
masse in the near future, to pursue Mr. Shelbourne's just request for an
apology and to ensure that this restaurant does not discriminate against people with disabilities with impunity.

Background
Last week, Mr. Shelbourne went to Everest Restaurant & Lounge with one of
his assistants. They had a meal, and at one point he had to use the
washroom. It was not accessible and he nicked the door with his wheelchair
going in.

As Mr. Shelbourne and his communication assistant were leaving the restaurant, after paying for their meals, the restaurant manager pulled Mr. Shelbourne's assistant aside and informed her that they were not welcome
back. She said that the restaurant was newly renovated and wheelchairs
aren't welcome because they cause damage.

"I am a person," says Mr. Shelbourne. "The worker at the restaurant didn't even come to tell me all of this herself but went to my assistant instead. I was angry because I am a human being and I have rights."

This Friday March 28th, with the help of the Ontario Coalition Against
Poverty (OCAP) and DAMN2025, Mr. Shelbourne returned to Everest Restaurant to seek redress, to send a loud message to management, its customers and the public that people who use wheelchairs have rights and this type of treatment is discriminatory and unacceptable!

Says Mr. Shelbourne: "I am demanding a public apology from the management
of the restaurant. I want them to acknowledge that I am a person and that
because I use a wheelchair, that doesn't make me any less of a person. If they don't like scratches on their bathroom doors they should make the
washroom accessible!"

Time is running out for the poor

LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Apr 17, 2008 04:30 AM
Re:Ontario wary of `25-in-5'

poverty plan

April 15

Children and Youth Services Minister Deb Matthews asks, "But 25 per cent of what? How are we going to measure our progress?" I'm happy to report that there are ample documents from other jurisdictions that have set out precise indicators, formulas, data-management methods and evaluation tools of poverty-reduction strategies from around the world.

Most of the 500 people who were pleased to have the minister in attendance at this week's anti-poverty forum would be happy to go over these existing indicators at a moment's notice.

In terms of affordable-housing, for example, one can measure production of new units compared to targets, rent levels, incomes, foreclosures, net loss of rental units, emergency-bed stays, waiting lists, expenditures on social-housing repairs and reduction of complaints, transfer of individuals from short-term care to long-term accommodation, and hundreds of tried and tested measurements of poverty reduction.

Madam Minister, we're here and ready to go.

Jennifer Ramsay, Advocacy Centre for Tenants Ontario, Toronto

While I admire and respect Minister Deb Matthews, I am disappointed to hear her say she can't commit to reducing poverty by 25 per cent in five years because we don't yet have a perfect measurement of poverty. That sounds like another lame excuse to do nothing about the poverty crisis, which has reached tragic and devastating dimensions.

The minister, her civil servants and the service providers who surround her need to understand that this is a monumental crisis. The poor cannot afford to wait any longer while the province mulls over how to measure poverty. Lives and futures hang in the balance.

My message to the province is to quit playing around and get to work, now. Any poor person in Ontario can tell the government what poverty is in about two minutes. It's not rocket science; it's basic common sense.

Deborah O'Connor, Northumberland Coalition Against Poverty, Cobourg, Ont.

Getting together to fight poverty

Editorial, April 15

We appreciate that Children and Youth Services Minister Deb Matthews took the time to hear the stories of people who live in poverty. This week's forum at Queen's Park, with more than 500 people in attendance, provided many with the opportunity to describe what it's like to go through a day without adequate food, or wonder how they're going to pay next month's rent.

The question now is: Is the government listening?

Nurses know the impact that poverty can have on people's health. That's why our organization is among those groups calling on the government to adopt the "25-in-5" strategy as an essential step to improve thousands of lives.

Matthews shouldn't be distracted by questions about how best to measure poverty. And suggestions that Ontario faces challenging economic times are not a reason to back away from a promise to help these citizens.

Quite the contrary, they are a reason to move forward.

Wendy Fucile, President, Registered Nurses' Association of Ontario, Toronto

Ontario wary of '25-in-5' poverty plan

TONY BOCK/TORONTO STAR
Cabinet minister Deb Matthews talks with anti-poverty activist Dip
Habib, of the East Scarborough Storefront, at a forum at Queen's Park,
April 14, 2008. Email story
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Apr 15, 2008 04:30 AM
Laurie Monsebraaten
Staff Reporter

Ontario can't say it will cut poverty by 25 per cent in five years
until it has defined the problem, says the chair of a cabinet
committee drafting the Liberals' promised anti-poverty strategy.

"I'm happy to have an ambitious goal on a significant reduction in
poverty," Children and Youth Minister Deb Matthews told reporters
after attending a forum of about 500 anti-poverty activists at Queen's
Park yesterday.

"But 25 per cent of what?" she asked. "How are we going to measure our
progress? How are we going to measure poverty? This is one of our big
challenges."

The activists, part of a growing coalition with members as varied as
the City of Toronto, teachers' federations, Ryerson University, health-
care and immigrant groups, want the Liberals to follow countries such
as the U.K. that have reduced poverty by almost 25 per cent in the
past five years. They call themselves the 25-in-5 Network for Poverty
Reduction.

Canada doesn't have an official poverty line, Matthews said. However,
the number most often cited is Statistics Canada's low-income cut-off,
which for a single person in Toronto in 2006 was $17,570 after taxes.
For a family of four it was $33,221. (The before-tax amounts were
$21,202 for a single person and $39,399 for a family of four.)

But income alone doesn't tell the whole story, Matthews said.

For example, many children in low-income households struggle in school
and never reach their potential, she said. "How do we get at measuring
that kind of progress?" she asked. "It's way more than just an income
measure."

Matthews said the government is considering several different
indicators to measure the complexity of poverty and is looking at what
other countries use.

She said she will be seeking public input when formal consultations on
the plan begin later this spring.

"We were elected on a number of planks in our platform. One was not to
raise taxes. And one was not to run a deficit. So we have to live
within that reality," Matthews told reporters. "But I'm very, very
confident we're going to be able to do a lot of very good things
within that reality," she said.

"I can assure you we are very, very serious about developing a
comprehensive poverty reduction strategy," Matthews said. "We can't
afford poverty. It's in our economic best interests to really address
poverty."

The gathering, which included about 50 people living in poverty, urged
Matthews and her government to make bold changes to improve the lives
of some 1.3 million Ontarians living below Statistics Canada's low-
income cut-offs.

One of those was Michael Creek, a 50-year-old former Toronto business
manager whose battle with cancer in 1993 left him unable to work. But
it wasn't the cancer or mental illness that broke his spirit, he told
the forum. It was poverty.

Unable to afford TTC fare for anything but doctors' appointments or
shopping, Creek became increasingly lonely and isolated.

"The last time I went to a movie theatre was to see The Lion King," he
said. "This is how I started to disappear as a person."

Matthews, who seemed moved by the stories of Creek and others who
spoke, said one of the government's goals is to change the way it
provides services and income support to ensure people are helped and
not further marginalized.

"We need to turn government on its ear. We need to develop person-
centred strategies ... build on the strengths of people, not on their
pathologies," she said.

Although the group is excited by the Liberals' commitment to tackling
poverty with a comprehensive, long-term strategy by year's end,
members realize there is still an appetite in Ontario for tax cuts and
less government.

"There are many who adhere to the view that if you're poor it's your
own fault and, as a result, government has no business, no legitimate
role to play ameliorating, reducing or eradicating poverty," said Nick
Saul of the Stop Community Food Centre. And there are many competing
interests at the cabinet table, he told the group.

But the 25-in-5 network hopes the province will run with its demands
to "poverty proof" the minimum wage; enhance social benefits for
children and those unable to work; and beef up supports such as child
care and affordable housing.

http://www.socialplanningtoronto.org/25in5/declaration_eng.pdf

25 in 5:

Apr 15, 2008 04:30 AM
Laurie Monsebraaten
Staff Reporter

Ontario can't say it will cut poverty by 25 per cent in five years
until it has defined the problem, says the chair of a cabinet
committee drafting the Liberals' promised anti-poverty strategy.

"I'm happy to have an ambitious goal on a significant reduction in
poverty," Children and Youth Minister Deb Matthews told reporters
after attending a forum of about 500 anti-poverty activists at Queen's
Park yesterday.

"But 25 per cent of what?" she asked. "How are we going to measure our
progress? How are we going to measure poverty? This is one of our big
challenges."

The activists, part of a growing coalition with members as varied as
the City of Toronto, teachers' federations, Ryerson University, health-
care and immigrant groups, want the Liberals to follow countries such
as the U.K. that have reduced poverty by almost 25 per cent in the
past five years. They call themselves the 25-in-5 Network for Poverty
Reduction.

Canada doesn't have an official poverty line, Matthews said. However,
the number most often cited is Statistics Canada's low-income cut-off,
which for a single person in Toronto in 2006 was $17,570 after taxes.
For a family of four it was $33,221. (The before-tax amounts were
$21,202 for a single person and $39,399 for a family of four.)

But income alone doesn't tell the whole story, Matthews said.

For example, many children in low-income households struggle in school
and never reach their potential, she said. "How do we get at measuring
that kind of progress?" she asked. "It's way more than just an income
measure."

Matthews said the government is considering several different
indicators to measure the complexity of poverty and is looking at what
other countries use.

She said she will be seeking public input when formal consultations on
the plan begin later this spring.

"We were elected on a number of planks in our platform. One was not to
raise taxes. And one was not to run a deficit. So we have to live
within that reality," Matthews told reporters. "But I'm very, very
confident we're going to be able to do a lot of very good things
within that reality," she said.

"I can assure you we are very, very serious about developing a
comprehensive poverty reduction strategy," Matthews said. "We can't
afford poverty. It's in our economic best interests to really address
poverty."

The gathering, which included about 50 people living in poverty, urged
Matthews and her government to make bold changes to improve the lives
of some 1.3 million Ontarians living below Statistics Canada's low-
income cut-offs.

One of those was Michael Creek, a 50-year-old former Toronto business
manager whose battle with cancer in 1993 left him unable to work. But
it wasn't the cancer or mental illness that broke his spirit, he told
the forum. It was poverty.

Unable to afford TTC fare for anything but doctors' appointments or
shopping, Creek became increasingly lonely and isolated.

"The last time I went to a movie theatre was to see The Lion King," he
said. "This is how I started to disappear as a person."

Matthews, who seemed moved by the stories of Creek and others who
spoke, said one of the government's goals is to change the way it
provides services and income support to ensure people are helped and
not further marginalized.

"We need to turn government on its ear. We need to develop person-
centred strategies ... build on the strengths of people, not on their
pathologies," she said.

Although the group is excited by the Liberals' commitment to tackling
poverty with a comprehensive, long-term strategy by year's end,
members realize there is still an appetite in Ontario for tax cuts and
less government.

"There are many who adhere to the view that if you're poor it's your
own fault and, as a result, government has no business, no legitimate
role to play ameliorating, reducing or eradicating poverty," said Nick
Saul of the Stop Community Food Centre. And there are many competing
interests at the cabinet table, he told the group.

But the 25-in-5 network hopes the province will run with its demands
to "poverty proof" the minimum wage; enhance social benefits for
children and those unable to work; and beef up supports such as child
care and affordable housing.

PRESS RELEASE:

Apr. 14 - Ontario urged to adopt a "25 in 5" poverty target

The 25 in 5 Founding Declaration

Read about our founding principles and planks for a poverty reduction strategy

Countdown to a Poverty Reduction Plan
A 25 in 5 Forum - April 14
AT FULL CAPACITY

The 25 in 5 Network for Poverty Reduction is hosting a day-long forum on April 14 to build momentum for Ontario’s poverty reduction plan. Due to overwhelming demand, the forum is at full capacity, and now closed for registration.
More event information
Agenda for Apr. 14

Poverty Reduction News!

PRESS RELEASE:

Mar.25 - With today's down payment on poverty initiatives, the countdown to a comprehensive Ontario poverty reduction strategy has officially begun, said members of the 25 in 5 Network for Poverty Reduction.
Read full release.

Editorial - Poverty steps are just a start
(Toronto Star, Mar. 20, 2008)

Premier Dalton McGuinty has made a good down payment on a promised poverty reduction strategy for Ontario with his announcement that close to $300 million in next week's provincial budget will be allocated for programs to help low-income children and families...read more.

McGuinty to tackle health, housing
(Toronto Star, Mar. 18, 2008)

Eight-year-old Renesha Smith doesn't get red peppers at home so she relishes the days they're served at her school's snack program.

At Susan Gapka's apartment building, mould grows on rotting window frames while, for Jason Jones, poverty resulted in teeth so bad he couldn't get a job.


http://www.socialplanningtoronto.org/25in5/new.html