This is our current state of affairs in Ontario -- the province that "has
invested in children." according to some.

dr


     House arrest for welfare fraud ends in death
     House arrest for welfare fraud ends in death
     House arrest for welfare fraud ends in death



Globe and Mail, Aug 15, 2001


House arrest for welfare fraud ends in death

KEITH LACEY, SPECIAL TO THE GLOBE AND MAIL


SUDBURY, ONT. -- A pregnant woman who was found guilty of welfare fraud has
been discovered dead in the sweltering apartment where she had been serving
her sentence for cheating the system.

People who tried to help Kimberly Rogers, 40, who suffered from depression,
say they are shocked and angered by the tragedy.

Autopsies were performed on Ms. Rogers and her unborn child on Monday, but
an official in the coroner's office said the cause of death will not be
known until today.

Ms. Rogers's body was found in her Sudbury apartment late Thursday night.
She was eight months pregnant and had been serving a sentence of house
arrest after pleading guilty to welfare fraud in April.

It's believed she had been dead for at least two days.

A condition of her sentence required Ms. Rogers to remain in the apartment
except for medical or religious reasons. Amanda Chodura, office manager of
the Sudbury branch of the Elizabeth Fry Society, said she had many visits
with Ms. Rogers, who was allowed three hours out every Wednesday morning to
shop. Ms. Chodura said the small apartment without air conditioning in a
run-down house became unbearable as Sudbury endured a record-breaking heat
wave, with temperatures over 30 degrees for six days in a row last week.
"It was like a sauna in there."

Ms. Rogers received $13,000 in student loans while she was collecting
welfare. She was attending Cambrian College when she pleaded guilty, and
graduated from the college's social-services program this spring.

In addition to the six months of house arrest, her welfare benefits were cut
off and she was ordered to repay about $13,300.
The sentence left her unable to pay her bills.

Her welfare benefits were reinstated in mid-May after she launched a court
challenge to the law that allows the courts to cut off welfare to those
found guilty of defrauding the system.

A spokesperson for Ontario's Ministry of Community and Social Services would
not comment until all the facts are known.

In late May, Toronto lawyer Sean Dewart persuaded a judge to impose an
injunction on Ms. Rogers's welfare ban until he could challenge the
government's actions on the grounds that they constituted cruel and unusual
punishment under the Charter of Rights.  That hearing was scheduled for the
September. Although it now will not be heard, Mr. Dewart said other women
have contacted his office about the same issue, and he plans to launch a
similar case.

Any government that would impose house arrest, probation and restitution,
and then cut off a pregnant woman from collecting any money for even the
most basic necessities, must seriously reconsider whether its policies are
democratic, moral and just, Mr. Dewart said. "This is a case which cries out
for an inquest."

In his court application, Mr. Dewart wrote "forcing a pregnant woman with a
diagnosed disability into abject destitution, if not starvation, on the
streets, as a result of conduct for which she has already been penalized, is
so grossly disproportionate to any valid social aim or legitimate purpose of
punishment as to constitute cruel and unusual punishment.

"Ms. Rogers would have been entitled to more state protection of her
physical well-being if she was imprisoned, where she would at least be
provided with adequate food, shelter and medical treatment."

When her welfare benefits were removed, she lost access to her depression
medication.  After sentencing, a doctor signed an affidavit in late April
stating that if Ms. Rogers did not regain the medicine, she could suffer
"intolerable migraine headaches, anxiety and panic attacks, depressed moods
and reduced daily level of function.  "The future good health of Ms. Rogers
and her child require that she have a stable home, proper shelter and a
source of income to provide for basic necessities like food and clothing,"
the doctor said. Moreover, "she is behind in her rent and has no other
source of income than public assistance and the goodwill of others.  "Unless
some other source of financial assistance can be found . . . I believe a
three-month suspension of benefits from Ontario Works will in all likelihood
have grave and lasting consequences for both Ms. Rogers and her fetus."

Ms. Chodura said she managed to get Ontario Works to reinstate her
prescriptions. Ms. Chodura talked to Ms. Rogers three or four days before
her death. "She was not suicidal when I talked to her."

"All material Copyright (c) Bell Globemedia Publishing Inc. and its
licensors. All rights reserved."



CONTACT FOR SPEAKOUT:  Magali  416-516-9548
                      [log in to unmask]

                      Alex 416-530-9953
                      [log in to unmask]




............................................
Bob Olsen   Toronto   <[log in to unmask]
............................................



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