---------------------- Forwarded by Dennis Raphael/Atkinson on 02/08/2006
10:53 AM ---------------------------


<[log in to unmask]> on 02/08/2006 10:12:18 AM

To:    <[log in to unmask]>
cc:

Subject:    [Fwd: Martha's Monthly February 2006]


This group is doing interesting things re advocacy in Alberta.  There may
be some lessons here of value to the list serv members.
>
> From: donotreplyMartha <[log in to unmask]>
> Date: 2006/02/08 Wed AM 09:37:53 EST
> To: Martha's Monthly <[log in to unmask]>
> Subject: Martha's Monthly February 2006
>
>
>
>
> Martha’s Monthly: February 2006
>
> Ovenbirds and the poor forced to raise their voices
>
> in the Alberta noise-scape
>
> In this month that celebrates love in all its glorious versions, Martha
was
> most upset to hear about the tiny ovenbird.  This wee little bird meets
its
> mate by singing a lovely tune.  But in Alberta, a researcher has found
that
> the noise from oil compressors has interfered with the songs that the
male
> ovenbird uses to attract the female.  The University of Alberta
researcher
> reported that mating is down and the successful males have had to
increase
> the volume of their songs in order to get over the cacophony of the
Alberta
> wilderness.    The thought of lonely ovenbirds, or worse, of ovenbirds
> having to raise their pretty little ditties to heated heights has really
> touched the cold heart of Martha.  In a province as lovely as ours, must
we
> make lonely ovenbirds scream to be loved?
>
> While Martha was worrying about the love lives of ovenbirds, she happened
to
> read a back page story about the Alberta Government.  Seems the
Government
> of Alberta has quietly settled a 100 million dollar class action lawsuit
out
> of court. The lawsuit, filed two years ago, claims the province underpaid
or
> illegally clawed back money from welfare recipients, severely handicapped
> Albertans and people receiving widow's pensions. The lawsuit charged that
> the Conservative government withheld allowances for some people on the
> programs and was unfairly punitive in the manner it tried to reclaim
money
> it said was overpaid.
>
> Mike Cardinal, Minister of Human Resources and Employment, estimates
15,000
> Albertans will end up sharing roughly $25-million of settlement money.
Those
> who launched the suit say that the figure is more likely to be  $100
> million, shared among 30,000 people.
>
> The lawsuit was initiated on September, 2004 by two men with disabilities
--
> Curtis Roth and Donald Fitfield. Both are A.I.S.H. recipients. Martha
> immediately thought of the lovely ovenbird that had to raise his tiny
voice.
> The two men who initiated the lawsuit had also had to raise their voices
(in
> the form of a lawsuit) to be heard over the cacophony of government news
> releases and stories that paint our poor as undeserving of government
> support.
>
> In the case of Mr. Roth, bureaucratic oversights caused him no small
amount
> of personal suffering. Mr. Roth had been receiving disability payments,
and
> alerted the Alberta Government to mistakes in which he demonstrated that
he
> was being underpaid. The Government responded by increasing Mr. Roth’s
> monthly benefits, but this time they overpaid him. The Government
demanded a
> $16,000.00 repayment from Mr. Roth in short order.
>
> The Conservative government has consistently denied what recipients of
Widow
> ’s Pension, A.I.S.H. (Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped) and
> Supports for Independence (S.F.I., or Welfare) know all too well: the
> allowances are too small, poorly administered, and they are often
> accompanied by claw-backs to other sources of income. The Government
failed
> to offer either an apology or an opportunity to open this issue to public
> debate. It has simply settled the matter out of court—indicating once
again
> that, as far as Klein’s Conservatives are concerned, the Province’s most
> vulnerable citizens are best kept “out of sight and out of mind.”
>
> As part of the settlement, the Province agreed to take out newspaper ads
to
> inform people about how they might claim the money that is owed them.
In
> addition, Alberta's Human Resources department says letters will be sent
to
> 100,000 people to alert them they may be entitled to this money.
>
> In addition to your regular letter writing, make sure that you tell your
> friends on social assistance about this settlement, or if you were
receiving
> Widow’s Pension, A.I.S.H. or S.F.I.  between the years 1979 and 2004,
make
> sure that you look into your entitlement!  Let’s find any way we can to
> distribute Alberta’s surplus to those who need it most.
>
>
>
> As ever, we ask you to use the template below to let the Klein government
> know that you will not be silenced! Make your solidarity with the poor of
> this province be known!
>
>
>
> Use our letter below or write your own.  E-mail it to:
>
> Premier Klein at [log in to unmask]
>
> Minister of Human Resources, Mike Cardinal, at [log in to unmask]
> Opposition leader Kevin Taft at [log in to unmask]
>
> NDP leader Brian Mason at [log in to unmask]
>
> NDP Labour critic Ray Martin at [log in to unmask]
>
> and back to us at [log in to unmask]
>
>
>
>  (Hint: you can use your cursor to highlight and then copy all these
> addresses. Then open a new email message and paste them into the To:
line.
> Easy!)
>
>
>
> February 8, 2006
>
>
>
> Dear Mr. Klein:
>
>
>
> We, the Marthas, are concerned about the failure of your government to
> provide assured income to Alberta’s most vulnerable.
>
>
>
> We are dismayed that two Albertan citizens with disabilities were
compelled
> to file a lawsuit in order to make your government take notice.
>
>
>
> We believe that it is a scandal that in richest province in Canada,
> recipients of Widow’s Pensions, A.I.S.H. and S.F.I. are forced to live
with
> poorly administered and meager monthly benefits.
>
>
>
> We also are dismayed that the out-of-court financial settlement had the
> effect of, once again, silencing debate in our province about poverty and
> social security.
>
>
>
> We ask that your government provide an apology to those whose social
> assistance was withheld or who were unfairly punished due to
administrative
> oversights.
>
>
>
> We also ask that social assistance be increased in a way consistent with
the
> cost of living. We ask the Government to index the benefits to cost of
> living increases according to a Market Basket Measure (MBM) formula, so
that
> those on social assistance in the province might be afforded real
dignity.
>
>
>
> Yours truly,
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Your name
>
> Your address (if you leave out your address your email is not registered
as
> "correspondence" and can be overlooked!)
>
> --
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>
>