August 15th, 2005
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

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CITY OF TORONTO TARGETS POOR CHILDREN FOR EXCLUSION
FROM SPECIAL DIET POLICY:

LOCAL PRACTIIONERS, PROFESSIONALS CALL FOR AN END TO ATTACK
ON LOW INCOME FAMILIES
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PRESS CONFERENCE
Tuesday, August 16, 2005
Lord Dufferin Public School (outside)
350 Parliament Street (north of Dundas St. East)
11 am

Speakers:
- Dennis Raphael, author and Associate Professor of Health Policy and
Management, York University
- Les Horne, Executive Director, Defence for Children International
- Cynthia Pay, Staff Lawyer, Parkdale Community Legal Services
- Gary Bloch, MD, St. Michael’s Hospital
- Mariam Canas Mendes, recipient of the Special Diet Supplement

August 15, 2005 – Over the past 6 months, OCAP has won a welfare increase
for 4000 poor people in Toronto alone, with than $1 million going back
into poor communities.  By holding numerous community clinics in
co-operation with local health providers, OCAP has registered thousands of
welfare recipients for the previously little-known "Special Diet
Supplement"(amounting to $250 in additional income a month per person) on
the basis that peoples’ health is in danger due to inadequate welfare
rates. OCAP’s campaign is broadly supported by medical practitioners,
health experts, and organizations such as the Daily Bread Food Bank.

This support has not stopped David Miller’s Social Services Department
from using vicious and discriminatory tactics in a rush to kick families
back off the $250 Supplement. Specifically, in a flurry of policy changes,
the City has now said:

- Families with children will be targeted to lose their Special Diet
Supplements. Families’ applications will not necessarily be honoured,
could be delayed and may be subject to a "third party" medical review by
practitioners, who could contest the medical findings of their colleagues.
Families are already facing the first wave of denials by welfare
officials, who have specifically singled out for heavy scrutiny all files
with ‘multiple entitlements’.
- Applicants must complete an invasive release of confidential medical
information form, without which they will not qualify for the supplement.
- No photocopied forms will be accepted, regardless of whether this is
what a family doctor easily has on hand. If people cannot get a form from
their own worker, they will not be processed for the supplement.
- All of these changes affect people who have already qualified for the
special diet, as well as people attempting to access the supplement.

There is no question that the money accessible through welfare and
disability support programs is not adequate to maintain health. Therefore,
there is no question that the additional money accessible through the
Special Diet Supplement concretely changes the lives of low income
families and the ability of parents to raise their children in good
health.

According to Gary Bloch, a Doctor at St. Michael’s Hospital: "To meet our
ethical obligation to treat our patients to the best of our knowledge and
abilities, we must treat the health condition: poverty".

Speakers will address the critical question raised by Professor Raphael:
"The National Council on Welfare has stated: Canadian welfare policy over
the past 15 years has been an utter disaster. What better way for the City
of Toronto and the Province of Ontario to demonstrate its commitment to
promoting health than to allow those unable to afford a decent and healthy
diet to begin doing so? Why is this being resisted?"

For more information, contact OCAP at 416.925.6939 or 416.931.0824

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  Ontario Coalition Against Poverty
 10 Britain St. Toronto, ON  M5A 1R6
416-925-6939  [log in to unmask] www.ocap.ca
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