Great letter.
Maija Kagis
SSHRC
Tel: 613-943-1149
Fax: 613-947-0223


>----------
>From:  Sherrie Tingley[SMTP:[log in to unmask]]
>Sent:  Wednesday, October 22, 1997 8:49 AM
>To:    [log in to unmask]
>Subject:       Re: Letter to be published in the Toronto Globe and Mail
>
>On Tuesday, October 21, 1997 2:58 PM, Mike Nelson[SMTP:[log in to unmask]]
>wrote:
>> It's good to see Dennis speaking out on behalf of public health.  Keep at
>> it!
>
>Mike,
>
>I would agree totally with you, but I am afraid for someone in Ontario who
>is most effected by this government I am perplexed why there is silence in
>our smaller communities across the province.   Is that because the
>homeless, hungry and stressed people in the smaller communities are not at
>risk of health problems?  Is that because that the increased participation
>in the sex trade of women on welfare is not a problem in smaller
>communities?  Is that because the forced participation in workfare without
>workplace safety and employment standards in Ontario for ALL welfare
>recipients is a good thing in terms of health?
>
>At first I thought that it was due to the fact that many 'health promotion'
>groups were funded by the Harris government, but that is not the case, we
>have many federally funded projects.
>
>I can only conclude that in terms of health promotion that it is better to
>have a larger group of people in deeper need because that way they can turn
>to you for help and you can teach them about the food guide and how they
>should quit smoking?  Or maybe people are hoping to participate in the
>workfare programs in their communities?
>
>Maybe some of the Ontario people can explain to me how the income policies
>of this government are healthy public policy in terms of health,  the
>welfare cuts, the housing polices and the welfare reform.
>
>Thanks,
>
>S
>>
>> > The "sound principles" that the Ontario conservatives plan
>> > to continue (Vision first, details later in Tory game plan,
>> > Oct. 20) are consistent with recent developments in
>> > public health. That is, increasing economic inequality
>> > through policies that transfer resources from the less
>> > well-off to the wealthy is associated with decreasing social
>> > cohesion and increased societal malaise.  This malaise can
>> > take many forms including increased death and illness rates,
>> > violence, and as is already evident in the case of
>> > Metropolitan Toronto, greater use of food banks and shelters
>> > for the homeless. In the end, all members of a society, both
>> > the disadvantaged and the well-off, experience these effects
>> > through a process of what social epidemiologists call "the
>> > symptoms of disintegration." And, luckily for those opposed
>> > to the destruction of our society, these symptoms are so
>> > clear and pervasive that they can be readily attributed by
>> > the public to the "sound policies" of the present
>> > government.
>Sherrie Tingley
>Barrie Action Committee for Women
>[log in to unmask]
>