Anti-poverty protesters want increase in social assistance
Posted April 15, 2010 6:22 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
TORONTO, Ont. – Anti-poverty protesters marched from Allan Gardens to Queen’s Park, Thursday, to demand a boost in social assistance payments.
It was a peaceful protest as the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty and their supporters marched from Allen Gardens to the McDonald Block at Bay Street and Wellesley.
A large group of police officers stood watch over the crowd before the march, while officers on foot and horseback escorted the group along the route to their destination.
One protester told 680News they found the estimated 150 officers at the event a little excessive “For the cost of all the police force that’s here today, how many people that would feed, just that alone?”
The Ontario Coalition Against Poverty (OCAP) wants a 40 per cent increase in welfare and disability assistance payments.
Protesters also want the province to reinstate what is called the “special diet supplement” — that’s an extra $250 a month given to people with health issues, so they can buy more nutritious food.
There are currently 136,250 people who receive the “special diet supplement”, 97,219 of those are on welfare and 39,031 are on disability.
According to Premier Dalton McGuinty, the cost of the special diet program jumped from $6-million to $250-million a year, which is why the program is being eliminated.
