TORONTO MONTHLY MEETING of the
                    Religious Society of Friends (Quakers)
                     60 Lowther Avenue, Toronto, Ontario  M5R 1C7
                     Resident Friends 416-921-0368  [email protected]
                     TMM Office          416-921-8002   [email protected]

Statement on Social Justice and Ontario Government Policies

The policies currently being pursued by the Ontario Government are dangerous, destructive, and cruel, causing extreme harm to Ontario’s most vulnerable citizens. This government's priorities underlying their enacted and proposed policies increase the gap between the rich and the poor and fracture the unity that provides a solid foundation for mutual respect and trust upon which healthy and secure community is based. Everyone's life is impoverished through any loss of compassionate response to the suffering that this government's policies either minimize or ignore.

The government’s policies include: 

• The abrupt cancellation of the Basic Income Pilot Project
• The removal of rent controls for all new rental buildings
• The planned 3% increase for 2019 for Ontario Works (OW) and the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP), which has been halved. The clawback will be increased from 50% to 75%; earnings with no clawback will be capped at $300; and new criteria will make it difficult for anyone with a long-term illness or disability to qualify for higher-paying ODSP benefits.
• The “Health Program Initiatives” leaked to the media in February, which raise concerns about proposed cuts to the Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP) and the creation of a super agency to manage health care
• The closure of the Ontario Child Advocate Office and the firing of the children’s advocate

In view of these policies and more than 100 similar measures implemented to date by the Ontario Government we are concerned about the apparent contempt for democracy, the judiciary, and fair play. We see these policies as a deliberate move to take from the most vulnerable in order to benefit the rich and powerful.

A Quaker anti-slaver once asked, “Can we remain silent as innocent spectators?” We could not then, and we cannot today. As concerned Friends, we urge people to speak and act. Where do we stand and how can we move forward?
 
                                                                                 Approved by Toronto Monthly Meeting, 17 March 2019

We acknowledge that we meet on the traditional territories of the Haudenosaunee (Ho-de-
no-show-nee), the Huron-Wendat, and most recently, the Mississaugas of the New Credit
First Nation. Toronto remains the home of many Indigenous people from across Turtle
Island. May we share the land in peace

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