ISARC is gearing up again for a proactive initiative on poverty
reduction.
In March of this
year, our ISARC members made the Interfaith Prayer Vigil at Queen’s Park a reality and a testimony to the position of
the faith communities on issues of poverty.
Now ISARC is
planning for a province-wide Social Audit in at least 20 communities across
Ontario. This is a moment to listen to the people with lived experiences of
poverty. This is another testimony that comes from our traditions – bringing
dignity to people by listening to their difficult experiences, hearing their
vision for a future without poverty, and walking with compassion alongside
those most marginalized.
The Ontario
Liberals had a Social Assistance Review in their 2007 election platform. While
the Provincial Government has followed up with the Ontario Child Poverty
Reduction Strategy and the current consultations for the Ontario Affordable
Housing Strategy, nothing is happening on its promised Social Assistance
Review. If and when it does begin, some feel it will only be changes in rules
and regulations without any increase in funding or new links to training and
employment.
ISARC believes
that a timely Social Audit will prod the government to do a proper Social
Assistance Review; evaluate other measures to reduce poverty; and tell us if
poverty in Ontario and the resultant suffering are decreasing.
Many in our
communities are coming to an end of their EI benefits. Before they can access
Ontario Works, their assets cannot exceed $2500. Food bank use is increasing.
One food bank executive director sadly remarked that former donors have become
patrons.
250,000 people will lose their EI benefits by the end
of June 2010. The Federal Government is planning to extend the length of benefits
during this recession. Some EI recipients have spouses
who are working and they are now living on one income. Some may have found new
jobs, but often their new salaries are insufficient.
The 20th anniversary of the Canadian Parliament's
resolution to end child poverty is November 24th, 2009. Watch for the Ontario
and Canadian Campaign 2000 Report Cards on child poverty over the past 20
years. Is your community calling attention to the needs of children and parents
this November? How have your federal representatives
responded?
The Ontario Government promised $45 M for dental care
for low-income adults during the past year, but has not implemented the
program. Sources indicate that the government is transferring this money to
children who already have dental care. Parents on OW and ODSP report that they
can only obtain minimal dental services for their children if they are in
severe pain. Dental problems can lead to significant medical problems; good
dental care is a social determinant of health. The experiences of parents
struggling to care for children while suffering terrible pain became evident in
the 1998 and 2003 ISARC Social Audits.
Perhaps there
are members of your faith community who have lost jobs and had EI benefits run
out. Is their experience acknowledged in your faith community? Do they still
come to community events? How do sermons, liturgies, prayers, meditation, and
other activities nurture them and provide strength?
Is your
community a good site for the ISARC Social Audit Hearings with persons on
social assistance or earning low wages? Can you work with us to bring together
faith groups, unions, social service and health care agencies, and community
organizations?
The ISARC Social
Audit Hearings in each community will listen to three different groups: people
who are poor, people working in the social service and health care systems, and
local politicians and government staff.
ISARC will again
use the U.N. human rapporteur model in settings which are safe and comfortable
for those bringing their stories and vision. For example, a group of mothers
may speak to the rapporteurs at a community centre; single adults’ voices may
be heard at a soup kitchen; our rapporteurs may visit people in a housing
complex. Government politicians and staff, as well as agency workers, may wish
to testify at City Hall or a union building. A local Planning Committee will
select a facilitator and a reporter. At the end of the day, the Committee along
with the rapporteurs will put together a media release as well as a report to
ISARC.
For this Social
Audit, ISARC is working with the Social Planning Network of Ontario. The voices
from the Hearings will be edited and published in a book to be released in late
Spring or Summer of 2010. This will be just in time for the Ontario political
parties as they plan the last year of this legislature and begin pulling
together their 2011 election platforms.
Helping people –
especially the marginalized – find their voices is an important function of our
faith communities, not just for adherents but for all in the community. The
1998 Social Audit was entitled “Our Neighbours’ Voices: Will We Listen?” This
is still a good question for ISARC to ask today as it continues to build a
constituency to eliminate poverty in Ontario.
Multifaith Forum on Faith Communities and Advocacy with Governments – October 29
Faith groups
advocate with governments in a number of ways and from different theologies.
For some, the advocacy is on a very personal level as they assist individuals
and families with personal problems by calling local politicians about
particular needs. Others support systemic advocacy through policy change
whether this is for immigrants from their tradition or for people with specific
issues.
Do you know what
other faith communities think about advocacy? Can you articulate your own
position based on principles and experience? As we listen to each other, we
will learn how to work together as an interfaith coalition.
On October 29th,
six religious leaders will be part of circle to describe and discuss how their
faith communities see advocacy with government. Other participants will listen.
After a break, all will participate in small groups and discuss what they heard
and how they see advocacy with governments.
The forum will
be on Thursday, October 29 at Waterloo Lutheran Seminary from 10 am – 2 pm.
Cost is $25 per person and includes lunch. Register by email.
Religious Leaders' Forum on Affordable Housing – November 5
The Province is
holding consultations leading toward an Ontario Affordable Housing Strategy.
Since so many faith communities are into affordable housing development, it’s a
time for us to gather our wisdom, “think outside the box”, and figure out new
ways to work with governments to help those who need Rent Geared to Income.
The Ontario Non Profit Housing
Association (ONPHA) and the Cooperative Housing Federation will be present.
There will be a panel of tenants. Brian Eng, from Wellesley Institute
and the Affordable Housing Network, will report on the government's
consultation process as well as the recommendations of the Network. We will be challenged to think of solutions that include, but also
go beyond, building more affordable housing units. How might faith communities
be facilitators in local communities? What do faith communities want to
contribute to the provincial strategy?
All Members of
the Provincial Parliament (MPP) will also be invited as our guests for lunch. Contact
your MPP to say you are attending. Perhaps you can meet him or her at noon?
The forum will
be on Thursday, 5 November 2009 at Queen’s Park in Toronto – Rooms 228-230 from
9:30 am – 3:00 pm. Cost is $40 per person and includes lunch. Register by
email.
Do the math. What kind of life can you afford on social assistance?
Poverty in Ontario is at an all time high. As the
economic crisis grows, so does the number of people relying on social
assistance and food banks. Does a single person on social assistance receive
enough income to live with health and dignity? What
kind of life can you afford on social assistance? Do the
Math to find out if the rates add up with an interactive budgeting exercise.
Then contact your MPP and encourage him or her to also Do the Math.
How much do they think it costs to live? How much do they think social
assistance and minimum wage should increase? How would they or their
family survive on social assistance?
The Affordable Housing Network provides helpful information about the province wide
housing consultations that every MPP is expected to host. You are invited to
prepare and send in a written submission, tell your
personal housing story, or the story of housing issues in your community;
mentioning the specific solutions that would make a difference for you and your
community.
Attend one of the regional meetings
being hosted by the Ontario Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing. For more
information click here.
Jennifer Posthumus,
City of Toronto representative on the 25in5 Network (of which ISARC is also a
member), is the recipient of the 2009 Daily Bread Food Bank Public Education
Award. This award is presented annually to a person or organization that has
put the goal of ending poverty into action by raising public awareness of
hunger in Toronto. Congratulations Jennifer!
Our
diverse religious traditions have different approaches to how we pray for our
politicians and government. This new series explores the question from the
perspective of our various religious communities. Our first response is from a
Jewish perspective.
How do we pray for our politicians and government? – A
Jewish Perspective
Jews have a long tradition of praying for the welfare
of the society in which they live. The earliest indication of this tradition
comes from the prophet Jeremiah, who prophesied during the period when the
ancient Israelites had been exiled to Babylonia from their homes in the Land of
Israel. Living for the first time in a country which was not their own,
they were counselled by Jeremiah to pray for its success and prosperity:
"Seek the welfare of the city where I have caused you to be exiled, and
pray to God on its behalf, for in its prosperity you shall prosper"
(Jeremiah 29:7).
The earliest text of rabbinic literature, the Mishnah,
contains an exhortation to pray for the government, and hints at a darker
reason for doing so. "Rabbi Hanina, the deputy of the priests, would often
say, ‘Pray for the welfare of the government, for were it not for the fear of
it, people would swallow each other alive’." (Pirke Avot 3:2). Rabbi
Hanina, who lived in the 1st century, seems to fear anarchy most of all. It is
important that the government be strong, because people need a strong hand to
ensure order. Otherwise, the darker side of human nature would prevail and the
society would break out into violence. According to Rabbi Hanina, that's why
Jews should pray for the welfare of the government. It is true that in the
course of Jewish history, it has often been mobs who have engaged in pogroms
and other kinds of anti-Semitic attacks. However, it is poignant that Rabbi
Hanina himself, the author of this statement, was martyred by the Romans
– proving that a strong government, unchecked, can also "swallow its
people alive".
Since the 14th century, most Jewish prayer books have
contained a prayer for the government, in keeping with Jeremiah's injunction.
There were certainly times and places when Jews lived under governments which
had policies toward Jews which would have made it very difficult, if not
impossible, for them to recite these prayers. We in Canada today are blessed
to live in a democratic society which respects the rights of religious
minorities. Although we may not agree with every policy of a particular
government, we can pray for our country and its leaders without hesitation. My
own congregation has a prayer for Canada which we recite every week during
Sabbath services: "Merciful God, we invoke Your blessing upon this
country, Canada, and on its government and leaders. Guide them that they may
administer all affairs of state in justice and righteousness. May peace and
security, happiness, prosperity, and freedom, forever abide among us. Unite the
inhabitants of this great country in all its diversity. Safeguard our ideals
and institutions from hatred and bigotry so that the people of this land may
fulfill the vision of Your prophets: Nation shall not lift up sword against
nation, Neither shall they learn war any more, For all people both great and
small, shall know the Lord."
In this way, we pray that our leaders may conduct
their difficult work in accordance with the highest ideals of justice and
peace found in the prophetic tradition, and that the society as a whole should
continue to respect and honour the diversity which is its outstanding
characteristic.
The Interfaith Social Assistance Reform Coalition (ISARC) was born out of the hope that together a coalition of faith groups could contribute to new public policies based upon greater justice and dignity for Ontarians marginalized by poverty
Faith groups
advocate with governments in a number of ways and from different theologies.
For some, the advocacy is on a very personal level as they assist individuals
and families with personal problems by calling local politicians about
particular needs. Others support systemic advocacy through policy change
whether this is for immigrants from their tradition or for people with specific
issues.
The Province is
holding consultations leading toward an Ontario Affordable Housing Strategy.
Since so many faith communities are into affordable housing development, it’s a
time for us to gather our wisdom, “think outside the box”, and figure out new
ways to work with governments to help those who need Rent Geared to Income. 
Since the 14th century, most Jewish prayer books have
contained a prayer for the government, in keeping with Jeremiah's injunction.
There were certainly times and places when Jews lived under governments which
had policies toward Jews which would have made it very difficult, if not
impossible, for them to recite these prayers. We in Canada today are blessed
to live in a democratic society which respects the rights of religious
minorities. Although we may not agree with every policy of a particular
government, we can pray for our country and its leaders without hesitation. My
own congregation has a prayer for Canada which we recite every week during
Sabbath services: "Merciful God, we invoke Your blessing upon this
country, Canada, and on its government and leaders. Guide them that they may
administer all affairs of state in justice and righteousness. May peace and
security, happiness, prosperity, and freedom, forever abide among us. Unite the
inhabitants of this great country in all its diversity. Safeguard our ideals
and institutions from hatred and bigotry so that the people of this land may
fulfill the vision of Your prophets: Nation shall not lift up sword against
nation, Neither shall they learn war any more, For all people both great and
small, shall know the Lord."