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www.oakvillebeaver.com · OAKVILLE BEAVER Wednesday, May 26, 2010 · 12 NDP rally protests meal allowance cuts By Dominik Kurek OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF The local NDP staged a protest outside Oakville MPP Kevin Flynn's office Thursday to demand the Ontario Liberal government reinstate the Special Diet Allowance. The allowance, cut in the 2010 provincial budget, provides people receiving money from Ontario Works or the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) with additional funds for food. For a person to be eligible for the allowance of up to $250 per month, they need a doctor's certificate. James Ede, the federal NDP candidate for Oakville who staged the protest, said the program was eliminated because it went from costing the Province $6 million to $200 million during its existence. The increase came as a result of more doctors signing people onto the program, he said. "Some doctors started recognizing that people living on welfare and disability benefits were sick because of the food they were eating," he said. "You ask anyone who works with people on social assistance, they will tell you it's not enough to eat. It's not enough to live on. The McGuinty government could do one of two things, or both would be better, is to reinstate the Special Diet Allowance or, better yet, raise up Ontario Works and Ontario Disability Support Program payments to a level where people can actually buy healthy food." Prior to the protest, Flynn issued a statement, saying that the program is being cut after concerns raised by the Province's Auditor General that the allowance is unsustainable and subject to abuse. He added the allowance is being phased out, though still currently providing funds, for a new nutritional supplement program through the ministry of health and long-term care, which will be introduced in a few months. "The government has a responsibility to Oakville families and taxpayers to provide fair, accountable and sustainable programs and creating opportunities for Ontario's most vulnerable," said Flynn. "People who truly have a medical condition will be those who are "I'm always supportive of having the right programs in place and the right support for people who really need it. What I won't tolerate and what I don't think Ontario citizens will tolerate is fraud." Oakville MPP Kevin Flynn ERIC RIEHL / SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER TAKING IT TO THE STREETS: The Oakville NDP held a rally outside Oakville MPP Kevin Flynn's constituency office on Lakeshore Road West in Bronte Thursday to protest cuts to the Province's Special Diet Allowance. Here, Oakville resident Brian Hopkins holds a sign during the protest. going to benefit as a result of the new program," he added. Ede countered that the new nutritional program will be drastically smaller than the current allowance. But Flynn retorted saying, "The new program will be designed so that the people who really need it are going to get it and it won't be subject to abuse." He then added, "I'm always supportive of having the right programs in place and the right support for people who really need it. What I won't tolerate and what I don't think Ontario citizens will See NDP page 13