McGuinty Promotes Malnutrition

Dalton McGuinty and the Ontario Liberals have decided that in Ontario, the government doesn't care if poor people's health is being destroyed by inadequate and insufficient food, even if a medical professional certifies that a social assistance recipient needs more and better food to be healthy. Provincial bureaucrats now get to decide in advance which kinds of medical needs deserve to be met, and which kinds of medical needs -- which empty bellies -- get the big ol' middle finger from Uncle Dalton. In the process, he and his Tories-in-disguise will be literally taking the food out of the mouths of thousands of families.

The following was released by the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty earlier today:

We have just gotten word that the special diet program has been slashed -- effective immediately -- for everyone in the Province on Ontario. On Friday the Provincial Government quietly changed the law for everyone on welfare and ontario disability who is trying to get the special diet. The new policy they have come out with means that they now have a specific list of medical conditions that are worth different dollar amounts (e.g. cancer, diabetes etc..)

If you do not have any of the listed conditions you will not be able to get the special diet money. And if you do have one of the listed conditions you will ONLY be able to get the amount of money the province has legislated for you for special diets.

Anyone who is already getting the special diet will have their applications "reviewed" at some point, and will be cut off. It's unclear what will happen to people whose practitioners have said that they required certain special diets permanently.

Please come out and join this fight! About 10 000 peoples' lives have been dramatically improved because they've been able to get the special diet money ($250 more per person/month). This change will be utterly devastating for people who have finally had some hope of surviving because of this campaign. We can not allow this policy to change. We can not give in. Tell everyone you know.