Canada: Join OCAP on March 16, 2012

(DOWNLOAD POSTER & FLYER AT BOTTOM OF PAGE)

-Solidarity Against Austerity-
Friday, March 16, 2012
Rally and March 12 noon
College and Bay St, Toronto (Outside the Ministry of Housing)

Join the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty (OCAP) and allies for a march and rally on Friday, March 16th, in the lead up to the 2012 Provincial Budget. The McGuinty government has hired former head of the TD bank, Don Drummond, to propose and provide the basis for massive social cutbacks in their 2012 budget. It is being drafted as the Provincial component of the austerity agenda that is gathering force across Canada and internationally. City Hall, Queen`s Park and Ottawa are delivering austerity, but clearly it is being cooked-up on Bay Street by bankers like Drummond to the benefit of their rich friends.
We have to stop the cuts and fight for what poor and working people need!
The measures they intend to hit us with will fall on top of the losses we have already faced:

-Social assistance rates have lost at least 55% of their spending power since the days of the Harris Tories; the base amount for welfare today is a despicable $599/month
-The minimum wage has been reduced in real terms and more and more workers are forced into low wage jobs with E.I, employment standards and protection for workers being steadily eroded
-The fastest growing numbers amongst the poor in Ontario are racialized people without status; forced in to an economy that benefits from their massively underpaid and exploited labour, but fails to provide even basic services
-Waiting lists for social housing across this province are decades long while people are priced out of the private housing market and homeless shelters are overcrowded
-Access to affordable childcare is almost non-existent while thousands wait for limited subsidy spaces.

For poor people and workers in this province, it has been a constant state of crisis. McGuinty is now preparing to make this situation much worse.
On March 16, we will be rallying at an Ontario Government location but taking our march to Toronto`s financial centre where the real decisions are being made by and for the '1%'.
We will be marching to oppose austerity measures but also to demand the reversing of previous cutbacks, the right to a living income, the right to affordable and accessible housing, and for good quality public services for all! We will be marching against the kind of society Drummond and the rich are creating, and for one that meets the needs and improves the lives of all of us!

HOW TO BE INVOLVED IN MARCH 16:
-Organize a contingent: bring a group of people from your organization, neighbourhood, city or union local to this demonstration - bring your demands
-Drum out Drummond: bring drums, noise makers, pots and pans
-Organize a group of students or a ‘kids block’ to be a part of the day as part of March Break
-Banners, flags and signs: Organize a ‘banner making day’ in your area, bring your banners to the march
-Help fund a bus, food, transit tokens, ASL, and materials for the day: if you or your organization or union local can make donations of money or in-kind, please help us make this day as participatory and accessible as possible
-Build the movement: add your organization’s to the list of endorsers for this day of action
-Get the word out: help us get the message out about this day of action, download the poster and flyer at www.ocap.ca, forward this announcement far and wide, contact us if you would like to help with postering, flyering, etc.

GET IN TOUCH: Ontario Coalition Against Poverty
Email: ocap@tao.ca
Phone: 416-925-6939
Web: OCAP.ca
Facebook: OCAP
Twitter: @OCAPtoronto
DOWNLOAD POSTER & FLYER BELOW:
POSTER:
http://ocap.ca/files/OCAP_March%20low.pdf
FLYER (FRONT):
http://ocap.ca/files/flyer_side1%20lo.pdf
FLYER (BACK):
http://ocap.ca/files/flyer_side2.pdf