Raise the Hammer

Woody10: Maybe your friend is or was collecting WSIB benfits which is not the same. If your wife was alone and had to access Ontario Works, she would get OSAP but with changes in Ontario Works, once OSAP is given , then they are cut off OW. They must live on the amounts given from OSAP which does not taken into account all the living expenses necessary, which means that your children may have to go without items.

Did you read the articles in the spec this morning, one about the welfare rolls increasing and this is due to many of those workers who are precarious and also due to the downturn in the economy. The second article is about the hydro and the limiters, so those who are the working poor must make choices about whether they should pay the hydro or say buy food.

Anyways who said I was bashing the stadium, I have questions that is all about what type of jobs are created, at what wage rate, meaning would they be a living wage, or if they cannot be a living wage at least to provide benefits for those low income workers and this item is particularily important.

A living wage in Hamilton was deemed to be 12.96 in 2006 by the Living Wage and Fair Employment Coalition.

Here is a true story for you buddy, a person who worked their whole life, not great work but worked, had a job with their partner. The partner died and the job was gone. The person had to put all their belongings into storage and wallowed on OW for months and months, couch surfing until CPP kicked in. The amount received from CPP is not really liveable and this person could not afford to get the belongings out of storage, the person asked for startup to get a lifetime of belongings back, the person was refused. Yet we have our leaders with a wave of a hand at the provincial giving themselves 27 percent raises, while denying the people any dignity.

If I had the money, I would start up a workers center to help those to advocate for justice. There are many bad employers out there, who do what the f$%^& they want, the system does not provide for justice in many cases. And in fact I know of a story of a so called worker giving out false information about the arbitration and grieving process and then threatened to have the person cut off EI. And in fact when I called this so called worker and asked by what authority do you have to threaten someone off their only source of income, I was met by silence on the phone. Some of this idiots who worked for the system are unqualified on issues pertaining to labour rights, they are paid union wage rates, covered by benefits and are entitled to pensions, all the while stomping on the rights of others they feel they are entitled to. You have no idea buddy, really you don't.