EVENTS & MEETINGS:

1) Tuesday, December 11: Support Anti-Poverty Motion at City Council
2) Thursday, December 13: Meeting of Grassroots: Sudbury's Media
Collective
3) Thursday, December 13: Sudbury Bus to Sault Ste-Marie Anti-Poverty
Protest
4) Monday, December 17: Support the S-CAP 11 in Court
5) Monday, December 17: Sudbury Event for International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers (Please note that event #5 has been cancelled)
6) Tuesday, December 18: Meeting of Sudbury Coalition Against Poverty
7) Monday, January 15: General Meeting of Coaltion for a Liveable Sudbury

NEWS, ANALYSIS, & CALLS TO ACTION:

1) "Canada's secret trials, immigration policy under fire on Human Rights Day" by David P. Ball
2) "Whose Fight Is It? Sudbury Teachers and Bill 115" by Scott Neigh

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Tuesday, December 11: Support Anti-Poverty Motion at City Council

Time: 6pm
Location: City Council Chambers, Tom Davies Square (200 Brady Street)

The Sudbury Coalition Against Poverty is  everyone who supports the Community Start-up and Maintenance Benefit (CSUMB) to come out on Tuesday night to make sure that Sudbury City Council passes a motion to oppose the provincial cut to the CSUMB. As much as we can, we would like to pack the City Council chambers with CSUMB supporters. Below are sections from the flyer S-CAP will be handing out at this City Council meeting. (Please note that the next S-CAP meeting has been postponed until December 18 to allow for this event.)

"The Sudbury Coalition Against Poverty is here tonight calling for the City of Greater Sudbury to take a clear and decisive stance opposing the cut to the crucial provincial Community Start Up and Maintenance Benefit (CSUMB), which is slated to occur January 1st, 2013.

The CSUMB is the only ways that people on OW or ODSP can get new housing, cover the costs of moving, stave off eviction and obtain the basic items to maintain a home. It is a defense against homelessness and a means by which many women and children are able to leave situations of domestic violence. Cutting CSUMB is designed to hurt people as much as possible when they are at the most vulnerable point in their lives. It will increase homelessness and hardship.

In the report for the Community Services Committee, city officials demonstrate that there will be a roughly 1.6 million dollar reduction in funds available to the city for supports for low income residents in 2013, including the CSUMB (with the amount allocated to the city falling from $2,034,643 to $755,041). The facts in this report stand in contrast with the statements Rick Bartolucci made in November.  He stated that there would be “no reduction in services”. This is a flat-out lie. Mr. Bartolucci is supporting these cuts which will lead to an increase in homelessness and other hardships, while denying the real impact that these cuts will have.

Opposing the cut to the CSUMB is crucial to the survival and health of people on OW and ODSP as many studies including a recent one from the Wellesley Institute have clearly stated. Other municipalities have clearly called for an end to the cut to the CSUMB ranging from Hamilton, London and Toronto, to the Lambton County Council, and Niagara Regional Council. As George Maroosis, Chair of the District of Nipissing Social Services Administration Board (DNSSAB), recently wrote to the Minister of Community and Social Services: “Given the inadequate basic needs and shelter allowances for the Ontario Works (OW) and Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP), the CSUMB has emerged as a core benefit for supporting people on social assistance. To that end, we are asking that the province fully reinstate CSUMB” (October 31, 2012).  We are calling on the City of Greater Sudbury to support this position and to communicate it as quickly as possible to the Minister of Community and Social Services and the Ontario government.

The motion coming before City Council tonight from the Community Services Committee correctly notes that “shelter is a basic requirement and foundation for health and stability; and …[that] it is essential that people living on low income be able to access financial supports and a safety net when needed to prevent homelessness.” It notes the provincial funding loss to the City of Sudbury including the “the elimination of Community Start-Up Maintenance Benefit (CSUMB)” and calls for “the City of Greater Sudbury [to] request that the Ontario Provincial Government maintain the 2012 level of funding for homelessness programs and benefits” This is great as far as it goes but this motion needs to be clearer in explicitly calling for the reinstatement of the vital CSUMB program.

If the province refuses to do this the City of Sudbury is required to take on this responsibility as people on OW and ODSP will still need to move and maintain their households. This is a benefit which is vital to the well-being of those on social assistance, and as such it is crucial to safeguard access to this fund.  If the cut does go through, S-CAP is asking that the City of Greater Sudbury commit itself to maintaining this funding at the level it is offered now for all people in Greater Sudbury who are on OW and ODSP.

The Toronto and Hamilton City Councils have already committed to this. Hamilton is covering all CSUMB benefits for 6 months and Toronto for longer. S-CAP is asking that the City of Greater Sudbury go beyond this and cover the costs of the CSUMB on a permanent basis if the provincial cut goes through.

We are fighting to get the province to fully reinstate the CSUMB. But regardless of whether they do or do not we will continue to support people on OW and ODSP in getting their needs met through the CSUMB and other programs. We will continue to ensure that the needs of people living on OW and ODSP for moving and to maintain their homes are fully met by OW, ODSP and the City of Greater Sudbury.

SUDBURY COALITION AGAINST POVERTY"  

This event on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/events/379890882096653/

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Thursday, December 13: Meeting of Grassroots: Sudbury's Media
Collective

Time: 10am to 11am
Location: Environmental Resource Centre (176 Larch Street, back
entrance)

Everyone is welcome to join us for our next meeting, next Thursday,
December 13,  10 - 11am in the ERC (176 Larch, back entrance). We'll be
debriefing from our "workshopping the workshop" event, discussing the
membership campaign we will be launching in the new year, and of course,
brainstorming story ideas.

Also, mark future meetings on your calendar, 10-11 am on the 2nd
Thursday of each month: Jan. 10, Feb. 14, March 14, Apr. 11, May 9, June
13 in the ERC.

Grassroots Sudbury Media is a working group of the The Media Co-op. We
are creating independent media in the North, to speak to our issues and
outlooks on our communities as well as the world around us. Independent
media provides an avenue for people who are wishing to gain critical
perspective on the issues that matter most to us, and to give a voice to
those people and stories that you won't find in the mainstream media.

Find our site at:
http://www.mediacoop.ca/group/sudbury

Contact the Sudbury Working Group to learn more about writing for us or
to let us know about community issues and events at:
grassrootssudburymedia@gmail.com

Find us on Facebook at:
http://www.facebook.com/GrassrootsMediaCollective

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Thursday, December 13: Sudbury Bus to Sault Ste-Marie Anti-Poverty
Protest

Time: 6:30am
Location: Leaving from Dumas Indpendent Grocers' parking lot (82 Lorne Street, Sudbury)

Sudbury Coalition Against Poverty (S-CAP) and the North Shore Tribal Council are going to the Sault to take our protest of the provincial government's cut to Community Start-up and Maintenance Benefit to that city.

Transportation:
If you are able to go to the Sault that day please contact S-CAP at sudburyCAP@gmail.com or at 249-878-7227.

Bus round trip to the Sault is FREE but you must REGISTER with S-CAP in advance so we know how many spaces on the bus need to be reserved for Sudbury.

Carpool: Given that Sudbury Transit will not be running that early in the morning we will be car pooling to get people to the Dumas parking lot for 6:30am. Contact us!

S-CAP is taking as many people from Sudbury as we can on a bus to Sault Ste-Marie for a joint protest with the North Shore Tribal Council against the provincial government's cuts to the Community Start-up and Maintenance Benefit, an important component of social assistance that can prevent homelessness and allow women to leave abusive relationships.

This event on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/events/343478402415986/

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Monday, December 17: Support the S-CAP 11 in Court

Time: 9:30am
Location: Courtroom E, Sudbury Courthouse (155 Elm Street)

The next court appearance for for the 11 Sudbury Coalition Against Poverty (S-CAP) members and supporters who were arrested and charged with trespassing on Friday November 9th at the ‘Sudbury Emergency Homeless Shelter’ set up in Sudbury MPP Rick Bartolucci's office is Monday, December 17th at 9:30am at the courthouse at 155 Elm street, courtroom E. On November 9th following a request from Bartolucci the police arrested 11 people who were engaging in a peaceful protest against the Liberal government's cut to the Community Start-Up and Maintenance Benefit (CSUMB). Bartolucci refused to speak to the protestors in his office who he characterized as "rabble rousers."

Continuing the struggle against the cut to the CSUMB the S-CAP 11 are pleading not guilty to these charges. The Sudbury Coalition Against Poverty (S-CAP) is asking that people support the S-CAP 11 by showing up to the courthouse on Dec. 17th. Courtroom E will not fit many people, so some people may have to wait outside the courtroom. We will be moving outside the courthouse after the court proceedings are concluded for a media conference. The importance of maintaining the CSUMB will be stressed as well as the support the S-CAP 11 have received here in Sudbury and from across the province.

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PLEASE NOTE THAT EVENT #5 HAS BEEN CANCELLED
Monday, December 17: Sudbury Event for International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers

Time: 4pm opening, march begins at 4:30pm
Location: Starting from Sudbury Women's Centre (324 Elm Street)

Please join us as we stand together as a community in solidarity to end
violence against sex workers locally and worldwide. A free meal and
refreshments will be served. A march will leave from the Sudbury Women's
Centre at 4:30 pm and proceed to Tom Davies Square. Be sure to dress
warmly!

For more information, please contact Tracy Gregory at (705) 688-0500
ext. 222.PLEASE NOTE THAT EVENT #5 HAS BEEN CANCELLED

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Tuesday, December 18: Meeting of Sudbury Coalition Against Poverty

Time: 6:30pm
Location: Offices of the Sudbury and District Labour Council (Suite 209,
upstairs in 109 Elm Street, which is across the street from the Native
Friendship Centre )

Matters to be discussed include planning actions against the cuts to the
community start-up fund and our ongoing direct action support work.
Everyone welcome. The venue is wheelchair accessible. Children are
welcome to attend, or childcare support is available upon request at
sudburycap@gmail.com.

S-CAP is a direct-action anti-poverty organization based in Sudbury,
Ontario, Canada. We provide direct-action support work assisting
individuals in their struggles with welfare and ODSP, housing,
employers, and others who deny people what they are entitled to in order
to meet their needs. In addition, we mount campaigns against and support
educational work about regressive government policies as they affect
working people and people living in poverty. We believe in the power of
people to organize themselves.

S-CAP on FaceBook:
http://www.facebook.com/groups/257339454351403/

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Monday, January 15: General Meeting of Coaltion for a Liveable Sudbury

Time: 7pm
Location: Environmental Resource Centre (176 Larch Street, back entrance)

Everyone is welcome to attend this general meeting of the Coalition for a Liveable Sudbury. If you’ve never made it out to a meeting, why not come out?  We’d love to meet you!

NEWS, ANALYSIS, & CALLS TO ACTION:

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Canada's secret trials, immigration policy under fire on Human Rights Day
by David P. Ball
Originally published at Rabble.ca (http://rabble.ca/news/2012/12/canadas-secret-trials-immigration-policy-u...)
 

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Whose Fight Is It? Sudbury Teachers and Bill 115
by Scott Neigh
Original published on the site of Grassroots: Sudbury's Media Collective, a working group of The Media Co-op.
(http://www.mediacoop.ca/story/whose-fight-it-sudbury-teachers-and-bill-1...)