Ontario has cancelled its “special diet allowance”, taking money from the poor and literally taking food out of their mouths. The elimination of this program was initiated when government officials insisted that “the poor were taking advantage of the special diet program”. This program offers food assistance of up to $250 a month for people who meet specific medical conditions which require them to eat special foods, conditions such as high blood pressure, obesity and high cholesterol to name a few.
Arguments have been raised that there are plenty of other things that could have been done away with in order to have kept the “special diet allowance” such as the elimination of the G20 summit which cost the government $1.2 billion dollars to put on. Another option suggested by tax professor Neil Brooks was to “eliminate all the special tax subsidies that businesses and individuals enjoy when they write off the cost of meals and entertainment”. Instead the government takes away important welfare programs from the people who are already struggling to make ends meet.
Title:Â Picking on the Poor: Government Intensify 15-year assault on the Destitute
Publication: The CCPA Monitor, June 2010
Author: Linda McQuaig
Faculty Evaluator: Suzel Bozada-Deas, Sonoma State University
Student Researcher: Lindsey Tanner, Sonoma State University