Guess I spoke too soon - a report regarding the London whistle stop of the Commission was posted on the Poverty Free Ontario blog today:
The Social Assistance Review Commissioners spent Tuesday, June 29 in London, Ontario.
A breakfast meeting with the commissioners and key sectoral leaders from the community was followed by two half-day facilitated “conversation cafes” with a tour of three agencies over the lunch – My Sisters Place, London Inter-Community Health Centre, and the Men’s Mission.
The conversation cafes were structured around the five issues plus a sixth table to surface “other issues.” Invitations were sent out broadly in the community with specific asks to advocates to see if individuals with lived experience in OW/ODSP worlds would attend and participate.
Sixty people attended the morning session including about 5 individuals with lived experience. In the afternoon, 115 people attended with perhaps a dozen or so people with lived experience. The emerging local Inter-Faith Social Action Coalition had representatives at both sessions. A number of OW caseworkers and front-line supervisors also participated.
A number of advocates took the Commissioners’ workbook and are going to work with their clients to complete and submit to the Commission. A summary of the comments is being prepared and will be distributed to all participants and to the Commissioners and will also be made available to Poverty Free Ontario for posting on this web site.
Thanks to Ross Fair, Chairperson of the Child & Youth Network Ending Poverty Committee of London, for this initial report on the London consultation.
