By cancelling the CSUMB, the Liberals say to poor and vulnerable Ontarians, Let them eat cake!

While teachers are holding bake sale fundraisers to help lessen the impact of the loss of an important benefit, the seven Liberal party leadership candidates will, according to party rules, be spending up to $500,000 each on their campaigns. And the 1%ers have paid $500 to be inside this Bay Street law firm to have cocktails with Kathleen Wynne. The message is clear - austerity measures for the people, but not the Liberal Party!

Watching your sugar intake, but still want to help?

Contact your local MPP and tell them what the elimination of CSUMB is going to mean in your community. Let them know that it will prevent people who are homeless from securing housing, undermine the ability of others to obtain the most basic household items, lead to needless evictions and have a particularly negative impact on youth. Ask them what theyre going to do to help restore the CSUMB. Encourage the people you know to fight this cut with us!

Home-made baked goods for sale! All funds raised will go to help the students and their families who will be devastated by the Liberal government's mean-spirited cut to the Community Start-Up Benefit & Maintenance Benefit (CSUMBA).
As Kathleen Wynne holds a $500 a person (tax deductable) "Cocktails with Kathleen" event with Toronto's 1%, many poor and vulnerable youth face an uncertain future due to her governments austerity measures. With the CSUMBA cut adding up to $67 million, this will have to be one of many fundraisers teachers will be holding to try and help our students and their families during this time of great need.

Why are teachers holding a bake sale? The Liberal Cut to the CSUMBA will hurt our students!
In January 2013, as part of the austerity budget, the Ontario provincial government will cut 50% of funding to the CSUMB. Currently, some 16 000 people a month across Ontario rely on this vital benefit which has been used to secure housing by people leaving shelters or hospitals. It is one of the only ways that people on Ontario Works or the Ontario Disability Support Program can cover the costs of moving, or obtain the basic items they need to maintain a home. It helps pay for things such as: deposits and hook up fees for heat or utilities, last months rent deposit, moving costs, rent arrears to prevent eviction, or payments to keep utilities or heat on. People can also sometimes get this benefit to protect their health or wellbeing by paying for things such as: getting rid of bed bugs, buying or repairing necessary home appliances or clothing, furniture, and other household goods. The maximum benefit available to people is $799 for a single person and $1500 for families in one 24 month period. Yet, the Liberal government has slated this life-saving benefit for elimination in January. As teachers, we understand that poverty is one of the biggest obstacles preventing our students from completing high school or post secondary education and employment training. We know that poverty adversely affects our students mental and social welfare and are very concerned about the estimated 10,000 youth who are already homeless at one point on any given year in Toronto. Cutting the CSUMB will only serve to increase the number of homeless youth in Ontario, and contribute to the increase in the student drop-out rate.

As teachers, we have done the math and know that austerity measures such as cutting the CSUMB just dont add up.
Austerity is based on the idea that government deficits can be eliminated by cutting spending, reducing benefits, and limiting public services. Many leading economists, however, argue that austerity measures actually have the opposite effect. Thats been the experience in countries including Britain, Italy, and Spain. As Nobel Laureate Paul Krugman points out, The notion that instead of increasing government spending to fight recessions, you should slash spending instead... represents a stunning failure of policy." The provinces current deficit was caused by financial sector speculation, the global recession, and the subsequent bail-outs of companies, not spending on public services. In fact, Ontario spends less per capita than any other province. Contributing to Ontarios deficit is the failure to reverse the cuts of the Harris era which is costing the province $16 billion each year in lost revenues. In addition, Ontario gets back $12.3 billion a year less from the federal government than it contributes in federal revenues.

What is needed instead of austerity is investment in communities and public services like health care, education, family services, public transit, electricity, clean water and clean air!