Experienta Canadiana sub
Guvernul Harris
Scuze ca nu am avut
inca timp sa traduc in romana
Canadian
Experience under
Harris Government,
An Outrageous, and Woeful Situation!
Contents:
I am a Romanian and Canadian citizen who immigrated to Canada as a landed immigrant together with my wife and daughter. We came here with great hope for our daughter's future, being encouraged by the fact that Canada has been well known as the best country in the world with equal opportunity for everybody. But, soon, that "equal opportunity for everybody" was proved wrong here in the province of Ontario since the Harris government took power.
Thanks to the federal
government who created some programs for integration of
professional immigrants into the Canadian work force, I had an
opportunity to attend a program entitled "Training for
Immigrant Professionals" at Seneca College. In order to be
eligible for that program, my civil and professional documents
had been verified, and I had to pass rigorous English and math
tests. After intensive training in English, computer programming
and networking, I had a chance to work at the Ministry of
Environment and Energy, Investigation & Enforcement Branch,
Toronto. The scope of placement was for employment (I have clear
evidence), but unfortunately, I was harassed and discriminated in
employment on the grounds
of ethnic origin, place of origin, citizenship, age and receipt
of social assistance. That discrimination happened immediately
after the Harris government took power in 1995, and it was
triggered by the Harris' "Common Sense Revolution". I
was struggling to resolve my case complaining to the Ontario
Ombudsman and Human Rights Commission, but there is no more
justice in this province since the Harris government took power.
For detailed information, please see Ontario
Human Rights Commission's Investigation and Ontario Ombudsman's Investigation.
Top Page
Struggling under Drastic Social Cuts
After I was discriminated in 1995, I had no choice but to rely on social assistance. One year later, in 1996, the Harris government has made very drastic welfare reforms and has replaced General Welfare Assistance and Family Benefits laws with Ontario Works law (known as workfare). This government is very proud that it has created a new welfare system based on responsibility, accountability and fairness to taxpayers. It is based on one of the "Common Sense Revolution" ideas, Ontario's work-for-welfare program that is helping, according to government, turn welfare cheques into pay cheques. The reality is that this government requires people on welfare to perform forced or compulsory labour, under the pretext that this kind of labour will help welfare recipients to get jobs and move as quickly as possible from welfare to work. This requirement has been applied after other drastic measures, like cutting the social assistance by 22%, and people on welfare who do not comply with are punished by canceling their assistance. As you will notice further, my case is very conclusive on this matter.
A few months after I was discriminated and released from my job, the Harris government has cut the social assistance with 21.6%, and this cut meant for my family $300.00 every month. This drastic measure has had a tremendous negative impact on my family's standard of living, and we had to move to a cheaper apartment. Thank God that at that time it was in effect the NDP's law of rent control! Otherwise, maybe our family could have been disappeared or lived as homeless on Toronto's streets today. However, I have to point out that thanks to the Harris government policy, the rent control has been lifted and my apartment rent has been increased two years in a row with 6.75% and 6.4%, respectively. Being afraid by the NDP's freeze rent amendment for the next two years, the landlord has obtained an order from the Rental Housing Tribunal for increasing the rent with 7.5% over three years in addition to the annual guidelines increase. Recently, I received a new application for rent increase with 2.8% due to extraordinary costs on utilities. Consequently, my rent will be increased this year with 10.2% (7.4% over the legal guidelines of 3.9% for this year). Exhibit: Notice of Rent Increase. The total rent increase since 1996 is $228.00/month or $2,736/year, and my rent will reach the level from 1996 when I had to move to a cheaper apartment. For this time, I cannot move again because the landlord can increase the rent for a new tenant at his will with no limitation. Ironically, the Harris government called the law "Tenant Protection Act"! It would have been more appropriate to call it "Landlord Protection Act"!
The government argued that it was necessary to cut the social assistance with 21.6% because the welfare recipients were not making enough efforts to find jobs, and they needed some stimulation in this direction. Maybe, my constituency Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP), at that time newly elected conservative Mr. David Johnson who was aware about my situation because I complained to him, informed the Harris government that he had a very good example: I was on welfare when his government was elected, and I refused a job at the Ministry of Environment because I did not want to work, preferring to rely on welfare!!! For more information, please see How I was Harassed and Discriminated.
The Harris government has also cut the funds for many programs and training. For example, I went to a job interview at Ottawa, and I asked my caseworker a refund of the money spent with my car on gas (benzine). I was told that such kind of funds have been cut as well. Although I complained to a supervisor from Social Services, and I asked the help of my constituency MPP and MP, my complaint remained unresolved. If I was trying to protest that I could not follow my "self-directed job search plan" because I did not have enough money for day-by-day living and job search, my caseworker sent me a "Notice of Intent" for suspending my assistance because of "not making reasonable efforts to secure employment"! How did he expect to secure employment if my family did not have enough money for food and other vital necessities? How can you get a job if you do not have money for job search and go to a job interview? How can you get a job if you do not have access to proper training and certification? Very nice incentive for helping people to find jobs! Rather it is a violation of article 1(1) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and article 25 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
In the summer of 1999, my wife
was receiving Unemployment Insurance (UI) and National Child
Supplement (NCS) benefits from the federal government. We were
shocked when we saw that the entire UI benefits as well as the
NCS benefits were deducted from our welfare cheque (received from
the provincial government). Asking if she could receive some
money from her UI in order to be able to find a job, she was
directed to work for free 17 hours per week at community
placements to receive $85.00 for metropass (transportation). It
had been a very outrageous situation to see how her entire UI
benefits go from the federal government's pocket to the
provincial government's pocket without helping her in any way to
find a job, although the federal law required her to look for job
and make biweekly reports. It would be correct to not deduct the
entire UI benefits, like any other full time employment income,
because this money is for a limited-time period, and it is
supposed to help in finding another job. It is a diabolic measure
to deduct the NCS and the entire amount of UI benefits in the
conditions in which the assistance was cut with $300 per month
because what is left, after paying the rent, is not even enough
for food, without taking into consideration expenses for job
search and other vital family necessities. In addition, by cutting NCS benefits,
they in fact punish the children entitled to receive them. Very nice "Common Sense
Revolution" ideas based on the fairness of taxpayers for
stimulation and help for finding jobs! Rather, it is pure exploitation
and forced labour that violates articles 1(1), 8(2) and 8(3)(a) of
the International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights, and article 25 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Top Page
Struggling to Keep Updated and Get Certification
Being on social assistance, I was trying to keep updated in my profession asking my caseworkers many times to attend updated training programs in order to gain MCSE (Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer) and CNE (Certified Novell Engineer) certifications. These certifications could have been increased enormously my chances to find a job in my profession by compensating, at least partially, my age disadvantage and my lack of Canadian work experience. Year after year, I asked almost twice a year for such kind of training. Every time, I was told that Social Services did not have money because the government has cut the funds for such programs. This kind of training was available only to those on Unemployment Insurance (UI) paid by the federal government, but I could not qualify for UI because my employment lasted only eight weeks.
Taking into consideration my feedback received from job search and interviews, I realized that it would be very difficult to find a job in my profession without Canadian work experience and without some certification. So, I had to rely on food bank and make some sacrifices in order to buy some study materials, and I learned by myself taking self-training courses on my computer. When I was ready to pass the exams for certification, I asked my caseworker again if he could help me paying for those exams (around $2,000 dollars). I explained him that, taking into consideration the cost of a full training that could cost up to $10,000 for both certifications, it was a huge saving for his office. He replied that there was no problem, and we agreed for that service plan. But when I sent him a letter with more details, as he asked me for, I learned that they did not have money either. Under these circumstances, my caseworker tried to change my service plan and force me to work for free 17 hours per week (up to 70 hours per month) at community placements in exchange for our family welfare cheque of only $236.00 at that time. In these conditions, my contribution as compulsory labour to the fairness of taxpayers was around $3.50/hour. The minimum wage in Ontario is $6.85/hour. Because I could not participate in such compulsory placements, the Social Services department has cut my social assistance since January 1st, 2000. By using such methods, the Ministry of Social Services is proud to report now that I am among those 600,000 or so welfare recipients who found jobs thanks to government's work-for-welfare reform. Before reporting such a great success, the government should know that this kind of reform is a very clear violation of articles 1(1), 8(2) and 8(3)(a) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
One week later, after my
assistance had been cancelled, I found out from the media why my
caseworker cancelled my assistance and tried to force me to take
a workfare compulsory option, community participation. The Minister of Social
Services had to cut the social funds again because Social
Services did not force more social assistance recipients to work
for free in exchange for their welfare cheques at community
placements (exhibit Province
Pushes Cities on Workfare). You
could notice from that article that the Ministry of Social
Services had some extra money as reward given to Social Services
($1,000 for every recipient working for free at community
placements, but not for training). In other words, this
government is interested only in forced or compulsory labour in
order to recuperate the money paid for social assistance (work
done without paying for it). Yet, the Minister of Social Services
does not understand that before going to work you have to have
proper training and certification. Only the Minister of Education
applies this approach by forcing teachers to take exams for
certification saying that "no certification, no job". The government uses this policy
because it does not have to pay for teacher's certification, and
it is very simple to eliminate the teachers who do not have it.
By contrast, if welfare recipients ask money for getting training
and certification in order to be able to find jobs, they are
eliminated from the system as well by cutting their assistance.
My case is very conclusive in this regard. So, the Harris
government is not interested in any kind of training or
certification for a job that people are qualified for in
accordance with article 1(1) of the International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights. What really counts is
only money needed from the poor to cover some of the tax cut
handed to the rich.
Top Page
Ceausescu's Volunteer Labour
I have to point out that forcing people on welfare to attend a compulsory Workfare "Community Participation" violates their fundamental rights protected by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, in particular articles 1(1) and 8(3)(a). In addition, I see this kind of practice like a punishment applied to the innocent people who can not find adequate jobs. Moreover, this kind of compulsory participation reminds me about one of the most dictatorial Communist regimes, Romanian Ceausescu's regime. To be more understandable, I have to make known the following:
Now, it is an ironic and outrageous situation to see that the Harris government claims that it has created the Ontario Workfare in order to help welfare recipients get jobs and move them as quickly as possible from social assistance to work. If this is the main scope of the workfare, and if this government does really care about welfare recipients, then there is a very, very big question. Why didn't the former Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Environment and Energy keep me on the position for which I signed an "AGREEMENT" for a Systems Support Officer? She had an opportunity to apply in advance the ideas of the Conservative Government regarding Ontario Workfare! I exceeded at that time all conditions required under workfare to be employed, for example:
In spite of that, the Deputy Minister did not want to validate the "AGREEMENT" that I signed, and I had been directed twice to immigration agencies to ask for help in getting a job. Even after the Ombudsman Investigator's initial letter of investigation, the Deputy Minister was not willing to cooperate for. The problem was that I was an immigrant on welfare at that time, and the policy of the Conservative Government regarding immigrants and welfare recipients applied afterward proved exactly the opposite direction versus the scope of workfare pretended today, helping welfare recipients get jobs. My case is very conclusive in this regard, but the most significant proof is the Ombudsman's 1999 Annual Report, chapter "A Feeling Of Betrayal". The reality is that this government cares only about money and nothing else more.
My case demonstrates very
clearly that the Harris government has not been interested not at
all for helping social assistance recipients get jobs. The
workfare program is in fact a simple means for exploiting the
immigrants and welfare recipients by having the work done without
paying for it, or to throw them away from the system if they do
not comply with. It does not matter if they have children and
would live on the streets or their families will be destroyed
because the most important thing for this government is
"money, money, and only money".
Top Page
An Ironic, Outrageous and Woeful Situation
It's an ironic as well as outrageous situation that we came to Canada for creating our daughter a better life and future, but her future has been destroyed by the Harris' Common Sense Revolution since September 1995 when the Ministry of Environment discriminated me against employment. The subsequent life in poverty did not allow me to assure her a proper environment for developing her personality, talent, and creativity through a better education in order to achieve a better life for herself, and to be creative and useful for the prosperity of Canadian society as well.
I have to add that the human rights harassment and discrimination which happened at the Ministry of Environment, triggered by the Harris's Common Sense Revolution and covered up by the Ontario Human Rights Commission, has practically destroyed my profession, my career, and ruined my family life. In addition, my daughter has lived in poverty thanks to the social assistance dramatic cuts since 1995 when the Common Sense Revolution started, and she could not stand up to continue her education. More precisely, our social status and life in poverty imposed by Harris government has damaged her intellectual development and personality because she could not handle the stress caused by day-by-day struggle with the poverty. Not everybody is feeling comfortable when he/she has to expose publicly his/her living in poverty. There is no surprise that these kinds of events in which she had to expose her level of poverty (I can supply many facts) determined her to quit the high school in grade eleven, sometime three years ago. Now, she has no friends, she is isolated and struggle to manage her life through depression. We were trying to convince and determine her to continue her education, but we realized that she needs special attention, special needs and encouragement in order to be able to get at least a high school diploma. We tried whatever was possible, but we could not change too much.
It is a very frustrated, outrageous and woeful situation that we left our country of origin, Romania, being afraid that the dictatorship of the Communist regime could return to power, but my Canadian experience gained so far gave me the feeling that we are living now in this province under a more severe dictatorship. It's the dictatorship of ignoring, silencing, oppressing and exploiting people. It's the dictatorship of a false democracy which gives you the freedoms of speech without the audience of elected government and government authorities.
Therefore, I am wondering where is the democracy and social justice for so many immigrants, social assistance recipients, and disable people here in the province of Ontario? Where are their fundamental civil liberties and human rights granted to them by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the Canadian Human Rights Act, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights in this province under the Ontario Conservative Government?
It is unbelievable that such discriminations still exist in Canada which was recognized worldwide for its democracy and intolerance for harassment and human rights discriminations. It is regrettable that such discriminations are covered up now in this province even by the government authorities and government agencies that are responsible to handle them. As a person who lived in the past under Ceausescu's Communist dictatorship, I am still wondering where is the justice and democracy for immigrants and average people, in general, here in the province of Ontario?
It is also unbelievable that a provincial government of a province of Canada, country known one year ago as the best country in the world, uses undemocratic and dictatorial practices. A government that uses methods specific to the Communist and extremist regimes, like:
can be considered for sure a
dictatorship regime.
Top Page
Violations of International Conventions on Human
Rights
Please be advised that using this kind of forced labour violates article 8, section 3. of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, "No one shall be required to perform forced or compulsory labour", except where imprisonment with hard labour may be imposed as a punishment for a crime, or in any of emergency or calamity threatening the life or well-being of the community, or where any work or service which forms part of normal civil obligation.
Such kind of compulsory labour also violates article 1, section 1. of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights: "All people have the right of self-determination. By virtue of that right they freely determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development".
Please also be advised that article 25 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that "Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control".
Therefore, nobody gives the Harris government the right to cancel the assistance of social assistance recipients or to punish the teachers because they refuse to perform compulsory or forced work. Nobody entitled the Harris government to punish people who do not comply with its dictatorial and undemocratic laws that violate the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Maybe its methods would be justified on emergency or calamity threatening the life, but not when this government squeezes money from the poor in order to enrich the already rich as reward for supporting its party policy. Since the dictatorial methods of the Communist regimes were severely criticized by the entire civilized and democratic world, the Harris government must be ashamed if it would even try to argue that such compulsory work is part of normal civil obligation. There is no excuse for using such kind of methods even if the Harris government would have majority support. As a final point of view, I would like to mention that even Hitler and Ceausescu as well had the support of their nations until certain historic points when the entire democratic world has condemned them. We have to learn from history mistakes, not to repeat them!
Please,
therefore, join me for stopping the Harris government to use
dictatorial methods and restore the values of a real democratic
society that really protects the human rights, and, most
importantly, the real rights of people. For more information, please see "Contact
Information"
and a "Letter addressed to the Minister of
Community and Social Services". Thank you so much for your understanding,
support, and help.
Top Page
Contact Information for:
Restoring
the Rights of People on Social Assistance
There is no doubt that the Ontario Workfare violates articles 8(3.)(a) & 1(1) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and article 25 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. However, the essential problem with these violations is that it must not be defended the effect of the cause which is canceling my assistance, but the cause of the effect which is the law itself. Otherwise, what happened to me would happen to my child, and maybe to your children, and to many, many other Canadian immigrants and Canadian people.
Maybe, some of you could think that some people on welfare abused the welfare system. In this regard, the Minister of Social Services was very proud to declare public that his office discovered hundreds of fraudulent people on welfare. I have a great appreciation that his office is concerned about taxpayers' money. However, such cases must not be used as an excuse for punishing all people on welfare by cutting their assistance with almost 22% and using other draconian measures, like forcing them to perform forced or compulsory labour. It sounds to me like punishing an entire community because there are some offenders or criminals inside that community. So, all people on welfare are punished for the mistakes of a few of them, and they are treated in fact like a scapegoat.
Before treating people on welfare like that, the Minister should ask himself why there are some offenders on social assistance. If their assistance was cut by 22% and the rent is skyrocketing, maybe some of them are forced to do such things because there is no other way around to survive. It is very simple to detect and eliminate them from welfare and, therefore, to save some money, but the real cost paid by society on long term could be higher by eliminating them from the system. Maybe, some of those eliminated from the system could live on streets and get sick. Some of them could have children, their family would be destroyed, their children's education & development would be compromised, not too many jobs available for them, and society has to support them as they are. Or, maybe, some of them chose to become criminals and kill other innocent people. So, it could be saved a few hundreds of dollars from welfare, but it must be paid thousands more for the treatment of their illness or to increase society's security. This is one of the aspects. The other one is what kind of society we you are going to build, and do not exclude that among those killed victims could be one of us. Once again, the main problem is not to eliminate the effect of the cause, but the cause of the effect.
Therefore, I would be very grateful to you if you would support my cause and ask the authorities direct responsible for implementing the Ontario Workfare to amend or repeal the Social Assistance Act and Ontario Works Act in order to:
The persons responsible
for these drastic, undemocratic and dictatorial measures are
listed on the left column. They were replaced on April 15, 2002
by the persons on the right column, as following:
Back to Contact Information
Top Page
Justice must be served!
I would also be very grateful to you if would support my human rights harassment and discrimination cause and contact the Ombudsman of Ontario in order to investigate the Human Rights Commission's decision. As you could notice from the Human Rights Investigation, section Commission's decision, I have complained to the Ombudsman office by a letter since August 5, 1999. However, the Ombudsman decided to not investigate at that time using section 17(1)(a) of the Ombudsman Act which allows for the exercise of the Ombudsman's discretion to refuse to investigate a complaint further, where under the law or existing administrative practice it appears to be an adequate remedy for the complainant, whether or not the complainant has availed himself or herself of it.
What kind of law or administrative practice the Ombudsman has considered an adequate remedy for my complaint, I do not know yet. What I do know, however, is that they were trying to force me to work for free 17 hours per week at community placements in exchange for my welfare cheque of $236.00 instead of resolving my case. This is a violation of article 8, section 3.(a) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights: "No one shall be required to perform forced or compulsory labour". Isn't it very clearly now that Mike Harris' workfare was not created for helping welfare recipients get jobs? It's all about money and nothing else more.
Please, therefore, contact the Ombudsman in order to investigate the Ontario Human Rights Commission's decision. In accordance with the Ombudsman Act, section 14.(3), the Ombudsman has paramount powers. "The powers conferred on the Ombudsman by this Act may be exercised despite any provision in any Act to the effect that any such decision, recommendation, act or omission is final, or that no appeal lies in respect thereof, or that no proceeding or decision of the person or organization whose decision, recommendation, act or omission it is shall be challenged, reviewed, quashed or called in question".
The Ontario Ombudsman can be contacted at the following address:
The "Paramount Powers", conferred on the Ombudsman by the Ombudsman Act, allow to investigate the Human Rights Commission's decision even if the Commission's decision became final. Justice must be served! Thank you very much for your help and support.
Sincerely yours,
Ioan Moraru
imoraru@ica.net
Top Page
Created on: May 05, 2002
Last updated: Oct. 10, 2003