The people who are working on the front lines, the non-profits, have not been the beneficiaries of the stimulus. Somebody mentioned that in fact it was the low-wage-income people who were losing jobs. In my own area in Nova Scotia, stimulus money would go to move, actually, in some cases, skilled workers from one job to another, but the poor got nothing out of that. So we have this awful situation now where we have to pay for the stimulus.
Also, in the budget, the tax cuts that came into play are permanent. Those measures that allegedly would have helped those who are less well off were temporary—EI extensions and social housing.
I guess you didn't have to be Kreskin to know that the poor were going to come out of this worse off than when they went into it, but I thought there would be some level at some point where people would want to at least look at those who didn't benefit from stimulus, who were on the low level going in, in terms of government support. I can't think of a group any more important than persons with disabilities.
CACL, CCD--these organizations aren't getting lots of public money, and if anybody deserves support in our community.... We know that aboriginal Canadians are hurting, as are single parents, but persons with disabilities in a country like Canada, which doesn't have a Canadians with disabilities act.... We often look at the American social services system as much inferior to our own, but the Americans have an Americans with Disabilities Act.
How are you going to do the work you do?