Thread by @patriciaflsd

To be a #PWD in this time of turmoil during the creation of #C22 is a complex and emotional rollercoaster of events. A nation of ppl truly affected by the outcome are watching every single moment, working to be apart of the process, hoping to have their input. A🧵

There is nothing in the Bill which brings real comfort and trust in the system. That ultimately is the truth, as I see it. Call me a pessimist if you want to, but the truth is, as I see it- this needs to be wholly rewritten and expedited. It needs to call for accountability.

Some of the questions asked during the committee meeting were astonishingly crude. Able-bodied folk, imagine this scenario: you’re in constant pain, you’re either unable to see or hear or move or swallow, or any combination thereof; and the BIG question on the frontline is…

“Will this benefit disincentivize return to work?” As though anyone in that position has ever been able to qualify for “work”. And let’s talk about work for a min. Bc that’s a real sore spot, esp among the able bodied. How often has a homegrown, cis heteronormative white person

said something demoralizing which indicated that a person- like a PWD or an immigrant or a refugee was actually taking up space in the workforce by attaining work when they, themselves, felt skipped over? How are we supposed to compete with both the oppression & the criticism

when YOU won’t make space for us? Don’t talk to us about the workforce. Moreover, companies like Shopify which profited madly over the pandemic and Air Canada which received HUGE government relief, fired thousands of employees since lockdowns lifted. If that wasn’t bad enough,

the BoC raising its interest rates again & then again, potentially sacrificing 850,000 jobs, roughly 2.2% of the population worth of jobs, means that there’s even LESS opportunity for PWD. So I don’t want to hear any of this disincentification nonsense. Bc it’s all BS.

You want to incentivize us to be participants, to become better citizens, to be healthy and helpful… get over yourselves and pay us. And do it now. Rush. Do it as though our lives, as though YOUR lives depend on it. As though your VOTES depend on it. Because. They. Do.

We are your constituents. We are your voters. This isn’t a partisan issue, btw. This isn’t about who had the best ideas or who did the best thing for the nation. This is about us. We are dying. Those two people, @alexisjconrad and @krista_wilcox were so unprepared is was surreal.

But let’s give some relevant stats. Pre-pandemic, food banks in the GTA, JUST the GTA serviced a total of 60,000 ppl, NOW they service 180,000. So, food insecurity is up. The way we deal with homelessness is appalling. Through 2020, encampment removal became an actual expense.

An example of that is when 60 unhoused persons put their tents up in a park in Toronto, the city spent $2,000,000 to remove them. What seemed like an army of police came down to Trinity Bellwood Park and removed the homeless & those standing up for them. What could have been used

for the sake of what policy makers would easily call “income inclusion” & what advocates call #BasicIncome was wasted on a single act of violence & cruelty. And yes: it was a cruel & colonial action to evict ppl with no resource & no place to go from a safe space & what could’ve

been an act of compassion by using that $2,000,000 to divide up among those 60 displaced folk & provide them with dignified lives so that they became contributing members of society… you shafted them at a HUGE onetime expense. Bravo. So to say that we, #PWD & the unhoused,

are salty as hell, is possibly the understatement of the century. We are dubious & nervous & scared & pretending as though you care, which is clear that you don’t, bc you’re asking for lived experiences, but not TOO specific so as to avoid over stating the emotional gravitas

which pulls the true narrative as to what is REALLY happening within the disability community, like for eg the fact that MAiD has become an option for poverty stricken individuals so much so that it’s actually spiked by 32% since 2020. As if that wasn’t bad enough, in 2020…

a PBO report by was published. It stated that “gross reduction in healthcare costs amounts to $109.2 million while the costs of administering MAiD is estimated at $22.3 million.” With a net cost savings of $86.9 million to provinces. Now, there’s a wholesome statistic for us all.

Yes. If it was unclear, I’m livid. I’m livid bc you don’t care. You aren’t including seniors or children, in fact you’ve made it BLATANTLY obvious that you have no intention to, bc you haven’t even explored the possibility of raising taxes on the wealthy, bc “income inclusion”

sounds like we get to join some kind of club, bc you refer to the “poverty line” as though it’s totally fixed when you know straight up that the MBM varies from city to city all over the entire country and does not stagnate, bc ppl deserve MORE than just the “basics” in life

and it’s okay if it’s provided to them- nobody will DIE if they receive it from a federally funded protocol and the economy certainly won’t suffer, bc you give endless tax breaks to corporations and provide low-tax jurisdictions & easy going income tax loopholes to the wealthy

earners, yet vigilantly punish ppl for their poverty & disposition. Just listening to the stories which my friends, yes FRIENDS, are going through, the trauma, endless suffering that they face bc of the systemic paradigm you have stacked against them is enormously overwhelming.

You are reaching out, but not TOO much, you are listening, but not TOO closely. Bc you might hear something worth listening to. Well hear this: PEOPLE. ARE. GOING. TO. CONTINUE. TO. DIE. Yes, that was continue. Bc you aren’t working fair & fast enough. In addition, you have

put on the frontlines, as ambassadors, helpful ppl who only want the best, but my guess is, you won’t listen to them either. I can think of one who is patient & caring, but clearly under pressure & it is clear that they receive nothing but steam from both sides. You owe us more.

You owe us a fair chance. We want wholesome lives. And, omg, listening- when the slightest morsel is even REMOTELY likely to become a possibility- the praise & gratitude that falls abound is so disturbing bc it says that this community has been so lacking in kindness that any

tiny form of compassion and care is enough. Let me assure you now: it’s not enough. To be kind & fair you actually have to do the work & see for yourselves that the suffering is real, that people are real. Resources are needed NOW. In this moment. You KNOW what you MUST do.

One day, you will NOT be in office. You’ll be a civilian & you will look back on this time. Someone you love, or even you WILL be us. Constant pain. There will be NOTHING you can do about it, bc there was NOTHING you did do about it. Remember that. Don’t use this to campaign.