11032022 November 3 2022

CHAPLEAUEXPRESS

PIZZA HUT & KFC

Stop in and see our new menu.

You may be surprised! 705-864-0911

Newly established school sex abuse survivor group calls for Canada-wide change to protect children

committing) offences of a sexual nature against at least 548 students by searching disciplinary records,mediasources,andcriminalcaselaw.

Over the same timeframe, another 38 personnel were criminally charged for child sexual abuse material-related offences. In total, the study identified 290 school personnel involvedinsexabuseorvictimizationincidents.

Nearly 550 students were found or are allegedtohavebeensexuallyabusedor victimized by Canadian school personneloverthelastfiveyears,astudybythe CanadianCentreforChildProtection(C3P)has found.

Thestudy,whichspanstheyears2017to 2021 inclusively, found 252 current or former school personnel working in Canadian K-12 schools that committed (or were accused of

Through collaborative work with Stop Educator Child Exploitation (SECE), a grassroots organization composed of survivors of sexual abuse and violence at the hands of schoolpersonnelinCanadianschools,thestudy also presents a series of key policy recommendations. These actionable measures are shaped by the lived experience of SECE members and provide victim-centric insights into safety deficiencies within schools. They include:

-Establish fully independent bodies in all provinces tasked with receiving complaints (from the public, parents, students, and school personnel), conducting investigations, the adjudication process, and determining appropriatesanctions;

“This abuse has impacted us

terrible

“He was my teacher and supposed to protect me, not hurt me…there were no boundaries with him, he blurred thelinesofmyunderstandingofwhat was appropriate and what healthy intimacy should look like .... My former teacher was so good at makingmefeelasifthissexualabuse wassomethingIwantedandnotwhat itwas—violence”.—Victim2

-Ensure disciplinary records are universally made public in all provinces and that the information contained in them is centralized for the purpose of policy and public interest research;

-Mandate the completion of evidence-based childprotection trainingprogramsforallschool personnel, including administrators in all provinces;

Investmoreintrauma-informed victimsupports for students who are victimized within school environments.

life-altering ways. After discovering how similar our

despite being victimized by different teachers in different schools, provinces, and

by school teachers is …We decided

on the danger in our schools, and to educate the public

Nearly550childrenfoundorallegedtohavebeensexuallyabusedby Canadianschoolpersonneloverlastfiveyears,studyfinds

—Anne-MarieRobinson,memberofStopEducatorChildExploitation

Studentstoenjoyhealthybreakfastoptions thankstoUnitedSteelworkersLocal2251

Algoma District School Board (ADSB)

Director of Education Lucia Reece and Trustee Russell Reid (on behalf of Chair Jennifer Sarlo) accepted a generous donation from United Steelworkers (USW) Local 2251 at the Regular BoardmeetingheldonNovember1,2022.

Mike Da Prat, President of USW Local 2251, and Assistant Debbie Logan donated $14,750totheADSBStudentNutritionProgram to support schools locally and throughout the district for the 2021/2022 school year. To date, USWLocal2251hasdonated$84,250toAlgoma District School Board's Student Nutrition and BreakfastPrograms.

Food programs offer school-age children andyouthnutritiousoptions,typicallyatbreakfast and/orassnacksatdifferenttimesduringtheday.

The donation from USW will go a long way to support the purchase of fresh fruit, milk, yogurt, cereals and other healthy options which aremuchneededbysomestudentswhoarriveat school without breakfast or snacks for the day. Nowmorethanever,foodprogramsareimportant for children and youth in our schools and with enhancedsafetymeasuresforthedeliveryoffood tostudents,theseprogramscontinueandarebeing utilized by students in almost all ADSB elementaryandsecondaryschools.

Studies have shown that children whose nutritional needs are met have fewer attendance anddisciplineproblems,andtheirabilitytolearn isenhanced.

DirectorReecethankedMike,Debbieand the USW on behalf of the Board and shared that

thedonationwillhaveapositiveimpactonavery presentneedinschoolsthroughoutthedistrict.

Mini-clubsmakeareturnatÉcoleSacré-Coeur

Every month, students at École SacréCoeur (Chapleau) have the great opportunity to take part in mini-clubs offered by the school's teaching staff. All staff members offer a club differentfromtheothers.Studentscanthenchoose to participate in the clubs that interest them the

most!Amongthemanyactivitiesoffered,thereare cardgames,crafts,bingo,baking,Kahootquizzes andmore.Theseidentity-building and socialization activities vary from month to month.We would like to thank the members of the

staffofÉcoleSacré-Coeurforthisgreatinitiative muchappreciatedbystudents!!!

Àtouslesmois,lesélèvesdel'écoleSacré-Cœur(Chapleau)participentaux mini-clubs offerts par le personnel enseignant. Tous les membres du personnel offrentunclubdistinctdesautresetlesélèvespeuventalorschoisirdeparticiperaux clubsquilesintéressentleplus!Parmilesactivitésoffertes,onyretrouvedesjeuxde cartes, des bricolages, un bingo, de la cuisson, des questionnaires Kahoot et plus encore. Ces activités de construction identitaire varient de mois en mois. On remercie vivement les membres du personnel de Sacré-Cœur pour cette belle initiative!!!

Leretourdesmini-clubsèl'écoleSacré-Coeur!

Chapleau Moments

by MichaelJ. Morris

Despite being a quiet and unassuming person, Richard 'Dick' Brownlee, who was one of Chapleau's first citizens, was always a staunch worker for anything progressive in the community.

Mr. Brownlee arrived in Chapleau on February4,1886,andtwodayslater,established abarbershopinatentonthesitewheretheLady Minto Hospital would be located in 1914, at the cornerofElmandQueenStreets.

Writing in his book "Pioneering in Northern Ontario",Vince Crichton noted that in early1886was"nothingmorethanalargecamp" on the Canadian Pacific Railway, and that Mr. Brownlee'sbarbershopwasinthevicinityofthe originaltownsite.

Bornin1868, Mr. Brownlee had worked at several jobs as a young man, then decided to become a barber, setting up shop first in Biscotasing which was a busy and important place on the CPR in the early 1880s.

In 1887, he married and he brought his wife Ellen to Chapleau. She was one of the few womenthereatthetime.Bothwere19.

Aroundtheendof1886,T.A.AustinCo.

RichardBrownleequietandunassumingcitizenbut staunchbelieverinfutureofChapleaustartingin1886

whohadestablishedastoreonthesitewhichlater became Smith and Chapple Ltd, now Village Shops,builtaleantoshopontheeastendoftheir store which became known as Dick's Barber Shop.

Vince wrote that he did a "roaring business, trimming the bushy beards, large moustachesandmanyalockofunrulyhair."

From his earliest days in Chapleau Mr. Brownlee gained a reputation as a person who helped many in trouble, and supported projects thatbenefitedmanynotjustafew.

But,"aquietandunassumingperson,the handwasmoreoftenhiddenthanseen".

Like so many of Chapleau's earliest citizens, Mr Brownlee was involved in many aspects of community life.Apparently he was a good lacrosse player and played on a Chapleau team as early as 1890. He became a member of the Chapleau Volunteer Fire Brigade and was madeanhonourarymemberin1931.Hewasalso treasurer of the Chapleau Town Band for 13 years.

Mr. Comte became Mr. Brownlee's businesspartnerandin1928theypetitionedfora liquorstore.Citizensvotedinfavourandinlater 1928, the Liquor Control Board of Ontario openedstoreat24BeechStreet.RobertMcEwen wasthefirstvendor(manager)andGeorgeHunt, mygrandfather,theassistantvendor.

Mr. Brownlee retired in 1931 and Mr. Comtetookoverthebusiness,retiringin1961.

He built the first real summer home at Mulligan's Bay on what came to be known as Brownlee Island, later Card Island. He also had the first steam powered boat to cruise the two rivers, going down the lake to a bay. He always enjoyedhuntingandfishing.Cont’donP.5

He became a charter member of Lodge 266 of the Independent Order of Oddfellows whenitwasestablishedinthecommunity.

AfaithfulworkerforSt.John'sAnglican Church, he served as Rector's Warden for 12 yearswhenRev.P.R.Soaneswasattheparish.

In 1907, Mr. Brownlee purchased propertyat22and24BirchStreetEast which came to be known as the Brownlee Block. He established his newbarbershopthereandlivedinan apartmentupstairs.

Arriving in Chapleau in 1911, at the age of 17 from Thouars, France, AlfComtebecametheChapleauboys' bestfriendfromchildhoodup,joining Mr.Brownleeinthebarbershop. Hedecidedtostay."Itwasyoung, it was colourful, it was growing," he saidofChapleau.Itbecameknownas the Four Chair Union Barber Shop -butIonlyrememberthreechairs?

Firstshopintheleanto

AlfComte

BrownleeBlock

REPORT from OTTAWA Rapport d’Ottawa

by/par Carol Hughes Federal member of Parliament Algoma-Manitoulin-Kapuskasing

At the end of June, the House of Commons passed an important justice reform bill in C-5. The Bill removes a number of outdated mandatory minimums for drug convictions, a big step that will allow judges to use their own discretion for how to sentencepeopleforminorpossessioncharges.

An important part of Bill C-5 actually came from an amendment from New Democrats. The amendment involves the sequestration of existing criminal records associated with simple possession charges.Whatthiswouldmeanisthatforpeoplewho havehadpreviouschargesforminordrugpossession offenses, particularly for marijuana prior to legalization,theirrecordswouldbesealedtwo-years followingtheirconviction.Thebilliscurrentlybeing debatedatcommitteeintheSenateandisanticipated tobepassedintheverynearfuture.

Why is this important? Too many people, particularly from marginalized communities, have criminal records for minor possession that prevent themfromleadingnormallivesthatmanyofustake

À la fin du mois de juin, la Chambre des communesaadoptéunimportantprojetdeloivisantà réformerlesystèmedejustice,soitleprojetdeloiC-5. La mesure législative élimine un certain nombre de peines minimales obligatoires désuètes en ce qui concernelesinfractionsliéesauxdrogues.Ils'agitd'un grandpasversl'avantquipermettraauxjugesd'utiliser leur pouvoir discrétionnaire lors de l'imposition de peinesauxpersonnestrouvéescoupablesd'infractions mineuresencequiconcernelapossession.

UnepartiecrucialeduprojetdeloiC-5résulte en fait d'un amendement proposé par les néo-démocrates.L'amendementconcernelamisesous scellés des casiers judiciaires existants associés à des accusationsdepossessionsimple.Ainsi,lespersonnes qui ont déjà été inculpées pour des infractions mineures de possession de drogue, notamment de marijuana avant la légalisation de celle-ci, verraient leur casier judiciaire scellé deux ans après leur condamnation. Le projet de loi est actuellement à l'étude par un comité du Sénat et devrait être adopté incessamment.

Pourquoi est-ce important? Trop de gens, surtout au sein des communautés marginalisées, ont descasiersjudiciairespourpossessionmineurequiles empêchentdevivreunevienormale,cequebeaucoup d'entre nous tiennent pour acquis. En effet, les personnes qui ont été accusées de possession de marijuanaavantlalégalisationseheurtentàdegraves obstaclesenraisondecescondamnations,notamment poursetrouverunemploi,pourobtenirunlogement, pourfairedubénévolatoupourvoyager.

Lamisesousscellésetlaradiationsontdeux

CriminalRecordSequestrationforMinorPossessiontheRightThingtoDo

for granted. For those with marijuana possession charges from prior to legalization, they still face significant barriers due to convictions: from finding jobs;accessinghousing;volunteering;ortravelling.

Sequestration is not the same as expungement.Sequestrationmeanssealingaperson's recordsothatit'snolongeraccessible.Expungement meansthattherecordiseliminated.Sowhywouldit be important to include sequestration for minor possession charges? The process for sequestration would become automatic, whereas an individual has to apply for an expungement, a complicated legal procedurethattakesasignificantamountoftimeand effort.

For example, following the legalization of marijuana, the Parole Board of Canada opened the door for those who had previous convictions for marijuana possession to apply for a record suspension.Thegovernmenthadinitiallyanticipated approximately 10,000 people would apply for a suspension,buttodate,inthethreeyearstheprogram hasbeenavailable,only972applicationsforcannabis recordsuspensionshavebeenreceived,andonly628 ofthosehavehadtheirrecordsuspended,accordingto arecentreportfromCBCNews.Sequestrationwould occur automatically after two years, ensuring that people convicted of simple possession would no longerfacebarriers.

Havingarecordsealedisclearlynotthesame as having it expunged, but it gives people the

choses différentes : la mise sous scellés consiste à sceller le dossier d'une personne de façon à ce que celui-cinesoitplusaccessible,tandisquelaradiation désigne l'élimination d'un dossier. Dans ce cas, pourquoiest-ilimportantd'incluredansleprojetdeloi la mise sous scellés des infractions mineures de possession?Decettefaçon,leprocessusdemisesous scellés serait automatiquement mis en application, tandis que la radiation se ferait sur demande. Il s'agit d'une procédure légale qui nécessite beaucoup de tempsetdetravail.

Parexemple,àlasuitedelalégalisationdela marijuana, la Commission des libérations conditionnelles du Canada a permis aux personnes ayant déjà été condamnées pour possession de marijuanadedemanderunesuspensiondeleurcasier judiciaire. Le gouvernement avait initialement prévu qu'environ10000personnesferaientunedemandeen ce sens, mais à ce jour, au cours des trois années d'existence du programme, seulement 972 demandes de suspension de casiers judiciaires relatifs au cannabisontétéreçues,etseulement628d'entreelles ont porté fruit, selon un reportage récent de CBC News. Dans le cas qui nous occupe, la mise sous scellésseferaitautomatiquementauboutdedeuxans, de sorte que les personnes reconnues coupables de simplepossessionnerencontreraientplusd'obstacles.

La mise sous scellés d'un casier judiciaire n'estévidemmentpaslamêmechosequesaradiation, mais elle donne aux gens la possibilité de reprendre leur vie en main. À la suite de l'annonce récente du président des États-Unis, Joe Biden, selon laquelle il accorderaunpardongénéralauxpersonnesreconnues

opportunity to get their lives back. Following the recentannouncementfrom U.S. President Joe Biden thathewouldbeprovidingablanketpardontothose convictedoffederalmarijuanapossessioncharges,it may feel that we are moving very slowly to correct thisinjusticewhiletheU.S.chargesahead,evenwhile marijuanapossessionisstillcurrentlyillegalinmost statesthroughouttheU.S.

The issue in Canada is that there is a patchworkofrulesthatcanmakeitdifficultforpeople to get access to documents they need to receive an expungement.ArecentCBCNewsstoryspokeabout ChrisO'NeillofStittsville,now51,whorecentlylost ajobbecauseofamarijuanaconvictionattheageof 18. The documents regarding his arrest were destroyed because they were over 30 years old, and the police department that arrested him no longer existed,makingitimpossibletoaccessthedocuments that would have allowed him to expunge his record. Sequestration would at least shield cannabis convictions from criminal record checks and would preventsituationsfacedbypeoplelikeMr.O'Neill.

It's not a perfect solution, but let's not make perfecttheenemyofthegood. Therewillbetimeto ensurethatthosewithcriminalconvictionsforminor marijuanapossessionissuedpriortolegalizationcan havetheirrecordsexpunged,astheydeserve.Butfor rightnow,wemustensurethatthosepeoplecangeton with their lives and eliminate the barriers they face becauseofsomethingtheydidthatisnolongerillegal.

coupables d'accusations fédérales de possession de marijuana,ilsemblequenousavançonstrèslentement vers la correction de cette injustice, même si la possession de marijuana est toujours illégale dans la plupartdesÉtatsaméricains.

Au Canada, il existe un ensemble de règles disparates qui peuvent rendre difficile l'accès aux documents nécessaires pour obtenir une radiation. Dans un reportage diffusé récemment, CBC News a évoqué le cas de Chris O'Neill de Stittsville, aujourd'hui âgé de 51 ans, qui a récemment perdu un emploi en raison d'une condamnation liée à la marijuana prononcée alors qu'il avait 18 ans. Les documentsconcernantsonarrestationontétédétruits parcequ'ilsremontaientàplusde30ans,etleservice de police qui l'a arrêté n'existe plus, ce qui rend impossible l'accès aux documents qui lui auraient permisd'effacersoncasierjudiciaire.Grâceàlamise sous scellés, les condamnations pour cannabis échapperaient au moins aux vérifications du casier judiciaire, ce qui permettrait d'éviter des situations commecelledeM.O'Neill.

Ce n'est pas une solution parfaite, mais il ne fautpas fairedelaperfectionl'ennemidubien.Nous pourrons éventuellement nous attaquer à la radiation ducasierjudiciairedespersonnesayantétéreconnues coupables d'une infraction mineure de possession de marijuana avant la légalisation, et ces personnes méritentqu'onlefasse.Toutefois,pourl'instant,nous devons faire en sorte que ces personnes puissent reprendre leur vie en main et éliminer les obstacles auxquels elles sont confrontées en raison d'un geste quin'estplusillégal.

Lamisesousscellésdescasierscomportantdesinfractionsmineuresdepossessionestlachoseàfaire

ÉSCTrilliumshareleadershipandcommunitygoodwill

Over the past few weeks, students from ÉcolesecondairecatholiqueTrillium(Chapleau) registered in the Journey in the Catholic Faith (Cheminement dans la foi catholique) course

have lent a hand to Pastor Dan and his team.As part of a community initiative led by the Pentecostal Church of Chapleau, the students tookpartintheorganizationofanauctiontoraise

funds to help families in Haiti. We warmly congratulatetheseyoungleadersaswellastheir teachers who reflect beautiful Catholic values suchasmutualaid,kindnessandaltruism!

Unespritd'entraideetde leadershipàl'ÉSCTrillium

Au cours des dernières semaines, les élèves de l'école secondaire catholique Trillium (Chapleau) inscrits au cours de Cheminement dans la foi catholique ontprêtémain-forteàPastorDanetà son équipe. Dans le cadre d'une initiative communautaire menée par l'églisepentecôtistedeChapleau,les

élèvessesontimpliquésdanslamise sur pied d'une vente aux enchères visant à recueillir des fonds pour venirenaideauxfamillesdel'Haïti. Nous félicitons vivement ces jeunes leaders ainsi que leurs enseignants qui sont le reflet de belles valeurs catholiques comme l'entraide, la bontéetl'altruisme!

ChapleauMoments

Cont’dfromP.3

In1936,Mr.Brownlee'swifeEllendied, andinhermemoryhebuilttheBrownleeChapel and Vault at the Chapleau Municipal Cemetery. Hehadbeenamemberofthecemeteryboardtoo.

In 1938, Mr. Brownlee married Marie JeanneLeclerc.

Richard Brownlee died at age 83 on August 8, 1951, and his funeral service was conducted by Rev. E. Roy Haddon at St. John's Church.

He had seen Chapleau grow from its earliest days totheopening ofitsboom years in the!950s.

He was most impressed with the first dieselenginetoarriveinDecember1949,pulling

CPR passenger train Number 3. In 1950 upon hearingthenewsthatChapleauwastobeonthe Trans Canada Highway, he commented "If only G.B. Nicholson (Chapleau's first reeve and his friend)wasalivetohearthis."

Mr. Brownlee, along with other pioneer citizens were strong believers in the future of Chapleau.

As I was researching this column about Mr.Brownlee,itstruckmethatoutsideoffamily, hewasmyfirstrealfriend.Letmeexplain.After my father Jim Morris went overseas in World War II, my mother, Muriel (Hunt) Morris and I stayed with my aunt and uncle, Elsie (Mom's sister) and B.W. Zufelt at their home on Beech street.

For a time before returning to teach at Chapleau Public School, Mom worked in the

liquor store and I would wander over to Main Street, and join the 'oldtimers" including Mr. Brownleewheretheymetdailytochatinfrontof thebarbershop.

In due course, Mr. Brownlee started taking me for car rides around town and even downthehighwaytothediversion.Quiteathrill for a little boy as there were not many cars in Chapleauinthemid1940s.Andafterwemoved toGreyStreetin1945,Iwasabletochatwithmy friendeachSundayatSt.John's.

My most sincere thanks to Michael McMullen, Doug Greig, and to the late Vince Crichton for writing "Pioneering in Northern Ontario".Myemailismj.morris@live.ca

Photo credits Chapleau Post, Comte family collection, Vince Crichton collection courtesyofDrVinceCrichton

MOMENTS IN TIME

On Nov. 16, 1990, Fabrice Morvan and Rob Pilatus, known to the pop music world as Milli Vanilli, were humiliatingly stripped of their Grammy award for the "Girl You Know It's True" albumwhenitwasrevealedtheyhadn'tsungeven anoteofit.

NorthernLightsFordSales

Andrew G. McKenzie Travis Gendron

705-856-4862

Ontario's Official Opposition NDP is renewingitscallontheFordgovernmenttoimmediately double Ontario Works (OW) and Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) rates with a motionduetobedebatedTuesday.

“No one in Ontario should have to live in poverty,” said interim Ontario NDP Leader Peter Tabuns. “The roughly 900,000 people who rely on ODSP and OW are forced to make impossible choices every day, between buying food and other necessitiesorpayingrent.”

The NDPhasresolvedtokeepthepressure on the Ford government to double social assistance rates. In September, five NDP MPPs undertook a two-week initiative to bring urgent focus to the paltry rates of OW and ODSP. MPPs Monique Taylor,ChandraPasma,LiseVaugeois,JessicaBell and Joel Harden ate only what they could buy with $95.21fortwoweeks,anaverageof$47.60perweek — an approximated two-week grocery budget for socialassistancerecipients.

“Inflation is at a 40-year high and food prices are through the roof,” Tabuns said. “Doug Ford's meager $58-increase to ODSP rates and

ALLEMANO, FITZGERALD PASCUZZI & BERLINGIERI

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MICHAEL C. ALLEMANO, B.A., L.L.B.

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Phone (705) 856-4970 Fax (705) 856-2713

freezingofOWratesat$733amonthdeniespeople onsocialassistanceadecentanddignifiedlife—his government continues to force people to live in legislatedpoverty.

“Ford must listen to social assistance recipients'pleasforhelp,andvoteinsupportofour motion to immediately double ODSP and OW rates.”

NDP MPPs stand in solidarity with the Ontario Disability Coalition and the ODSPAction Coalition,whowillberallyingonthefrontlawnof Queen'sParkTuesdaytodoubleODSPrates.

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CHADWIC HOME, FAMILY RESOURCE CENTRE. Offers shelter, emotionalsupport,andinformationforwomenandtheirchildrenwhoarein crisissituations.WehaveaTollFreeCrisisLinewhichisstaffed24hoursa day.WecanarrangeforfreetransportationtotheCentreforwomenwho liveintheAlgoma/Chapleauarea.Wealsooffersupporttowomenwholive in the communities of Chapleau, White River, Dubreuilville, and HornepaynethroughourOutreachProgram.OurOutreachWorkertravels tothosecommunitiestomeetwithwomenwhoneedemotionalsupportas wellasinformationabouttheirrightsandoptions.Ifyouneedtospeakwith the Outreach Worker when she is in your community, you can call the Centre at any time to set up an appointment. You do not need to be a residentoftheCentreinordertouseourservices.Ifyouneedsomeoneto talktoorifyoujustneedsomeonetolisten,callourTollFreeCrisislineat1800-461-2242oryoucandropinattheCentre.Wearehereforyou.

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NDPrenewspushtodoublesocialassistanceratesinOntario

Iwellrecallwakinguponthemorning,or morehonestly,theafternoonofJune3rd,theday following the provincial election and thinking that my fellow MPPs and I have the next four years to try to make life better for all Ontarians. Wehavesuchanopportunityandthetimetoget thingsdone.Onthatnewday,itseemedtimewas on our side. However, on the morning that the Legislatureresumedsittingforourfallsession,it hitme—5monthshaveflownbylikethewind alreadysincethatdayinJune.

Alice Walker, author of the story/movie “The Colour Purple,” wrote, “Time moves slowly, but passes quickly.”Thatquote sums up nicelywheremyheadisthesedays.

My experience as an MPP for over ten years has been that the calls, letters and appeals forassistancefilteringthroughmyofficetendto ebb in the summer months as people take advantagetogetoutandabout,enjoyingabounty of opportunities. They make the most of their opportunities to have “fun in the sun” and store priceless memories with friends and family. However, this summer, my team and I truly hit the ground running last June with unseasonably highvolumesofissuesandcasework.

Icantellyouonething;youdon'thaveto haveadegreeinsociology,psychology,political scienceorevenfinancetoknowthereasonforthe constantflowofcallsandcorrespondence.Lifeis getting tougher and tougher week to week for Ontario families of every socioeconomic description. But, without any doubt, the main problems revolve around inflation and wage issues.

Lastspring,theFordgovernmentlobbed anuninspiredbudgetjustbeforetakingOntarians to the polls. Then the Premier surprised many Ontarians when he recalled the Legislature in August to pass a new budget which all assumed was the 'real one' the Conservatives had been holdingbackonuntiltheywerere-elected.

Much to the chagrin of most Ontarians, the Ford government simply re-tabled the same uninspired budget without any updates or improvements.

Statistics Canada released new inflation numbers. Overall inflation growth was a whopping 7.6 percent in July, while food prices soared 9.9 percent, a half point higher than in

June, and natural gas prices soared 45.3 percent inOntariothankstoanOntarioEnergyBoardrate hike.

It also became evident that some large corporations, housing developers and big box stores are using inflation as an excuse to gouge consumers — to reap immense fortunes off middle-class people. Grocery and pharmacy giant Loblaws reported its first-quarter profit jumped nearly 40 percent. Developers are coming back on home buyers to demand more money.

The Ford government remains oblivious tothehardshipOntariofamiliesareexperiencing.

In September, Statistics Canada released a new Consumer Price Index (CPI) showing a 10-per centriseinfoodprices.Foodpriceshavereached a historic high, and people are being crushed. Ontarians can only watch as food prices grow fasterthanthenationalaverage.Asyoushopfor groceries, you can see with your own eyes that familiesarebeingforcedtocutbackonwhatgoes intotheirgrocerycarts.Familiesaremakinghard choicesaboutwhattheycanaffordtoputontheir tables.

And to top all of this off, the Ford government has hiked natural gas rates to make mattersevenworseforfamilies.Thismeansthat people'sutilitybillsarenowclimbingagain.

My office, as well as those of my NDP colleagues, are swamped with cries for relief. RecipientsofODSPandOWmadeitabundantly clearthatthesupportratesarefartoolowevento survive. They are facing an affordability crisis. Food banks are experiencing record usage, and housing costs were up 7.4 percent. Yet, the government only came up with a five-percent increasetoODSP,whichamountstoapaltry$58 morepermonthperrecipientatmost,whichisan insultingdropinthebucket.AndOntarioWorks recipientshavehadtheirratesfrozenat$733per month.

Unless someone experiences such circumstances themselves, they just can't fully relate. The only way to understand is to walk a mileinsomeoneelse'sshoes.Thatiswhysomeof my NDP colleagues accepted the challenge of trying to make ends meet with the same amount ofmoneythatfamiliesonODSPandOWfortwo weeks. They limited their funds to what they couldbuywithjust$95.21fortwoweekswhich averagesoutto$47.60perweek.

Needless to say, it was not an easy or pleasantexperience,butitwaseffective.

LiseVaugeois,theNDPcriticforPersons with Disabilities and Accessibility, said, “What we do know is the government is pocketing that extra money while ODSP recipients are quite literallygoinghungryandunabletoaffordasafe placetolive.Thisisaslapinthefacetopeopleon

socialassistance.”

We also know that many recipients have less than $95.21 for two weeks' worth of food, andthey'reforcedtochoosebetweenbasicslike food,diapers,orawintercoat.

Doug Ford hasn't done a single thing to address consumer gouging and greed. Despite any mournful face that he may show in public, Ford is smiling on the inside as his wealthy friendswithgrocerychainsslaphimontheback astheyrakeinrecordprofits,usinginflationasan excuse.

New Democrats know that people are payingtoohighapriceforConservativechoices —inmorewaysthanone.Thissummer'sbudget was an opportunity to offer people meaningful reliefandhope.Butinstead,Ontariansareseeing brooding clouds of despair with more cuts and painbecauseofunaffordabilityforfamilies.

Ontarians deserve a government that takes on consumer gouging head-on. We need effective, compassionate leadership to stand up to the companies that utilize inflation as an excuse to hike up their bottom lines. New DemocratsarecommittedtoholdingDougFord andhisgovernmentaccountableuntiltheyfinally undertake genuine and effective measures to address consumer gouging and make life affordableforeveryone.

Giventheabove,thequote,“Timemoves slowly, but passes quickly,” has an even deeper meaningformenow.

Asalways,pleasefeelfreetocontactmy office about these issues or any other provincial matters.Youcanreachmyconstituencyofficeby emailatmmantha-co@ndp.on.caorbyphoneat 705-461-9710orToll-freeat1-800-831-1899.