[van-announce] Welfare is a Right!

[malliga at resist.ca]

Welfare Is A Right: End The Two-Year Time Limit Campaign.

January 5, 2003.

Today, the Anti-Poverty Committee, Housing Action Committee and members of
the Coalition to End the Two Year Time Limit stepped forward and raised
their voices in direct protest against the Two Year Time limit, being
forced on welfare recipients early February 2004.

Hundreds of people facing imminent welfare cuts, with their supporters,
gathered and marched to Water Front Employment Assistance Office.  Voices
were raised, banners waved and signs held high.
The crowd of people remained heavily surveiled by the police and followed
by patrol cars.
When they reached the welfare office, security guards met the crowd,
locked the doors to the office, and hung a closed sign in their door. The
office refused entry to people with legitimate medical exemption forms
intended for their workers.


The demands remain the same: Welfare is a right: End the Two Year Time Limit.

The illegal action of refusing welfare recipients the right to access
their workers must end!
The Ministry of Human resources are closing offices to their clients
during business hours and turning them away. The Ministry of Human
resources is forcing their client's to stand in the cold, enter one by one
and do business thorough three or four security guards.

This is a direct infringement on the rights of client's to access their
workers. The Ministry of Human Resources continues to create a climate of
fear amongst their workers, and falsely inform them of their obligation to
the clients. They are falsely informing their workers and recipients,
claiming that office closures were due to security purposes, bomb threats
and fires.

The real threat against the workers is the mass lay offs and offices
closures. Most at BCGEU know this to be true and support the coalition in
their struggle, which is the struggle of all working and unemployed
workers in this province.

The Anti-Poverty Committee and The Housing Action Committee, together with
the Coalition to End the Two Year Time Limit are participating in an
active community presence campaign.  The campaign is built on strategic
mass advocacy for people facing the welfare cut off. We participate in
community education and advocacy that informs people of their rights and
takes action against legislation that come at the cost of human life.

Already we have Won. The action taken by the Anti-Poverty Committee and
the Housing Action Committee has succeeded in over 60 welfare exemptions
of people facing the cut off, and over one hundred cases of people
successfully qualifying for disability, and receiving their benefits.
This proves the success of people standing in solidarity to fight for our
rights.

How You Can Get Involved:

Join the Active Community Presence campaign. Every Monday groups mobilize
across the Lower Mainland in a coordinated campaign to end the welfare
cuts.
Contact the Anti-Poverty Committee at 604.682.2726 or e-mail them at
apc at resist.ca

Participate within the End the two year time limit coalition. Meetings are
held regularly with a diverse assembly of organizations.
Contact End Legislated Poverty at 604.879.1209 or e-mail them at
elp at telus.net

Thank you to those that came out and supported today's action.
The Anti-Poverty Committee/Housing Action Committee