The ODSP Action Coalition continues to call for the provincial government to rescind the changes and immediately increase social assistance rates to reflect the real cost of living and end the clawback of the National Child Benefit Supplement (NCBS). Coalition members have done several media interviews on the special diet allowance and participated in the Hunger March in Toronto on March 15th. Coalition members also met with former Minister of Community and Social Services Sandra Pupatello and her parliamentary assistant MPP Deb Matthews.
The Coalition is currently seeking a meeting with the new minister, Madeleine Meilleur. Letters have also been sent to Health Minister George Smitherman and Public Health Promotion Minister Jim Watson.
The Coalition has also made a submission in support of a complaint made to the Privacy Commissioner. The Coalition supports Dr. Gary Bloch's assertion that the special diet form unnecessarily violates recipients' right to privacy and should at least be altered to better protect recipients personal medical information.
The Coalition is also exploring the possibility of a legal challenge to the new special diet rules.