Promises
to end claw back, delivers $1 per week in help.
QUEEN'S PARK - NDP Leader
Howard Hampton wants Premier Dalton McGuinty
to keep his promise to poor
children and stop the clawback of the National
Child Benefit Supplement.
"Dalton McGuinty said
the clawback is wrong. He promised to stop the
clawback," Hampton said. "It's time for the premier to
look our poorest
children in the eye and
explain why he's broken that promise."
In a Campaign Against Child
Poverty election questionnaire, McGuinty
promised to break the cycle of child poverty. He vowed to stop the
clawback of the National
Child Benefit supplement for families on social
assistance. He said: "We
will end the
clawback of the National
Child Benefit Supplement. The clawback is wrong
and we will end it."
McGuinty has broken that
promise. He hasn't stopped the clawback. His
high-priced government lawyers are in the courts fighting families
who want the premier to keep
his promise. In fact, all McGuinty has done so
far is let poor families keep
$1 a week per child in new federal funding
for children (latest increase in the child benefit supplement).
"Poor, vulnerable
families deserve real help, not loonie letdowns," said
Hampton, who delivered 4,000 "Hands Off - Let Us Keep Our Baby
Bonus!" postcards to the
premier today. The postcards were gathered by the
Income Security Advocacy
Centre.
"The premier should stop
wasting money dragging poor families through
the courts and start spending
it to help children and keep his promises,"
Hampton said.
The National Child Benefit
supplement provides low-income families up to
$126 a month for each child under 18 to help combat child poverty.
In 2004, the McGuinty
government's clawback hurts 91,000 low-income Ontario
families and 164,000
children.
Municipal councils across Ontario have passed resolutions condemning the
clawback. Those councils include: London, Toronto, Timmins,
Hamilton, Kingston, Windsor,
Ottawa, Kenora, Sudbury and York Region.
