Freedom 90 Union… never heard of them? That makes two of us… until now. The main page of their tongue-in-cheek site reads: “We are forming the Freedom 90 Union because we want to retire from volunteering at food banks or emergency meal programs—before we are 90 years old!” Many of them have been working at food banks for 20 years… and they have had it! They demand that the Government of Ontario end poverty! They demand that the Government of Ontario make food banks unnecessary! They demand that the Government of Ontario lay them off (yes, that is exactly what they say)! (They also demand that the Government of Ontario freeze their wages…. or double them… it makes no difference; they are unpaid volunteers! Ha!)
Their point is a simple one: the minimum that people on social assistance receive does not cover, well, the minimum. (I guess they have done the math, too!) They ask that government provide people with an adequate amount of assistance; simply the minimum so they can do the minimum – buy food! I agree with them – you can’t get more basic than food, but I’m not so sure we can do away with food banks altogether… let’s go there, let’s go to that place where people can cover the basics, like housing and food, with the amount they receive on social assistance or minimum wage; well, all it takes is one small, unexpected accident = one large out-of-pocket expense = one short-term need for emergency assistance from a food bank! I don’t think the government should lay the Freedom 90 gang off… I don’t think we can afford it, but I do think they should cut their hours drastically!
From my window... 