I have compiled my years of
#disability
, homelessness and lived experience based advocacy into two sources.
Firstly my Linktree contains all the interviews (TVO, CTV W5, CBC, Al Jazeera, The Walrus, Trillium etc), podcasts (
@ThePwdcast
), and news articles featuring me talking
'A former Shoppers Drug Mart franchise owner has filed a proposed class action lawsuit against the Canadian retail pharmacy chain, and its parent company Loblaw, alleging the companies imposed "unsafe and unethical" corporate practices on franchise owner pharmacists to increase
"A coalition of over 40 organizations is calling for a fully funded Canada Disability Benefit (CDB) that addresses the needs of Canadians.
This comes after more than 60 Liberal MPs co-signed a letter calling on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Deputy Minister Christia Freeland
Twenty-five years ago, then Ontario premier Mike Harris slashed social assistance rates by 21.6 per cent... put forward a shopping list — later dubbed the “welfare diet” — to prove that recipients could survive on new lower rates adhering to a $90-a-month grocery budget.
#odsp
It is finally here, my documentary appearance on Al Jazeera. This is the story of
#MAiD
in
#Canada
, my story and a few others. Doing this interview was very, very rough for me. But my life means nothing to me so I exposed it all. I support
#MAiD
for most current cases, but when
#ODSP
life is this: my one meal today, chicken weiners, rice, butter, mustard. This is it. Im so exhausted, Im disgusted by the processed meat but what else do we have?
#Canada
has more than enough but theyd rather kill off the
#disabled
and
#poor
.
#cdnpoli
#onpoli
#fucanada
#Ontario
, we have the receipts!
@fordnation
has socially murdered thousands through
#LTC
#covid
failures.
He socially murdered thousands more so far by defunding healthcare and forcing privatization and people are dying while waiting for diagnostics.
He has joined the
I sat down with
@ElizabethMay
, leader of the
@CanadianGreens
and
@morricemike
who is the MP for
#Kitchener
Centre to discuss the State of Disability in Canada.
At the start I explain my lived experience and then I ask a few key questions that have been
Attention all disabled or neurodivergent
#Canadians
, their care takers and family; the consultation has officially opened for the Canadian Disability Benefit.
We wanted our say, this is our chance. Please share the link and encourage everyone in your circles to submit and help
Well, they totally screwed us,
#NotMyBudget
, they planned this without us, they funded it without consideration, this benefit is empty and void, likely every cent will be clawed back. This is the ultimate failure. What an atrocity.
No fairness here, done without us and will
When I first heard of the
#MAiD
expansion for mental health, I felt relief, compassion, and understanding. I was living in a basement apartment of an abusive landlord, machete to my window, black mold half a foot up the wall, two police raids, my cat and I sick, a futon on the
What many don't understand about
#ODSP
or
#Ontario
#Disability
supports is that they pay you twice in December, you get January 1st pay on December 20ish, we have to survive 40 days with whatever we have, no gifts. January is a long, dark, hungry and cold month for us.
#onpoli
Horrific footage out of Queen's Park as
#ColinDemelo
and the
#onpoli
#press
block Sarah Jama's wheelchair and demand answers harder than they ever have of Doug Ford.
The
#CdnMediaFailed
once again by focusing on issues their corporate owners direct them to and avoid truths that
I'm NOT seeking MAiD for an extra $1000 a month. I have barely gotten $1000 a month for 22 years, the damage is done. Never healed or grew roots, developed agoraphobia and bulemia eating junk and living in abusive slums. my best 20 years gone. TOO LATE.
#odsp
#onpoli
#maid
#pwd
1/
#Canada
should be condemned for its blatant disregard for persons with
#disabilities
. For decades we have been starved and vilified. Nationwide
#PWD
are ignored while industry and politics get all the money. We need to say No More.
#cdnpoli
#onpoli
#GeneralStrike
For all those defending the DTC as an alright method of distributing the
#CanadaDisabilityBenefit
, you need to watch
@morricemike
detail how this is such an impossible credit to get, and you have to reapply. He fought for the amendment of a BARRIER-FREE
#CDB
. Recorded January
Here is my candid interview on
@CBC
discussing
#ODSP
,
#Ontarioworks
and how they've been affected by the
#housing
crisis and
#food
#inflation
costs. It was rough and I feel shame, embarrassment and anxiety, but someone needs to do it.
I really don't cry often, but today is dedicated to it. All of those amazing self-advocating voices screaming out in pain and anguish last night. All the work we've done feels hopeless. I miss my best friend, a cat, Im so tired and exhausted. This is social murder, and
#Canada
is
Are you happy
#Ontario
? While you whine about the science center and highways, people are dying, this self-advocate deserved better. Shame on you
#onpoli
#msm
, we are being evicted, starved and killed by
#socialmurder
and you couldn't give a shit, you are complacent murderers.
I found
@KamalKheraLib
scrumming at 32:41 of this
@cpac
, sharing for the community to see. Hard to hear, be warned.
Question: "The new canada disability benefits why did you decide to cap it at 2,400$ a year"
Kamal Khera: "Well, let me just first say,
Well, they totally screwed us,
#NotMyBudget
, they planned this without us, they funded it without consideration, this benefit is empty and void, likely every cent will be clawed back. This is the ultimate failure. What an atrocity.
No fairness here, done without us and will
Hey all, I got to sit down with
@jannarden
to talk about the dark side of
#MAiD
, our disappointment with the 2024 budget and the
#canadadisabilitybenefit
. I was quite exhausted from not sleeping, but I tried my best to get as much info into our interview.
Timestamp 36:14 my
New Episode! "The Tortured Poets Podcast Department"
Jann, Caitlin and Sarah talk about Jann's National Geographic symphony experience, Taylor Swift's new album, and Jann interviews disability advoc…
Player links & show notes:
@MaritStiles
Dear Marit,
✅Allowing Racism to form opinion.
✅Blame a woman of colour for threats against her
✅Cowardly reaction to a ceasefire call
✅Do Doug Ford's dirty work.
Now:
Watch as people with courage and honour stand up to you.
Reviewing my advocacy wall, what a journey. 2.5 years ago I was in a mold filled basement, hadn't done laundry in 6 months, laying broken and hungry on a stained mattress and I had given up.
I ended up homeless for a 7th time in 21 years and barely got my foot in the door of
I know my choice to
#MAiD
upsets many, but it's my choice. I am so radicalized and ostracized. I'm tired of surviving for 23 years on scraps, moving every two years, no doctor, no chance at permanent home, politicians are ALL liars. This is my retirement, this is my coercion. 1/
In 2020 statistics Canada reports 25.1% of Canada received the
#CERB
$2,000 a month
#benefit
. That's 9.5 million people.
And so many Canadians dare to say
#disability
in Canada is an overpaid handout at $700-1228.
#Demonization
of the disabled must end.
#canpoli
#odsp
the final kick in the gut is finding out 2 of the eye surgery drops that were covered under
#ODSP
, are no longer. The pharmacy just cost me 63$, which for us
#disabled
is about 5-7 days worth of food.
Thanks
@fordnation
for the social murder!
#dougford
#onpoli
one week until surgery, full freak out, throwing up, pure constant panic despite handfuls of valerian root and melatonin. not everything settled, private clinic claims they didn't receive cpp which I had to beg an opthalmologist to send, travel is big worry too. fudge fudge fudge
When you are
#disabled
in
#Canada
, you get called a crook, thief and fraud. You mostly give up on dating and marriage, or owning a car, house...even a bachelor apt is out of reach. You live in a slum, you eat unhealthy chum, all you can afford. And then you give up hope...
#pwd
I am going to be serious; we have until 3 pm on Monday. This is the push, this is where I need you. Everyone in this country should support this bill, We have family. friends or ourselves in strife. Please. Please. Please. Share, Tweet, Scream.
#canadadisabilitybenefit
#CDBby23
@Avis_Favaro
I have not had a doctor for 3 years, places I called have it on their voice answering system, not taking new clients, and a walk in isnt going to be enough ongoing care so I just gave up. ended up at the hospital twice now, costing the system more. can thank the current premier
"This came after StatCan data had revealed grocery prices were rising faster than inflation — 11.4 per cent versus 6.9 per cent in the fall — and that Loblaws profits were through the roof as people struggled to put food on the table."
#cdnpoli
#loblaws
"
#Disabled
people are also kept in a cycle of
#poverty
by policies that restrict work and threaten
#benefits
. It’s a Catch-22: if they earn “too much” or work 'too many hours,' they can become ineligible for benefits."
#odsp
#disability
I want people to understand I'm not doing this for fame or money. Being this exposed, airing my dirty secrets from two decades of survival, is one of my worst nightmares.
I am not affiliated with any organizations or political parties; other than the ones I've created (CANDO,
I find it funny that in
#Canadian
society, everyone complains about the weather in conversation but when
#disabled
people complain about legislated poverty, hunger, homelessness and lack of support, we get vilified for not being team players.
#Liberal
supporters, if you want our
I've had to block more cons today than the last two years. Yes, I am mad at
@JustinTrudeau
and the
@liberal_party
but that will never make your conservative leader less than a spoiled, malicious brat who has never worked a day outside politics, failed to build homes, fails to
I burnt through 30+ years of neglect/homelessness/hunger rage in 2 years of advocacy, at first I was crass, rude and abrasive, then I settled in to the flow and eventually...saw behind too many curtains, become more of an empty shell than a human, their plan all along;
my life
It's with a heavy heart that I announce I'll be solely focusing on my solo advocacy with my own interaction safeguards in place. For months I've been organizing with small teams across Canada and I threw myself into this with no regard for my own mental and physical health. I've
I'm a 39 year old disabled man, I have never had my own apartment, always renting a room with strangers. I spend 23.5 hours a day in bed. I have not had sex in almost three years. I have lost 40 lbs since December, always hungry, always sick.
#ODSP
is not a choice.
#ontpoli
#pwd
If you are enraged by the
#greenbelt
scandal, imagine what
@fordnation
and
@OntarioPCParty
has done to
#ODSP
,
#disability
supports. We live on 1978 living income $, 10$/day food or less, 60%+ goes to rent, medications and procedures no longer covered...
@morricemike
is still fighting for all
#Canadians
with
#disabilities
.
@CanadianGreens
never stopped stepping up to the plate and asking the hard, real questions... only to be ignored or given talking points,
Please thank Mike for all the hard work he does for us. He is an
People with disabilities in Canada are the largest minority group, but also the most ignored. Right now
#pwd
are suffering with overpriced rent, lack of equity/accessibility, barely any food and we are melting in our homes during this heatwave.
Why hate us so?
#canpoli
#cdnpoli
What is not being said here is that Canadians with disabilities facing uncovered meds, not having doctors, collapsing healthcare, lack of safe and accessible and affordable homes, and meager grocery diets are factors in
#MAiD
, see the MCS patient.
Therefore if someone is too
@william40462161
There is nothing wrong with MAID recipients donating their organs. By MAID recipients donating their own organs they actually are helping to save more lives. Why are you all constantly trying to fear monger vulnerable disabled people? Pleaae stop trying to police MAID recipients
"Rates are so low that people are unable to climb out of poverty, she said, facing stigma against them needing help in the first place that exacerbates the problem.
"It's not that people don't want to work ... They don't have the ability to find jobs given how deep their poverty
I'm much more upset about the
#CanadaDisabilityBenefit
than I imagined, they back paged it, cold canned us.
Gonna take a break, will be back to host a venting and ideas space at 8 pm est.
Let's face it,
#Canada
is full of privileged, selfish and greedy
#Canadians
who would rather kill off the lower class and disabled than redistribute the heaps of cash their corporate overlords are raking in. Does the middle class really think they are safe?
#cdnpoli
#pwd
"We are extremely disappointed to learn about the Disability Tax Credit eligibility requirement and the proposed $2,400/year cap.
It can be very difficult for people with disabilities to be approved for the DTC due to its strict eligibility requirements, and $2,400/year is
Dear
@mitchtremblay
, on the eve of your 42nd birthday.
Listen, I know you think you're worthless because... well... I am you.
But you've turned your darkest shadows into beacons of light for others to gather around.
Just four years ago you were near the very end, on a
Canadian Disability community here on Twitter:
Hey all, just wanted to share some of the projects that have sprouted up in the past week, in case you want to join one or more.
@greensnail_
is working on a
#LastStand
group, check out the tweets for info.
We have a nationwide
I'm strained, drained and trying to refrain from snapping, I never wanted all this, exposed and trolled, I always wanted to work, but weak supports made me worsen, homelessness, fear, more mental anguish. 9 months until
#MAiD
is all I can think about, being a coerced coward... 1/
"
#ODSP
advocates fear province might claw back payments with introduction of federal benefit
Disability advocates in Ontario are concerned people receiving Ontario disability support payments could face provincial support clawbacks once a planned federal Canada Disability
im crying today because my country,
#Canada
, is full of safe and comfortable people who do nothing when we are wrongly evicted, vilify us in the streets and forget our names before our final breath.
you're not standing on guard for anyone but yourself
#canpoli
#polican
#cdnpoli
"
#ODSP
rates kill because they do not provide Ontarians with disabilities enough income to live. Relative to inflation, ODSP rates are 30 per cent
#lower
than they were 30 years ago.
Recipients of
#OntarioWorks
(OW), formerly called General Welfare, have suffered even more.
Dare I assume for the fourth year in a row, no budget for the
#CanadianDisabilityBenefit
or even progress on its contents?
The political
#duopoly
of
@liberal_party
and
@CPC_HQ
has killed the middle class, & left people disabilities in legislated poverty.
#MAiD
or medically assisted dying in
#Canada
is being hijacked and used as a tool to coerce people with
#disabilities
like myself to 'die with
#dignity
' instead of being
#homeless
an 8th time, hospitalized a 15th time, without offering
#equitable
support and care.
So I do
#art
.
"Dozens of Liberal members of Parliament are calling on the finance minister to set aside money for the Canada Disability Benefit in next month's federal budget.
In a letter shared on social media, MP Ryan Turnbull says the benefit, which is designed to help keep people with
Canadians with disabilities have waited long enough and deserve funding. I have co-signed this letter alongside 47 of my colleagues to stress the importance of funding the Canada Disability Benefit (CDB) in the upcoming budget.
We agree that a meaningful CDB will enable people
ANYONE in
#Ontario
who has ever said or even thought that
#ODSP
is a drain on your taxes, you can shut up for life now, with
@fordnation
costing billions fighting nurses, ending the beer store deal, the court battles over his private phone, and losing billions from
#LCBO
.
#onpoli
As
@KamalKheraLib
pushes airlines to be more accessible, who will call out the
#IRONY
of her ignoring our needs or
#accessibility
; all as the
#CDB
sits cold on her desk.
Please remain in your seats as the Minister of Disabilities makes you wait, your flight to
#CDB
has been
Yes people with disabilities should be able to fly anywhere at anytime, but this is putting the cart before the horse, millions of us are living in legislated poverty, having CAS take our children, losing homes to high rent outside our disability amounts.
Only rich
#PWD
can fly,
Tomorrow is a sad day for too many disabled and neurodivergent Canadians. Our cost of living is an average 40% more than others and the lack of mental health, addiction, homes and food affordability are the nails in our coffins.
I hope that all my colleagues who have been
People with disabilities are frozen in time, the 1970s to be exact. With inflation the
#ODSP
program in
#Ontario
,
#AISH
in
#Alberta
and
#PWD
in
#BC
are all close to their 1970s amounts, with inflation. Other provinces and territories have meager disability add on income with
1 in 3 Canadians has a disability now, the largest minority group.
So I ask, why are we being spoken for by agencies that are taking large grants, employ mostly able bodied people and have their own opinions on
#MAiD
.
Maybe
#odsp
and
#ow
should sue Ontario government.
#DougFord
will have to react. We demand basic liveable amount, backdated to promises by
#liberals
and
#conservatives
. Any lawyers? They've controlled where we live, what he eat, how healthy we are and makes mental health worse.
You think it's a game we play, until you're on it yourself.
It's like playing on Ultra-Hard Nightmare mode.
The
#Ontario
#Disability
#Support
#Program
or
#ODSP
.
"What a horrific experience!" 0/10
"Took me years to be accepted." 0/10
Coming soon to anyone, anytime.
#onpoli
surgery in 24 hrs, just trying to be calm, going over checklist, doing eye drops. i'll be out of commission for a bit, replies might be slow for the next 10 days or so.
thanks to everyone who has had my back.
🧵 For too long, people with disabilities have been waiting for the federal government to provide the Canada Disability Benefit.
On April 16, we expect the government to live up to its commitment by including the CDB in the 2024 budget and delivering it ASAP!
I've moved every 2-3 years since I was
#homeless
at 18. Seniors home, above a bar, bed bugs, rooming houses, black mold, illegal apts, squatted in a ruined home. That alone, without the horrible diet and lackluster
#mentalhealth
support has destroyed me.
#Canada
is a lie.
#pwd
#ODSP
fact
#483
; I haven't gotten a haircut in two years because that $30 is three days of groceries on the pitiful amount I get. And yes,
#OntarioWorks
has it worse. $10 a day for food in 11% inflation times is social murder.
#pwd
#pwdallies
#odsp
#disabled
With great sadness, we lost a supporter in Ottawa. She has been struggling with surviving on disability supports and the toll it took on her mental health. She recently faced eviction and left us. Rest well in peace, Erin
@veganlovebunny
This world is a dark and broken place with greed as it's only reaper.
This is a disgusting statement by a proven liar and probable criminal who starves
#Ontario
's disabled community,
#ontarioworks
and homeless to death; who ran our healthcare into the ground killing 11,000 over
Just to state it clearly, I am not affiliated with any organizations. I do not make a cent in my advocacy. My podcast is commercial free and not monetized. The only income I get is
#mutualaid
. Everything else I do is to make
#Canada
a better place for people with
#disabilities
.
A genuine thank you to my donors in the past 24 hours, Ive topped up my presto card, have medication/supply money and will be ordering groceries and have a roommate carry them up for me today. This nation is holding itself together with goodwill and heroes like you.
#canpoli
The only way to travel is safely. I was the only one wearing a
#mask
on the Go train. I'm on a trip to visit my Toronto friend who was born with collapsed lung, COPD and severe diabetes and he lives in terror of
#COVID
and my roommate is
#immunocompromised
. I wear masks for them.
'It could happen to you': Hamilton man's message about homelessness; Christopher McKittrick never imagined winding up in a tent — but he did:
'During his bout with homelessness, McKittrick applied for hundreds of apartments but was rejected or simply “ghosted” by landlords.
“It
I will NOT support the
@liberal_party
in the next election unless the
#CanadianDisabilityBenefit
is taken seriously and budgeted/legislated and rolling out, our minister is a joke and we have no faith after waiting almost a decade.
Four advocates in our community have died
I will NOT support the
@liberal_party
nor
@NDP
in the next Federal Election - unless the CDB is in my account BEFORE THE WRIT IS DROPPED.
I WILL spend my vote on someone else.
I WILL NOT waste my vote.
No spoiled votes here.
EVERYONE VOTE.
I fought through it and did another interview, watch for me on CBC tonight standing up for
#odsp
and
#ontarioworks
issues like food inflation costs, housing crisis and
#MAiD
. I had to push through a 10 hr panic attack, so I ask; What are you doing to help?
#onpoli
#odspoverty
What the
@liberal_party
is feeling today is just a fraction of the fear, disappointment and let down that hundreds of thousands of disabled Canadians felt when the lackluster failure of the
#CanadaDisabilityBenefit
was rolled out.
Sad update on the man who fell last winter, lost his leg and his home. He's about to lose his second leg. This is
#DougFord
's
#Ontario
and it's citizens are complicit.
It can happen to anyone, anytime and then they treat you like garbage, greedily they take more than they need
My biggest problem with the
#Trudeau
government is the years of inaction. In art, you must respect negative space and there is a lot to mention not being addressed...
Not taking housing seriously until poll numbers crashed
Ignoring the 8 million Canadians by stalling the CDB
1. One of the greatest battles being disabled and in legislated poverty for years is staying human. Mike Harris started loudly treating us like animals with the welfare diet in 1996, and since the rhetoric has been shameful and demonizing.
#pwd
#odsp
#maid
#candis
#odspoverty