welfare and health

Doctor Roland Wong has been filling out special dietary allowance forms for a few people on welfare at his Spadina clinic. He recently came under fire after a complaint from Toronto City Councillor Rob Ford that he is breaking the law by authorizing the allowance without properly checking the facts. The allowance gives people on welfare an additional $100 to $200 a month for buying healthy food. Doctor Wong states that he follows all the rules but refuses to interrogate his patients and treat them like criminals.

“If you put it all in perspective and taking a look at what Mike Harris has done in the past, then you realize that poverty is pervasive. And we know that poverty is the major determinant of health. Given that. how can we just let it go on?”

I applaud Doctor Wong for his courage to sign the forms when it would have been easy to ignore the people. Welfare recipients have been marginalized in this province since the Mike Harris days when Mike and his party distracted Ontarians