Dear rich people — We’re coming for you!
Under Pressure’s statement on yesterday’s disruption of McGuinty’s speech
“On Thursday, February 9, 2012, in the fancy Ballroom of Ottawa’s Chateau Laurier, Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty addressed members of the Canadian Club, a social club for Ottawa’s wealthy elite.
Disgustingly, the Premier was there to promise the gathered rich people a ‘relentless’ attack on Ontario’s deficit, which we all know means a ‘relentless’ attack on workers and poor people.
Rather than letting McGuinty get a free pass to spew more nonsense, Under Pressure, an Ottawa-based anti-poverty group, joined with community allies to disrupt his speech. The group of 10 activists attempted to storm the Chateau Laurier ballroom while McGuinty was speaking. Four members were able to enter the ballroom and loudly express their anger before being removed by security and the RCMP.
The rest of us raised hell just outside the room. Much banging on doors, chanting, throwing of confettiand unfurling of banners ensued. Several liberal hacks got pretty aggressive but, despite repeated attempts to remove us, we refused to leave until we were good and ready.
The message we delivered to the gathered rich people was clear: workers, students and poor people in Ontario are under increasing attack by the provincial government of Dalton McGuinty.
Cutting the Special Diet Allowance, deplorable social assistance rates ($599/month), a tuition grant that is unavailable to 2/3 of university students and comes at the expense of funding for graduate student research, and the province’s absolute failure to support workers at the Electro-Motive plant in London, Ontario, are only a few of the signs that rich people and their government don’t give a rat’s ass about us.
Under Pressure and its community allies promise that this is only one of many confrontations to come.
We will not sit by, silently waiting for the next election or for this government to do the right thing. We will work with allies across the province to disrupt business-as-usual and to take the fight directly to the homes and boardrooms of the rich.
They say ‘Cutback,’ we say ‘Fightback’!”
Come to Toronto, March 16, for the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty pre-budget FIGHT POVERTY March!
Contact Under Pressure at [email protected]
Full text of the flyer distributed during the action:
Ottawa Citizen article on the action
Please support rabble.ca – news for the rest of us
Support rabble today!
We’re so glad you stopped by! Thanks for consuming rabble content this year.
rabble.ca is 100% reader and donor funded, so as an avid reader of our content, we hope you will consider gifting rabble with a donation during our summer fundraiser today.
Whether it be a one-time donation or a small monthly contribution, your support is critical to keep rabble writers producing the work you’ve come to rely on as a part of a healthy media diet.
Become a rabble rouser — donate to rabble.ca today.
Nick Seebruch, editor
