Dear sir:
One of the main reasons I immigrated to Canada was that it was a compassionate country.
We are about to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, who brought compassion to the world, yet just last week, we heard the news of a coroner’s jury that found a pregnant woman’s death in Sudbury a few years ago was a suicide.
This woman had pleaded guilty to welfare fraud, and basically had been confined to her residence and her welfare was reduced to $160 a month. She also was eight months’ pregnant at the time.
If the judge had sent her to prison, at least she would have had proper food and medical care.
The Ontario government has spent more than $190 million to a U.S. firm during a three-year period on how to deal with welfare fraud. The firm, itself, has since been found guilty of fraud.
What a pittance of that huge sum could have saved the lives of the woman and her baby. Yet even so, the minister in charge of welfare last week said the law will not be changed.
Thank you,
Ron Helliar
Fort Frances, Ont.
