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Food bank urges Ford government to tackle ‘hunger crisis’

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Terry Collins kicked a crack cocaine addiction a decade ago and has been looking for steady work ever since.

But a criminal record from his years of drug abuse, lack of a driver’s licence and an outstanding student loan that prevents him from going back to college to update his skills are serious obstacles, said Collins, 52,

“I’ve been trying to better myself through various community training programs. But my past mistakes continue to hold me back,” he said.

The former GM assembly line worker who has cycled on an off welfare for about 20 years and uses food banks to make ends meet is bracing for the results of Social Services Minister Lisa MacLeod’s 100-day revamp of social assistance, expected Nov. 8.

Collins is among almost 70 per cent of Toronto food bank users who rely on social assistance and a growing number of adults over age 45 who visited a food bank over the past year, according to the Daily Bread Food Bank’s annual report being released Wednesday. People in this age group represent 37 per cent of food bank users — the largest demographic — up from just 28 per cent a decade ago, according to the report.

“I think they should try to increase social assistance for people,” said Collins, who lives on $570 a month after paying subsidized rent in a rooming house. “I just hope they don’t make it any worse than it already is.”

Although food bank use in Toronto is down by almost 5 per cent over 2016-17 to about 915,000 visits this year, it is still 14-per-cent higher than during the economic recession of 2008. And it is more than double food bank use in 1995, when Mike Harris’ Progressive Conservative government slashed welfare rates and introduced workfare, the report notes.

The analysis, being released a week before Doug Ford’s PC government is expected to unveil an overhaul of Ontario’s social assistance system, is “intentional,” said Daily Bread CEO Neil Hetherington.

“We are hopeful the minister has a chance to go through the report and look at what the full cost (of more cuts) would be,” he said in an interview.

MacLeod halved a planned 3-per-cent welfare rate increase to 1.5 per cent, killed the basic income pilot project and paused other Liberal reforms on July 31, while the Ford government embarked on a review of Ontario Works (OW) and the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP.) Together, the programs serve almost one million Ontarians and cost about $10 billion annually.

Individuals on OW receive up to $733 a month while a single person on ODSP gets a maximum of $1,169, amounts that fall well below any measure of poverty, Daily Bread’s report notes.

“Social assistance reforms in 1995 brought cuts and new rules, setting in motion a hunger crisis that continues today,” Hetherington said in the Who’s Hungry report. “This year we have a chance to make a different choice, one that sets us on a path to end hunger.”

The report comes in the wake of a series of open letters this month released by business leaders, physicians and social justice advocates urging the Ford government to treat the province’s most vulnerable residents with dignity and fairness. Collectively, more than 2,000 individuals and 120 community agencies have signed the letters.

The lack of public consultations on the government’s 100-day review has also prompted about 50 people living on ODSP to write MacLeod. Under questioning by the NDP in the legislature Tuesday, MacLeod said she has consulted with “stakeholders,” but refused to elaborate.

Daily Bread and the open letters call on the Ford government to restore this fall’s promised 3-per-cent rate increase and commit to future increases that reflect the true cost of living. They want Ontario to cut punitive rules and reporting requirements, stop forcing people to drain their savings before qualifying for help, and allow recipients to keep more of the money they earn before facing welfare clawbacks.

“Bringing program recipients out of deep poverty and maximizing their ability to work … would set the foundation for a culture of trust, collaboration and problem solving,” said an open letter signed by more than 800 healthcare providers and 20 community agencies.

People arrive on social assistance in crisis, said Mary Marrone, legal director of the Income Security Advocacy Centre, a legal aid clinic that supports people on social assistance.

“They get there because something has happened in their life. Illness, disability, marriage breakdown,” she said.

Helping people deal with those obstacles is the key to helping them escape assistance, added Marrone, whose centre wrote an open letter signed by more than 1,100 social justice advocates and 100 agencies.

The best way to ensure people stop cycling on and off welfare — a concern MacLeod raised when she announced her review — is to support the creation of good jobs, Marrone said.

“People who move off social assistance are more likely to be working in the precarious labour market which (the government) has just made more precarious by rolling back the gains that were made,” she said of legislation introduced last week to reverse recent labour standards improvements.

Whatever happens to social assistance after Nov. 8, Collins, who has just completed a 12-week relief worker training program, is not giving up on his dream of leaving welfare behind.

He thinks his past experience of homelessness and living with people suffering from mental health and addictions would make him an ideal candidate for a job in the city’s shelter system.

“I’m applying,” he said. “I hope they give me a shot.”

Food bank use in Toronto by the numbers:

914,470 Food bank visits in 2017-18

86% Increase in food bank visits in Scarborough since 2008

25% Decrease in food bank visits in city core singe 2008

$808.29 Average monthly income of food bank user

68% Rely on social assistance

13% Rely on employment as main source of income

62% Have a disability

68% Income spent on rent and utilities

$8.04 Daily amount available for food and other necessities after paying rent and utilities

34% Have completed some post-secondary education

9% Children using a food bank who go hungry at least once a week

58% Adults gave up a meal to pay for something else in the past three months

29% Adults gave up food to pay rent

Items Terry Collins received from the food bank:

Terry Collins visits the Salvation Army food bank at the corner of River St. and Queen St. E. about once a month. He receives between $60 and $80 worth of food that usually fills two boxes. During his last visit Sept. 20, Collins received the following items:

  • 1 can of chicken noodle soup
  • 1 box of Captain Crunch cereal
  • 4 litre bag of chocolate milk
  • 1 box of dried scalloped potatoes
  • 1 box of dried turkey dressing
  • 3 loaves of whole wheat bread
  • 1 tray of chicken breasts
  • 1 box of assorted crackers
  • 2 bottles of barbecue sauce
  • 1 package of ground coffee
  • 2 pkgs of 6 peach fruit cups
  • 1 pkg of 6 chocolate/vanilla pudding cups
  • 3 O’Henry chocolate bars

Laurie Monsebraaten is a Toronto-based reporter covering social justice. Follow her on Twitter: @lmonseb

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Anglais

Nostalgia and much more with Starburst XXXtreme

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Get a taste of adventure with Starburst XXXtreme based on the legendary NetEnt Game. The nostalgic themes are sure to capture fans of the classic version as they get treated to higher intensity, better visuals, and features. The most significant element of the game is its volatility. Patience will not be an essential virtue considering the insane gameplay, and there is a lot of win potential involved. It retains the original makeup of the previous game while adding a healthy dose of adrenaline. 

Starburst Visuals and Symbols

The game is definitely more conspicuous than before. The setting happens over a 5-reel, 3-row game grid with nine fixed win lines, which function if a succession from the left to the right reel is present. Only those players that that attain the highest win per bet line are paid. From a visual standpoint, the Starburst XXXtreme slots illustrates lightning effects behind the reels, which is not surprising as it is inherited from the original version. Available themes include Classic, Jewels, and Space. The game is also available in both desktop and mobile versions, which is advantageous for players considering the global pandemic. According to Techguide, American gamers are increasingly having more engaging gaming experiences to socialize to fill the gap of in-person interaction. Starburst XXXtreme allows them to fill the social void at a time when there is so much time to be had indoors. 

Starburst XXXTreme Features

Players get to alternate on three features which are Starburst Wilds, XXXtreme Spins, and Random Wilds. The first appears on reels 2,3, or 4. When these land, they expand to cover all positions while also calculating the wins. They are also locked for a respin. If a new one hits, it also becomes locked while awarding another respin. Starburst XXXtreme offers a choice between two scenarios for a higher stake. In one scenario with a ten times stake, the Starburst Wild is set on random on reels 2,3, or 4, and a multiplier starts the respin. The second scenario, which has a 95 times stake, starts with two guaranteed starburst wilds on reels 2,3, or 4. it also plays out using respin game sequence and features. The game also increases the potential with the Random Wilds feature to add Starburst Wilds to a vacant reel at the end of a spin. Every Starburst Wild gives a random multiplier with potential wins of x2, x3, x5, x10, x25, x50, x100, or even x150.

The new feature is sure to be a big hit with the gaming market as online gambling has shown significant growth during the lockdown. AdAge indicates the current casino customer base is an estimated one in five Americans, so Starburst XXXtreme’s additional features will achieve considerable popularity. 

What We Think About The Game

The gambling market has continued to diversify post-pandemic, so it is one of the most opportune times to release an online casino-based game. Thankfully Starburst XXXtreme features eye-catching visuals, including the jewels and space themes. These attract audience participation and make the gameplay inviting. The game also has a nostalgic edge. The previous NetEnt iteration featured similar visuals and gameplay, so the audience has some familiarity with it. The producers have revamped this version by tweaking the features to improve the volatility and engagement. 

That is characterized by the potential win cap of 200,000 times the bet. Starburst XXXtreme does not just give betting alternatives for players that want to go big. The increase of multipliers also provides a great experience. If the respins in the previous version were great, knowing that multipliers can go hundreds of times overtakes the game to a new level. 

Players should get excited about this offering. All of the features can be triggered within a single spin. Whether one plays the standard game or takes the XXXtreme spin route, it is possible to activate all of the features. Of course, the potential 200,000 times potential is a huge carrot. However, the bet size is probably going to be restricted and vary depending on the casino. It is also worth pointing out that a malfunction during the gameplay will void all of the payouts and progress. Overall, the game itself has been designed to provide a capped win of 200,000 times the original bet. 

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Anglais

‘We’re back’: Montreal festival promoters happy to return but looking to next year

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In downtown Montreal, it’s festival season.

In the city’s entertainment district, a musical act was conducting a sound check on stage Friday evening — the second day of the French-language version of the renowned Just For Laughs comedy festival. Tickets for many of the festival’s free outdoor shows — limited by COVID-19 regulations — were sold out.

Two blocks away, more than 100 people were watching an acoustic performance by the Isaac Neto Trio — part of the last weekend of the Festival International Nuits d’Afrique, a celebration of music from the African continent and the African diaspora.

With COVID-19 restrictions continuing to limit capacity, festival organizers say they’re glad to be back but looking forward to next year when they hope border restrictions and capacity limits won’t affect their plans.

Charles Décarie, Just For Laughs’ CEO and president, said this is a “transition year.”

“Even though we have major constraints from the public health group in Montreal, we’ve managed to design a festival that can navigate through those constraints,” Décarie said.

The French-language Juste pour rire festival began on July 15 and is followed by the English-language festival until July 31.

When planning began in February and March, Décarie said, organizers came up with a variety of scenarios for different crowd sizes, ranging from no spectators to 50 per cent of usual capacity.

“You’ve got to build scenarios,” he said. “You do have to plan a little bit more than usual because you have to have alternatives.”

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Anglais

MELS new major movie studio to be built in Montreal

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MONTREAL — MELS Studios will build a new film studio in Montreal, filling some of the gap in supply to meet the demand of Hollywood productions.

MELS president Martin Carrier said on Friday that MELS 4 studio construction will begin « as soon as possible », either in the fall or winter of next year. The studio could host productions as early as spring 2023.

The total investment for the project is $76 million, with the Quebec government contributing a $25 million loan. The project will create 110 jobs, according to the company.

The TVA Group subsidiary’s project will enable it to stand out « even more » internationally, according to Quebecor president and CEO Pierre Karl Péladeau. In the past, MELS Studios has hosted several major productions, including chapters of the X-Men franchise. The next Transformers movie is shooting this summer in Montreal.

Péladeau insisted that local cultural productions would also benefit from the new facility, adding that the studio ensures foreign revenues and to showcase talent and maintain an industry of Quebec producers.

STUDIO SHORTAGE

The film industry is cramped in Montreal.

According to a report published last May by the Bureau du cinéma et de la télévision du Québec (BCTQ), there is a shortage of nearly 400,000 square feet of studio space.

With the addition of MELS 4, which will be 160,000 square feet, the company is filling part of the gap.

Carrier admitted that he has had to turn down contracts because of the lack of space, representing missed opportunities of « tens of millions of dollars, not only for MELS, but also for the Quebec economy. »

« Montreal’s expertise is in high demand, » said Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante, who was present at the announcement.

She said she received great testimonials from « Netflix, Disney, HBO and company » during an economic mission to Los Angeles in 2019.

« What stands out is that they love Montreal because of its expertise, knowledge and beauty. We need more space, like MELS 4, » she said.

There is still not enough capacity in Quebec, acknowledged Minister of Finance, the Economy and Innovation Eric Girard.

« It is certain that the government is concerned about fairness and balance, so if other requests come in, we will study them with the same seriousness as we have studied this one, » he said.

Grandé Studios is the second-largest player in the industry. Last May, the company said it had expansion plans that should begin in 2022. Investissement Québec and Bell are minority shareholders in the company.

For its part, MELS will have 400,000 square feet of production space once MELS 4 is completed. The company employs 450 people in Quebec and offers a range of services including studio and equipment rentals, image and sound postproduction, visual effects and a virtual production platform.

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