Wynne defends grocery card distribution
Premier Kathleen Wynne said she knew the much-criticized system for handing out grocery gift cards to ice storm victims wasn’t “perfect” but maintained it’s better than nothing.
“There was an honour component to it,” Wynne acknowledged in a damage-control interview late Friday afternoon, after days of news coverage highlighting complaints from hungry Torontonians about the distribution, which was plagued by long lines and card shortages.
“We knew from the outset it wasn’t going to be perfect . . . having a long administrative process didn’t seem to be the right way to go,” Wynne told the Star.
“People had to show something with their address on it. They were checking on that (at Ontario Works offices) when people went up to the wicket,” she added. “Critics would have had us do nothing. That’s not the way I am.”
But hundreds, if not thousands, were turned away, amid chaotic lineups, without help to replace food spoiled during the power outage.
There were also concerns that some of those most in need — such as the elderly, disabled and parents with young children — could not venture out in the bitter cold to queue up.
Wynne said people in that situation were entitled to send a proxy to stand in their place, providing they could find a friend or relative to do so.
“Logistically, it was better today,” Wynne insisted of Friday’s distribution, boasting the government, with the help of donations from grocery chains, handed out $835,000 worth of cards this week.
“It’s about quadruple what we expected. The private sector really stepped up.”
The minority Liberal government, which could face an election as early as this spring, estimated that about 8,500 families and individuals in Toronto — where about 300,000 customers were without power at the peak of the damage — got food cards worth $50 for individuals and $100 for families.
“The system was designed for people in need,” said Wynne, noting the distribution system was set up in consultation with the Daily Bread Food Bank. “We’re pretty convinced the people who were standing in line were in need.”
Distribution of gift cards for food will begin next week in municipalities outside Toronto affected by storm-related power failures that left edibles rotting in fridges and freezers, Wynne said. She promised details within days.
Help can’t come soon enough, said MPP Michael Harris, a Progressive Conservative representing Kitchener-Conestoga, which includes a southwestern portion of the city and surrounding countryside. “People are waiting and we’ve been getting lots of calls,” Harris told the Star in a telephone interview. “This community declared a state of emergency.”