Protest Against Poverty Greets Premiers Conference

About 40 protesters picketed the opening of the Premiers Conference in Winnipeg on August 9. Eight of the participants continued the protest by camping out on the boulevard over night. The protest was organized by the Manitoba Coalition for Economic Justice to draw attention to the problems of poverty and homelessness in Canada, as well as to oppose the ongoing deterioration of the health-care system in Canada.

A statement distributed during the picket emphasized that shelter and health-care are basic human rights and that the attacks on social programs by the federal and provincial governments constitute human rights violations. A spokesperson for the coalition stated that the sleep-in was organized to "make Mike Harris feel at home", since Toronto has now become the homeless capital of North America.