[news] Province backs off plan for dramatic cuts to welfare

[ron]

  Saturday, February 07, 2004

VICTORIA -- The B.C. government added a sweeping, last-minute exemption 
to its welfare cuts Friday before announcing that only 339 people could 
lose all or part of their benefits in the coming year.

After months of speculation that up to 28,000 people could be affected 
by the cuts, the ministry now says that anyone who has an employment 
plan, complies with the plan, and is actively looking for work will 
continue to receive welfare.

Critics quickly hailed the exemption as a major flip-flop that 
effectively neuters the government's new time-limit rule slated to take 
effect April 1. The rule restricts welfare recipients who are deemed 
employable to just two years of benefits in any five-year period. There 
are now 25 exemptions to the rule.

Seth Klein of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives says the 
latest exemption applies to "pretty much everybody"

"There are thousands of people, they've been accumulating time on the 
clock until now, but they are abiding by their employment plans," he 
said. "Now, they've just learned that as long they continue abiding by 
their employment plans, they're exempt."

Ministry of human resources spokesman Richard Chambers said the 
exemption was added Friday, but neither he, nor Minister Stan Hagen was 
able to say how many people would be covered by it. Chambers 
acknowledged, however, that it could be in the thousands.

Hagen explained the change by saying the government has had "huge 
success" moving people off welfare into the work force. "But as you come 
down the curve and sort of deal with the individuals that we're now 
dealing with, they're getting more difficult to place.

"I think it's valuable from a public policy standpoint to examine the 
criteria that you're using. I mean public policy is not ingrained in 
stone, so, periodically, you have to look at the public policy to make 
sure that you're treating people humanely and fairly."

Hagen said the Liberal government wants to ensure "that those who are 
unable to work, or are doing everything in their power to find work, 
will be protected."

Vancouver councillor and long-time anti-poverty activist Jim Green gave 
kudos to the province for its decision and did not criticize the 
apparent flip-flop on the issue.

"They're being realistic and I'm happy about that," Green said.

Initially, city staff had estimated about 8,000 people in Vancouver 
would lose their welfare cheques because of the changes and Green said 
he is pleased that number will now be much lower.

But opponents said the government clearly caved in to mounting criticism 
of the pending cuts from politicians, churches and community groups.

"I think the government misread the public on this," Victoria councilor 
Rob Fleming said. "I think they were being quite political all along 
that welfare-bashing was a way to improve their approval ratings.

"In fact, British Columbians do understand that there is a problem with 
homelessness in B.C.'s towns and cities."

Klein said the new exemption effectively renders the time-limit rule 
redundant.

"It's completely superfluous, because, already, even without a 
time-limit law, if you don't abide by your employment plan you can be 
cut off," he said. "I'm actually surprised that there's anyone [facing 
cuts], given this last exemption."

The ministry says there are 172 "employable" people who have been on 
welfare for two years and may lose their benefits next fiscal year for 
failing to look for a job, quitting a job without a good reason, getting 
fired or refusing work.

Another 167 employable couples or families with children may have their 
welfare rates reduced by anywhere from $100 to $300 a month.

The 25 exemptions to the rule include people with disabilities, pregnant 
women, single parents with children under three, people in a special 
care facility or people with an alcohol or drug problem.

"If you look at the number of exemptions that were in place and what 
they've got in place now, they basically have finally recognized that 
this policy wasn't going to work, that they were going in the wrong 
direction, and they've backed off," NDP leader Carole James said.

"It's a victory for those community organizations and groups who did 
stand up to this government and told them it was wrong from the beginning."

The government's critics compared the situation to the recent review of 
disability benefits, which took a year to determine that the vast 
majority of people qualified for the benefits.

"I think there's a lot of similarities to the disability review with 
this ministry really putting vulnerable people through a social 
experiment that's not working," Bruce Wallace of the Vancouver Island 
Public Interest Research Group said.

He accused the government of "introducing these really radical social 
policies that are punitive, and then trying to back away from them. 
Unfortunately, it's causing incredible stress, and it's neglecting the 
real need for welfare reform in the province."

Hagen, however, blamed the NDP for creating the anxiety around the 
welfare limits by exaggerating the number of people that would be affected.

"I wish the NDP hadn't done that quite frankly," he said. "I think it 
was totally irresponsible and inaccurate."

Hagen said the ministry was unable to set the record straight any 
earlier, because it didn't have accurate information until two days ago.

"I think that we moved in a timely manner, because, first of all, this 
doesn't take effect until April," he said. "If you're suggesting we 
should have come out three months ago, we would not have had accurate 
numbers three months ago, because people cycle on and off welfare, and 
we want to make sure that we deal with these cases as people, because we 
are dealing with people's lives."

Hagen predicted the number of people facing cutoff will likely drop 
again before April 1.

"I'm looking upon this ministry as the ministry of jobs," he said. "I 
think when those folks on the list are notified that they are going to 
be dropped off income assistance in April, that they'll probably make a 
more concentrated effort in finding work."

Klein, meanwhile, called on government to scrap the time-limit rule 
completely.

"It bothers me that they're leaving a redundant law on the books," he 
said. "It's a bad precedent to be setting in the country."

As long as the rule is there, he said, it's unclear who will protect 
people who qualify for the exemptions, but lack the ability to advocate 
for themselves.

"People will fall through the cracks," he said.

Wallace said the government needs to start working with the community if 
wants to achieve real welfare reform.

"To continue to introduce these policies, and continue to have to 
backtrack, and then try to still squeeze them through, is not working," 
he said. "They need to engage the public in how to make a progressive 
welfare agenda that takes care of those in need, that respects human 
rights, and reduces poverty."
© The Vancouver Sun 2004