[news] Government Retreat on Social Assistance

[Resist! Collective]

Stop Welfare Cuts Coalition
MEDIA RELEASE
For Immediate Release
             February 10, 2004
Government Retreat on Social Assistance Leaves Many Concerns

The BC Liberal’s effort, to white wash its widely condemned Welfare
Cuts agenda, has been harshly criticized by those with first hand
knowledge of the Issues involved.

Paul Jenkinson, Chairperson, BC Association of Social Workers: Child
Welfare and Family Committee, says “… it is now clear that the Liberal
government would have denied a financial income to many legitimate
families and individuals if the policy (had) been allowed to go forward
…

The … government has exhibited an unreasonable faith in the free market
economy and as such have been convinced that everybody can find and
keep a job if they just want to.  This reversal in policy acknowledges
the barriers that many people have to finding and keeping employment.
Minister Hagen (has been quoted as saying) ‘ ..the government has had
huge success moving people off of welfare into the workforce ...but as
you come down the curve and sort of deal with individuals that we're
now dealing with they're getting more difficult to place’.

While Minister Hagen’s comments continue to have a strong element of
blaming and poor bashing to them, he is recognizing ...the fact that
some people will simply not be able to work…If the Liberal government
had a process in place to consult with the many organizations and
individuals with expertise in the area of poverty issues they would
have been able to avoid the waste of government energy and the ensuing
trauma to welfare clients that accompanied the Two Year Welfare Limit
Policy and the Review of Disability Benefits.

In both cases the governments" uninformed" policy threatened many
people with the loss of income but when faced with the reality of
poverty and disability in BC  (the policy) had to be reversed.”

Thia Walters of Life Is Not Enough Society explains,  “ … It is not the
2 year time limit that people should be worried about it is the
thousands that have already been dumped off the roles. They are in my
office every day.”

Debbie Krull, Community Advocate, United Native Nations Local 111
reports, “One woman from the Aboriginal Friendship Centre’s Access
Employment Program has clients whom have already been cut off
assistance due to welfare’s work plan (policy). How many people share
this story?

Another woman brought forth the reality that some programs do not get
accreditation of being either a job or training program. In fact one
welfare worker told a 22yr old aboriginal youth to quit her grade 12
completion courses at Langara College and sign up for a job training
program. The youth chose to complete her grade 12 and got cut off of
welfare.”


										               …2.

Seth Klein, BC Director, Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives stated
on Feb. 6th,
“The policy’s sole remaining function is to intimidate welfare
recipients, who, in spite of the new exemption, will live in fear of
being cut off. The exemption’s application remains uncertain — once
this issue recedes from the public spotlight, the Ministry may instruct
case workers to be more demanding about employment plans, or may
refrain from informing clients about the exemptions. The onus should be
on the Ministry to inform the thousands of people living with the
stress of a looming cut-off that they are now exempt from the rule.

While today’s announcement does show that the government is
reconsidering the time limits rule, it must go further. The Ministry’s
estimates indicate that hundreds of people will still fall through the
cracks. Regardless of whether the number is 15,000, 300 or one, this is
a bad law. It remains an awful precedent in Canada and should be
removed from the books.”

Shelagh Day of the Poverty and Human Rights Project points out “This is
a major retreat. The government has essentially acknowledged that the
time limits legislation was wrong. Now it has to take it off the books
entirely. The government owes an apology to the many people it has
insulted and put under terrible stress.”

Bev Meslo, from the National Action Committee on the Status of
Women-BC, insists “…Now, if you fill out a form and agree to look for
work you are exempt for a limited amount of time, thereby enabling this
government put out ridiculous numbers that few can believe. … Added to
their.. (Women on Welfare)…fear(s)… is (the) fear of child apprehension
because these cuts make it impossible for single parents to meet the
standards set by the Ministry of Family and Children…. This
government’s sneaky sidestep will have dire consequences for the most
vulnerable."

BCGEU President George Heyman said  “ … The Campbell government should
be deeply ashamed for putting tens of thousands of vulnerable people
through months of unnecessary anxiety and distress over the potential
impact of these changes.

…Like the Campbell government’s previous debacle where it put 14,000
people with disabilities through extensive and stressful benefits
reviews, this too was a costly and wasteful exercise in terms of human
pain and ministry resources.

…The two-year time limits should still be taken off the books. The
government is estimating that 167 clients may see reduced benefits in
the next year, because they’ve been collecting welfare for more than
two years.

…Those figures represent mostly single parents and their children. Not
one British Columbian in need deserves to be punished further for
living in poverty.”


The Stop Welfare Cuts Coalition remains committed to reversing morally
bankrupt policies of the BC Liberal government that stand in violation
of both the Canadian Charter of Human Rights and the International
Covenant on Economic, Social & Cultural Rights, and will continue to
‘Fight Back!’ until Welfare Time Limits are defeated.

…3.





Some of the groups involved in the Stop Welfare Cuts Coalition are: End
Legislated Poverty, BC Teachers Federation, Vancouver Status of Women,
Anti-Poverty Committee, Aboriginal Women’s Collective, First United
Church and various other churches across the Lower Mainland, BC
Government and Employees Union, Lower Mainland Coalition for Social
Justice, Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users, Tenants Rights Action
Coalition, Prepare the General Strike Committee, Housing Action
Committee, United Native Nations Local 111, and the Seniors Network BC.

For more information on the Stop Welfare Cuts Coalition please contact
Lisa c/o End Legislated Poverty at 604-879-1209 or by email at
elp at telus.net