A story in the Tyee, "A Welfare 'Savings' Boomerang" claims that two recent studies have shown that the BC Liberal's cuts to welfare in 2002 have drastically increased housing and health care costs, far more then the money saved cutting over 100,000 people off of welfare.

For two years, researchers from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives and Raise the Rates Coalition followed BC residents living on welfare. The study, Living on Welfare in BC: Experiences of Longer-Term “Expected to Work” Recipients (in PDF), found:

• Day-to-day life on welfare is mainly about survival;
• A link between welfare rules and homelessness;
• Welfare rates are too low
• Too many people are being cut off welfare;
• Too many people were inappropriately categorized as expected to work;
• Too many women were staying or returning to abusive relationships or the sex trade to survive and;
• Only a small percent of participants left poverty.

Read more on the CCPA page, Living in Poverty in BC and in an article on the Tyee, "Poverty Built into BC's System".

The Canadian Research Institute for the Advancement of Women has a new fact sheet, Women’s experiences of social programs for people with low incomes (in PDF). This fact sheet weaves together the voices of women with critical analysis and detailed evidence on how the devolution of social programs has impacted on diverse low-income women’s lives. It provides important evidence as to why and how listening to women’s voices is critical to knowing the real issues in policy making and programming. It combines existing quantitative research with new qualitative research based on the perspectives of policy makers, social service providers, low-income First Nations, immigrant, refugee women and women with disabilities from three Canadian cities.

L’impact des programmes sociaux : des femmes à faible revenu racontent (format pdf)
Ce feuillet d’information mêle divers témoignages de femmes à faible revenu avec une analyse critique et des informations détaillées sur l’impact de la dévolution des programmes sociaux. Il présente des informations concluantes qui soulignent l’importance d’écouter les femmes pour connaître les vrais problèmes auxquels doivent s’attaquer les politiques et les programmes. Il s’inspire du rapport intitulé Integrating the voices of low-income women into policy discussions on Canada Social Transfer (CST), une recherche qualitative menée en 2007 dans trois villes canadiennes avec des décideurs, des organismes de services sociaux et des femmes à faible revenu autochtones, immigrantes, réfugiées et handicapées. Des données quantitatives tirées de recherches antérieures viennent compléter le tableau.

According to a press release put out by the Yukon Health and Social Services ("Proposed Social Assistance Reforms Announced,") the ministry has reviewed social assistance rates and programs and has proposed some changes including:

• Eliminate the three-month waiting period for the earned income exemption;
• Allow those working recipients to keep $2 out of every $4 earned for three years;
• Increases in rate categories to reflect current costs;
• Increases to the food allowance to reflect the "market basket" calculation;
• Enhanced services with improved access for persons with severe disabilities.

Read more on the Canadian Social Research site under "Yukon: Proposed Social Assistance Reforms Announced."

Raise the Rates Coalition has a postcard campaign to urge Premier Gordon Campbell to raise welfare rates, remove barriers to welfare, increase the minimum wage, and build affordable housing. To order the postcards, contact Raise the Rates at info@raisetherates or 604-729-2380 or download the postcards on the Raise the Rates website.

A story on TheTyee.ca, "'Welfare to Work' Didn't Work," claims that the BC government waited eight months to release a report that contradicts the government's claim that they have been able to move more people off welfare into better lives. The report, Outcomes of those Leaving Assistance (in PDF) tracks the tax returns of people who were no longer accessing welfare to determine how many were working. The report shows that since 2002 there was no increase of welfare recipients who returned to work and there was a significant decrease in work for people with persistent barriers to employment.

As of September 1st, the Government of the Northwest Territories structural and philosophical changes to their income assistance program, including changing their philosophy from one of "last resort" to "providing adequate financial assistance in combination with supports and services to help people achieve self-reliance." Substantive changes include:

• A food rate based on Canada's Nutritious Food Basket to meet Canada's guidelines for healthy eating;
• A clothing rate adjusted for cost of living by community;
• New benefits for seniors and persons with disabilities;
• A $150 increase in the single shelter rate;
• A new unearned exemption of $1,200 a year;
• An increase in the earnings exemption.

Canadian Social Research Links a number of related publications from the NWT: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/ntbkmrk.htm. See the Northwest Territories Income Security site and more on how to apply for welfare in the Northwest Territories.

The C.D. Howe Institute has released a report, Reducing Poverty: What has Worked, and What Should Come Next (in PDF) that claims that policies that target employment for the poor, along with improved labor market conditions, have been key to reducing poverty in Canada. Read critiques and more information on the report on the Canadian Social Research site.

Shelagh Day and Gwen Brodsky have authored a study entitled: Women and the Canada Social Transfer:
Securing the Social Union (in PDF) and (website). The report explains how social assistance and legal aid have been in decline in Canada for the past decade and how this has had devastating effects on poor women. The report calls for national standards, federal legislation, and new mechanisms to rescue the social union and to meet Canada's human rights obligations.

Manitoba has announced a four year program called "Rewarding Work" for welfare recipients. Read more in the CBC article, "Manitoba initiatives aim to break down 'welfare wall'" and in the Manitoba Government Rewarding Work backgrounder. Here are some details of the plan:

• Manitoba Child Benefit - Benefits of $35/month per a child to families with annual incomes up to $20,000. For people receiving income assistance, this benefit will replace part of the benefits they receive through welfare. (i.e. welfare recipients will not receive any more benefit.)
• Child Care Fees - Fees for subsidized child care will be reduced from $2.40 per day per child to $2. Amount parents can earn will be increased by 13%.
• Job Seekers Allowance - $300/year for single adults and couples who are actively looking for work.
• Employment Stipend - Up to $1200/year for work clothing and transportation.
• Enhanced Training and Education - Up to 24 months available for skills training.
• Single Parents keep up to $115, and 25% above this amount from work each month.
• Income Assistance for Persons with Disabilities will increase by $300 to $1260/month in January 2008.

The Ontario government promised that the 2007 Ontario Budget would tackle child poverty. This budget introduces the new Ontario Child Benefit which is suppose to help Ontario families with lower incomes provide for their children, whether the parents work or receive social assistance. The program delivers a non-taxable, one-time payment for 2007 of up to $250 per dependent child under age 18. Beginning in July 2008, OCB benefits will provide approximately 465,000 families with payments of up to $600 per child annually. In 2003 the Liberal government promised to end the child tax benefit clawback from families on social assistance. According to an article on Rabble, "No end to Ontario's child tax benefit clawback," the new Ontario Child Benefit program still does not address the clawback.

Alert PEI, an anti-poverty coalition is asking the government to increase welfare to at least the poverty line. In some cases this is an increase of almost 100%. A single employable person receives $6214 a year on welfare in PEI. The poverty line is $17,784. Read more on CBC, "Alert PEI calls attention to plight of poor."

The BC Government announced the first increase in welfare rates in 12 years. The ministry Increase to Income Assistant Rates Fact Sheet says the rate increase will take effect on client's March 28th cheque. All income assistant recipients will receive $50 more for shelter and employable singles will recieve $50 more support. The ministry also has an Increases to Income Assistance Rate Table with details on the increases. The Raise the Rates Coalition says that although they were were asking the Provincial Government to raise welfare rates by 50% and index them to inflation, it is a significant stride towards better income assistance.

The National Council of Welfare has released their report, Solving Poverty: Four cornerstones of a workable national strategy for Canada (in PDF). Solving Poverty’s four cornerstones focus on:

1. creating a national anti-poverty strategy with targets and timelines;
2. developing a coordinated plan of action;
3. ensuring accountability;
4. establishing official poverty indicators.

A little over a year ago the Ontario McGuinty Government cut the Special Diet Policy under which huge numbers of people on welfare were able to obtain a little more money for food each month. Previously the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty (OCAP) had been running community clinics where thousands of poor people were able to obtain the $250 a month entitled to them. In December with the help of the Health Providers Against Poverty, OCAP again started running the Special Diet clinics. If you are on welfare or disablity in Ontario take a look at the New Special Diet Tipsheet. Read an article in the Toronto Star, "Poverty is a Medical Condition," about the Special Diet clinics.

The Nova Scotia government has announced that 50 individuals a year will be able to receive welfare while attending post secondary education. The program will fund any gaps between an individual's resources and current income assistance rates. Read the details of the program on the Nova Scotia government's news release, "Income Assistance for Post-Secondary Education." But according to a CBC article: "Critics slam school assistance program," some are saying that program is too vague and does not help enough students.

The Hands Off Campaign has been working to stop the clawback of child benefits for those on social assistance. In Ontario, the provincial government clawbacks the majority of the federal tax benefit of those families who are on social assistance. An article, "Children bear scars of clawback," talks about why the federal and provincial governments need to stop the clawback.

Advocates and many others have been appalled by the abysmally low welfare rates in BC. The Raise the Rates Coalition was launched this spring by some community, faith and advocacy groups to call on the province to:

• Increase welfare rates by 50 per cent;
• Remove the arbitrary barriers to accessing welfare;
• Let people on welfare keep up to $500 per month of money they earn through employment;
• Raise the minimum wage to $10 per hour, and abolish the $6 starting wage.

Premier Campbell has promised to raise the shelter rates for welfare recipients but has not announced how much the increase will be. The Centre for Policy Alternatives has a related report about welfare rates: A Better Way to Set Welfare Rates.

Ontario has increased the maximum monthly welfare cheque by 2% this month for Ontario Disability Support Program recipients and Ontario Works recipients. The Ontario Social Assistance Rate Increase explains in more detail what is effected by the rate increase. Unfortunately this rate increase is far cry from what anti-poverty activists in Ontario have pushing for. There has been a 40% loss of in real income for poor people over the last ten years. Add your name to the Raise the Rates Petition to Premier McGuinty, signed by thousands of people asking for a 40% increase to welfare and disability rates. Read more about the Ontario Raise the Rates Campaign .

The Canadian Association of Social Workers has released a new report entitled The Declining Health and Well Being of Low Income Women in Canada: A Preventable Tragedy. This CASW report, the fourth in a series on women’s income and poverty, focuses on the serious shortcomings of policy toward low-income women and their health. Read the Executive Summary of The Declining Health and Well Being of Low Income Women in Canada: A Preventable Tragedy (in PDF) or order a copy of the report through the association for a small fee.