Anti-poverty groups in Saskatchewan are calling on the government to implement legislation to support the province’s most vulnerable people.
Coinciding with the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, advocacy groups said the province needs to enact an anti-poverty act that would enhance social programs, support a living wage and reduce food insecurity.
According to the Regina Food Bank, food bank use is up.
“Regina Food Bank on average is seeing 500 more people a month reaching out for support than we did the same time last year,” CEO Steve Compton explained.
“50 per cent of the people we serve through our doors are children under the age of sixteen.”
Compton also explained that two-thirds of the provincial network of food banks are also recording increases.
Advocate with Regina’s Anti-Poverty Ministry’s, Peter Gilmer said an anti-poverty act would protect the impoverished.
“Austerity is not the answer. Budget cuts are not the answer,” he explained.
Gilmer said first and foremost, the government must end the possible cuts to the Saskatchewan Assured Income Disability Program (SAID).
“We need to stop these cuts now, but stopping the cuts now in of itself isn’t enough,” Gilmer said.
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He said in his 20 years with the ministry, he had not seen more outrage or backlash to a proposed policy change than the ones announced to the SAID program.
“We need to start enhancing the programs which we thought would be the ultimate result of the provincial anti-poverty strategy,” he said.
As of September 2016, the province said 14,928 people were accessing SAID benefits. The cuts to the SAID program were supposed to take effect in October, but that timeline has since been put on hold.
According to Social Services Minister Tina Beaudry-Mellor, there is no timeline on when the proposed cuts would take effect.
“I really wish I could commit to a date about when we’ll make a decision on that, I can say that the changes have been paused,” Beaudry-Mellor explained.
“That pause is still continuing while we go through the budget process and can make a number of considerations.”
Some concerns highlighted by residents were that the cuts may come during the holiday season. Beaudry-Mellor said the ministry has been in talks with stakeholders’.
“I am definitely considering a lot of things including not just at Christmas but also at winter, and what those things mean. I am taking a very human approach to thinking about what some of the approaches might mean.”
When asked if the province will consider an anti-poverty act, the ministry said it is not actively looking at a legislative framework.
“We are really focused on actions and not so much on legislative framework at this time, and I think that’s the appropriate place to focus our attention, particularly now,” she said.
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