women and social assistance policy in saskatchewan and ... · women and social assistance policy in...

Project #109 of the Prairie Women’s Health Centre of Excellence

WOMEN AND SOCIAL ASSISTANCEPOLICY IN SASKATCHEWAN

AND MANITOBA

Josephine Savarese, Department of JusticeStudies, University of Regina and

Bonnie Morton, Regina Anti-Poverty Ministry

WOMEN AND SOCIAL ASSISTANCE POLICY IN SASKATCHEWANAND MANITOBA

Josephine Savarese, Department of Justice Studies, University of Regina andBonnie Morton, Regina Anti-Poverty Ministry

May, 2005

Prairie Women’s Health Centre of Excellence (PWHCE) is one of the Centres of Excellence for Women’sHealth, funded by the Women’s Health Contribution Program of Health Canada. The PWHCE supports newknowledge and research on women’s health issues; and provides policy advice, analysis and information togovernments, health organizations and non-governmental organizations. The views expressed herein do not

necessarily represent the official policy of the PWHCE or Health Canada.

The Prairie Women’s Health Centre of Excellence56 The Promenade, Winnipeg, Manitoba R3B 3H9

Telephone (204) 982-6630 Fax (204) 982-6637Email: [email protected]

This report is also available on our website: <www.pwhce.ca>This is project #109 of the Prairie Women’s Health Centre of Excellence

ISBN# 0-9735048-9-7

Editors: K. Willson & M. Haworth-Brockman

PREFACE

The Prairie Women’s Health Centre of Excellence (PWHCE) Research Program on Poverty andWomen’s Health has supported several studies that examine the links between public policy,women’s poverty and women’s health.

In 2003, PWHCE initiated three research projects designed to examine income assistancepolicies in Saskatchewan and Manitoba and their effects on women’s health. Reports from twoof these projects were published in 2004: Don’t We Count As People: Saskatchewan SocialWelfare Policy and Women’s Health and Surviving on Hope is Not Enough: Women’sHealth, Poverty, Justice and Income Support in Manitoba. These two studies were based onseveral focus groups held in each province and were designed to bring forward the voices andperspectives of those most directly affected by income assistance policies. As Wharf andMacKenzie have noted, “the knowledge and experience gap between those who make policy andthose who must live with the consequences is enormous.”1 The research helps bridge that gap byproviding an important critique of income assistance policies from the perspectives of womenliving on welfare. The women’s descriptions of their experiences reveal the inadequacy ofincome assistance benefits and the harmful effects on their physical and emotional health.According to the women:

A person needs more money to live. They can’t live off what Social Services arepaying. It’s not enough. They should pay full rent, plus more for food and that,because food’s so high, rent’s so high, and you can’t make it from cheque tocheque. You run out of everything.2

You can’t eat properly because you can’t afford to.3

1 Brian Wharf and Brad MacKenzie. Connecting Policy and Practice in Social Welfare. (Toronto: OxfordUniversity Press, 1998) at 5.

2 Statement made by a focus group participant, as reported in Mildred Kerr, Debbie Frost and Diane Bignell. Don’tWe Count as People? Saskatchewan Social Welfare Policy and Women’s Health. (Winnipeg: Prairie Women’sHealth Centre of Excellence, 2004) at 33.

3 Ibid at 12.

Sometimes it was very stressful. My cheques were late and the weekend camealong – no groceries in the house. I can’t let my kids starve. You know, if I starvemyself that’s okay, but the kids mean more to me.4

Being depressed all the time, being anxious all the time. If I don’t do this anddon’t do that, they’re going to cut me off. Then I get anxiety attacks.5

This report completes the initial series on income assistance policies and women’s health inManitoba and Saskatchewan. Here we gain an understanding of the policy context which shapedthe women’s experiences described in the earlier papers. This publication provides an analysisof the broad context of federal and provincial initiatives to redesign income security programssince the demise of the Canada Assistance Plan in 1995.

The first paper, Income Assistance Policies in Saskatchewan and Manitoba: Implications forWomen, by Josephine Savarese and Bonnie Morton, provides a critical analysis of changes inincome assistance policies in two prairie provinces. During the past decade, federal andprovincial governments have introduced significant changes in Canadian social policy that haveweakened social citizenship rights to income security. Despite a growing acknowledgement ofthe importance of income and social policies as determinants of health, provincial incomeassistance programs have been designed to provide minimal benefits that keep many individualsand families struggling to meet basic needs on incomes far below the poverty line.

Access to Justice: Social Assistance Advocacy in Saskatchewan and Manitoba, by BonnieMorton and Josephine Savarese, the second paper, provides a description of advocacy serviceswhich help people on social assistance receive the benefits to which they are entitled. Whilesome advocacy services are available in both provinces, access is limited and women on incomeassistance face numerous obstacles when they wish to challenge decisions affecting their incomeand entitlements.

Together these two papers make an important contribution to our understanding of the linksbetween public policy and women’s poverty. They remind us that women are more likely to livein poverty, and more likely to rely on income assistance for a variety of reasons. Theydemonstrate ways in which some policies may put women at a particular disadvantage. They callfor policies that will lead to equitable outcomes for women and men by taking gender differencesinto account. They challenge us to go beyond a critique of current policies and look for policyalternatives that will provide income security as a basic human right.

Together low-income women, social justice advocates, policy analysts and researchers havehelped to articulate a new vision for income security programs that would promote health andhuman development and be responsive to the needs of women (and men) from diverse 4 Statement made by a focus group participant, as reported in Rhonda Wiebe and Paula Keirstead. Surviving onHope is Not Enough: Women’s Health, Poverty, Justice and Income Support in Manitoba. (Winnipeg: PrairieWomen’s Health Centre of Excellence, 2004) at 5.

5 Ibid at 6.

communities. Their recommendations for change need to be heard. Research on women’spoverty is not an end it itself; hopefully, this new knowledge will be a catalyst for action toredesign social programs and reduce women’s poverty.

Kay WillsonResearch Manager,Prairie Women’s Health Centre of ExcellenceMay 2005

PRÉFACE

Le Research Program on Poverty and Women’s Health [Programme de recherche sur la pauvretéet la santé des femmes] du Centre d’excellence pour la santé des femmes – région des Prairies(CESFP) a parrainé plusieurs études visant à examiner les liens entre les politiquesgouvernementales, la pauvreté chez les femmes et la santé de celles-ci.

En 2003, le CESFP a initié trois projets ayant pour but d’examiner les politiques d’aide aurevenu en Saskatchewan et au Manitoba et leurs effets sur la santé des femmes. Des rapportsportant sur deux de ces projets ont été publiés en 2004 : Don’t We Count As People:Saskatchewan Social Welfare Policy and Women’s Health [Sommes-nous considérées commedes personnes : les politiques d’assistance sociale en Saskatchewan et la santé des femmes]et Surviving on Hope is Not Enough: Women’s Health, Poverty, Justice and Income Supportin Manitoba [On ne peut pas vivre que d’espoir : la santé des femmes, la pauvreté, la justiceet l’aide au revenu au Manitoba]. Ces deux études reposent sur des données recueillies auprèsde plusieurs groupes de discussion menés dans chaque province. Elles ont été conçues pourdonner la parole aux personnes les plus directement touchées par les politiques d’aide au revenuet mettre en lumière leurs perspectives. Comme l’ont noté Wharf et MacKenzie, « l’écart deconnaissances et d’expérience qui existe entre les concepteurs des politiques et les personnesvivant avec les conséquences de ces politiques est énorme »1. La recherche contribue à éliminercet écart en introduisant une importante critique des politiques d’aide au revenu axée sur laperspective des femmes prestataires d’aide sociale. Les descriptions que les femmes font de leurvécu révèlent une insuffisance à l’échelle des prestations d’aide au revenu, laquelle entraîne deseffets nocifs sur leur santé physique et émotionnelle. Quelques témoignages de femmes font étatde la situation :

Une personne a besoin de plus d’argent pour vivre. Les gens ne peuvent pas vivre sur lesprestations qu’accorde l’aide sociale. C’est insuffisant. L’assistance sociale devraitpayer la totalité du loyer et accorder de l’argent pour la nourriture, parce que le coût dela nourriture est tellement élevé, le coût du loyer aussi, et d’un chèque à l’autre, onmanque toujours d’argent. On finit par manquer de tout2.

On ne peut pas se nourrir convenablement parce qu’on n’a pas les moyens3.

1 Brian Wharf et Brad MacKenzie. Connecting Policy and Practice in Social Welfare. (Toronto : Oxford UniversityPress, 1998) Page 5.

2 Témoignage d’une participante d’un groupe de discussion, tel que rapporté par Mildred Kerr, Debbie Frost etDiane Bignell, dans Don’t We Count as People: Saskatchewan Social Welfare Policy and Women’s Health.(Winnipeg : Centre d’excellence pour la santé des femmes – région des Prairies, 2004) Page 33.

3 Idem, page 12.

Parfois, c’était très stressant. Mes chèques tardaient à rentrer et la fin de semainearrivait – pas de nourriture dans la maison. Je ne peux pas laisser mes enfants mourir defaim. Vous savez, si je meurs de faim, ce n’est pas grave, mais le bien-être de mes enfantscompte pour moi4.

Être toujours déprimée, être toujours angoissée. Si je ne fais pas ceci ou cela, ils vont mecouper mon chèque. Et l’angoisse m’envahit5.

Ce rapport termine la première série d’articles sur les politiques d’aide au revenu et la santé desfemmes au Manitoba et en Saskatchewan et nous permet de comprendre les politiques qui ontfaçonné le vécu des femmes décrit dans les articles antérieurs. Cette publication offre uneanalyse du contexte général dans lequel se sont inscrites les initiatives fédérales et provincialesvisant à remanier les programmes de sécurité du revenu depuis la disparition du Régimed’assistance publique du Canada en 1995.

Le premier article, Les politiques d’aide au revenu en Saskatchewan et au Manitoba :implications pour les femmes, de Josephine Savarese et Bonnie Morton, présente une analysecritique des changements qui ont été apportés aux politiques d’aide au revenu dans deuxprovinces des Prairies. Au cours de la dernière décennie, l’État fédéral et les gouvernementsprovinciaux ont introduit des changements importants à l’échelle des politiques socialescanadiennes qui ont réduit les droits sociaux des citoyennes et citoyens en matière de sécurité durevenu. Malgré une reconnaissance de plus en plus grande de l’importance du revenu et despolitiques sociales en tant que déterminants de la santé, les programmes provinciaux d’aide aurevenu ont été conçus de manière à offrir des prestations peu élevées. Nombre de particuliers etleur famille doivent donc lutter pour satisfaire des besoins essentiels avec des revenus qui sonttrès inférieurs au seuil de la pauvreté.

L’accès à la justice : la défense des droits en matière d’aide sociale en Saskatchewan et auManitoba, de Bonnie Morton et Josephine Savarese, le deuxième article, offre une descriptiondes services de défense des droits qui aident les prestataires d’aide sociale à obtenir lesprestations auxquelles ils ont droit. Bien que ces services soient offerts dans les deux provinces,l’accès est limité et les femmes qui reçoivent une aide au revenu font face à de nombreuxobstacles lorsqu’elles veulent contester les décisions qui influent sur leur revenu et leursallocations.

Ces deux articles nous aident grandement à cerner les liens qui existent entre les politiquesgouvernementales et la pauvreté des femmes. Ils nous rappellent que les femmes sont davantageà risque de vivre dans la pauvreté et de dépendre de l’aide au revenu pour diverses raisons. Ilsdémontrent comment certaines politiques peuvent défavoriser les femmes. Ils font appel à lamise en place de politiques qui produiront des résultats équitables pour les femmes et leshommes en tenant compte des rapports sociaux entre les sexes. Ils nous exhortent à dépasser la

4 Témoignage d’une participante d’un groupe de discussion, tel que rapporté par Rhonda Wiebe et Paula Keirstead,dans Surviving on Hope is Not Enough: Women’s Health, Poverty, Justice and Income Support in Manitoba.(Winnipeg : Centre d’excellence pour la santé des femmes – région des Prairies, 2004) Page 5.

5 Idem, page 6.

simple critique des politiques actuelles et à rechercher des solutions de rechange stratégiques quioffriront une sécurité du revenu en tant que droit fondamental de la personne.

Les femmes à faible revenu, les militantes et militants pour la justice sociale, les analystes depolitiques et les chercheuses et chercheurs ont travaillé de concert pour articuler une nouvellevision en matière de programmes de sécurité du revenu qui promeut la santé et le développementde la personne et qui tient compte des besoins des femmes (et des hommes) de diversescommunautés. Les décisionnaires doivent prendre en compte les recommandations présentéesdans ces articles qui visent à introduire des changements. La recherche sur la pauvreté desfemmes n’est pas un but en soi et il est à souhaiter que ces nouvelles connaissances agissentcomme un catalyseur qui déclenchera des actions menant à une restructuration des programmessociaux et à la réduction de la pauvreté chez les femmes.

Kay WilsonDirectrice de la rechercheCentre d’excellence pour la santé des femmes – région des PrairiesMai 2005

INCOME ASSISTANCE POLICIES INSASKATCHEWAN AND MANITOBA:IMPLICATIONS FOR WOMEN

Josephine Savarese, Department of Justice Studies, University of ReginaBonnie Morton, Regina Anti-Poverty Ministry

PAPER 1.INCOME ASSISTANCE POLICIES IN SASKATCHEWANAND MANITOBA: IMPLICATIONS FOR WOMENJosephine Savarese, Department of Justice Studies, University of Regina andBonnie Morton, Regina Anti-Poverty Ministry

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION 1Incidence of Women’s Poverty in Saskatchewan and Manitoba 2

SECTION 1. OVERVIEW OF SOCIAL ASSISTANCE POLICY REFORMS INSASKATCHEWAN AND MANITOBA 3

The Canadian Social Policy Climate: An Overview 3Social Assistance Reforms in Manitoba and Saskatchewan 7Changing Names, Changing Policy Direction 11Benefit Levels 12New Messages: Cracking Down on Welfare Fraud and Ending "Dependency" 15Reducing Caseloads 17Emphasizing Women's Dependency on Male Partners 20The Welfare "Chill" and Disenfranchisement 22Summary: The Retreat From Cap Standards And Principles 23

SECTION 2. GENDER, SOCIAL ASSISTANCE POLICIES AND WOMEN’S HEALTH 25Linking Poverty And Health 26

SECTION 3. CHANGES FOR REAL REFORM 30

APPENDIX 36Table 1: Welfare Benefits In Saskatchewan and Manitoba 36Table 2: Adequacy of 2003 Welfare Benefits in Saskatchewan and Manitoba 37

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INCOME ASSISTANCE POLICIES INSASKATCHEWAN AND MANITOBA:

IMPLICATIONS FOR WOMEN

INTRODUCTION

Over the last decade, governmentsacross Canada have reformed socialassistance policies. The Provinces ofSaskatchewan and Manitoba wereamong those that introduced changes.Cutbacks in social programs have had aparticularly adverse effect on Canadianwomen who rely on the social safetynet.1 The erosion of social programs hasincreased women’s economicvulnerability and undermined women’sequality.2

After reviewing social assistancepolicies in Ontario, Gilmour and Martinconcluded: 1 Canadian Feminist Alliance for InternationalAction, Canada’s Failure to Act: Women’sInequality Deepens, Submission to the UnitedNations Committee on the Elimination ofDiscrimination Against Women on the Occasionof the Committee’s Review of Canada’s 5th

Report, January 2003, at Paragraph 57, page 16of 101; accessed on-line.

2 Shelagh Day and Gwen Brodsky. Women andthe Equality Deficit: The Impact of Restructuringon Canada’s Social Programs (Ottawa: Status ofWomen Canada, 1998) accessed on-linehttp://www.swc-cfc.gc.ca/pubs/0662267672/199803_0662267672_1_e.pdf

What is clear…is that welfare ‘reform’has not improved lives or life chancesfor poor people, disabled people, womenor children. Rather, their health,condition and life chances have beendiminished.3

Income assistance policies influencewomen’s ability to secure the resourcesneeded to maintain or improve theirhealth. The levels of income assistancebenefits make it difficult for women tosecure adequate food and housing forthemselves and their families. Socialassistance barely sustains many Prairiewomen, acting as a thin shield againstabsolute destitution.

This paper provides an overview ofincome assistance policies in Manitobaand Saskatchewan and discusses theirimplications for women.

3 Joan Gilmour and Dianne Martin. Women’sPoverty, Women’s Health: The role of access tojustice. (Toronto: National Network onEnvironments and Women’s Health, 2002).

Income Assistance Policies in Saskatchewan and Manitoba: Implications For Women

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Incidence of Women’s Povertyin Saskatchewan and Manitoba

While income assistance policies affectboth men and women, women in Canadaare more likely than men to be poor.Statistics on rates of poverty oftenunderestimate the levels of povertybecause First Nations people living onreserve are excluded. When comparedto all Canadian women, the incidence oflow income is more pronounced forAboriginal women both on and offreserve.4

In every year between 1980 and 1999,the poverty rate among women wassignificantly higher than the poverty rateamong men. In 1989, 16.2 percent ofCanadian women lived in povertycompared with 11 percent of men. Adecade later, the poverty rate amongwomen was 17.5 percent compared tomen’s poverty rate of 13.2 percent. In1999, 2,074,000 Canadian women and1,499,000 men were living in poverty. Inseven out of eight age groups, thepoverty rate for women is higher thanthe poverty rate for men.5

“In 1999, 51.8 percent of single-parentmothers, 38.9 percent of all unattachedindividuals, 42.3 percent of unattachedwomen under 65, 33.2 percent ofunattached men under 65, 48.5 percent 4 Lissa Donner (with contributions by AngelaBusch and Nahanni Fontaine). Women, Incomeand Health in Manitoba: An Overview andIdeas for Action. (Winnipeg: Women’s HealthClinic, 2002). Campaign 2000 quoted in JohnWarnock Saskatchewan: The Roots ofDiscontent and Protest (Montreal: Black RoseBooks, 2004) at 377.

5 National Council of Welfare. Poverty Profile1999 (Ottawa: National Council of Welfare,2002).

of unattached senior women and 31.9percent of unattached senior men werepoor. The poverty rates among single-parent mothers and unattached womenwere more than four times higher thanthe 1999 average level for allCanadians; the poverty rates amongunattached men of all ages were justslightly less than three times the averagepoverty rate.” [emphasis added]6

In 1999, there were 14,000 poor familiesheaded by single mothers in Manitobaand 12,000 poor families headed bysingle mothers in Saskatchewan. Therewere 17,000 unattached women under 65living in poverty in Manitoba and 15,000unattached women under 65 living inpoverty in Saskatchewan. There were21,000 and 16,000 unattached women 65and over living in poverty in Manitobaand Saskatchewan, respectively.7

Not only are women more likely to livein poverty, but their experiences ofliving in poverty are affected by theirgender which, among other things,influences their experience of familyviolence, their access to paidemployment and their responsibilities forchildcare and other unpaid work in thehome.8 Social assistance policies arethus entwined with issues of gender andthey combine as determinants ofwomen’s health.

6 Ibid7 Ibid8 Cindy Hanson, Lori Hanson and BarbaraAdams. Who Benefits: Women, Unpaid Workand Social Policy. (2001) accessed on-linehttp://www.criaw-icref.ca/factSheets/hanson.htm


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SECTION 1.

OVERVIEW OF SOCIAL ASSISTANCE POLICY REFORMS INSASKATCHEWAN AND MANITOBA

This section outlines key changes insocial assistance policy in Saskatchewanand Manitoba over the last decade. Itbegins with a discussion of changes atthe federal level because these revisionswere the impetus for provincial reform.

The Canadian Social PolicyClimate: An Overview

From 1966 to 1995, the CanadaAssistance Plan (CAP) establishednational standards and policy guidelinesfor provincial social assistance programsin conjunction with a framework forfederal/provincial cost-sharing. UnderCAP, the provinces were required toprovide basic income support to allpersons in need. Recipients of socialassistance were, in theory at least,guaranteed the right to an income thatwould meet basic needs and the right toappeal. CAP also provided a protectionagainst forced work, though provincesdid make job searches and participationin work programs a condition ofeligibility. CAP provided essential protection forthe social and economic rights ofCanadians. One annual report stated: By helping the provinces to help peoplein need, CAP ensures that the socialsafety net is available when it is needed.

As such, it is one of the majorcornerstones of the social securitysystem in Canada.9 For more than two decades the federalgovernment provided fifty percent of thefunding for provincial expenditures onsocial assistance. However, in 1990 thefederal government placed a “cap onCAP” by limiting the level of federalfunds transferred to Alberta, BritishColumbia and Ontario. This cutback infederal funding encouraged theprovinces to introduce cost-cuttingmeasures and undermined the federalgovernment’s ability to enforce nationalstandards. The replacement of the CanadaAssistance Plan with the Canada Healthand Social Transfer (hereinafter referredto as the CHST) in 1996 was asignificant turning point in Canadiansocial policy.10 The repeal of CAP 9 CAP Annual Report (1971-72), p. 1,Submissions to the Committee on Economic,Social and Cultural Rights by the CharterCommittee on Poverty Issues (CCPI), November16, 1998, accessed on-line: The CharterCommittee on Poverty Issues (CCPI),http://www.equalityrights.org/ngoun98/ccpi.htm 10 The CHST altered the administrativearrangements that were in place under CAP. Thefunding for health, post-secondary education andsocial assistance were combined into one blockfund that could be spent in accordance withprovincial priorities. In addition, the CHSTreduced the transfer payments granted to theprovinces and ended the equal or 50-50 cost


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removed an important buffer againstsevere poverty and was a significantsetback to women’s equality.11

While the federal government citeddeficit reduction as a central goal of thereforms, social policy analysts argue thatthe CHST marked the state’s retreatfrom social welfare. Under the CHST,efforts to dismantle Canada’s socialprograms became more pronounced.Reductions in federal funding wereaccompanied by the emergence of adifferent social welfare philosophy thatemphasized individual self-reliance anddownplayed the collective obligation forsocietal well-being that once permeatedsocial policy.12

Social assistance plans that operate inCanadian jurisdictions, includingSaskatchewan and Manitoba, haveundergone significant revisions.13

Current policies place renewed emphasison fostering labour marketinvolvement.14 Workfare and other sharing that was a feature of CAP. While thesechanges are important, this paper ispredominantly concerned with the shifting policyobjectives that resulted from the demise of CAP.

11 Day and Brodsky supra.12 Mulvale, Reimagining Social Welfare:Beyond the Keynesian Social Welfare State(Aurora, Ontario: Garamond Press, 2001)

13 Jamie Peek, Workfare States (New York: TheGuildford Press, 2000), in particular, seeChapter 6: Canada's Path: Permeable Welfare,Fragile Workfare at 213- 260.

14 The Elizabethan Poor Laws of 16th centuryEngland, for example, brought in workhouses fordestitute people considered able to work. SherriTorjman, Workfare: A Poor Law, CaledonInstitute of Social Policy,http://www.socialpolicy.ca/52100/m9/full67.htmat 2 (accessed 15/08/2003). Clearly, thisobjective is a long-standing one. Efforts to

“employment readiness” programs haveexpanded.15 Notably, the view thatpoverty is essentially an individual,rather than a state or communityproblem has become more pronounced.16

McKeen and Porter summarize thecontemporary policy direction stating: …the transformation taking place is onefrom a more generous system to whatneoliberals (sic) have described as a“tough love” social welfare system thataims to help welfare “dependants” kicktheir habit. The result has been anincreasingly punitive model; increasedpoverty, inequalities, and hardshipamong certain groups; and thedownloading of responsibility formeeting social needs to individuals andto the home.17

The move from CAP to the CHST andthe corresponding decrease in federaltransfer payments caused fiscal hardship implement it have taken on a more "vicious"twist in recent years, as this paper will show.

15 See, for example, Maeve Quaid, Workfare:Why Good Social Policy Ideas Go Bad (Toronto:University of Toronto Press, 2002). Quaidanalyzes the implementation of workfare in 3American and 3 Canadian jurisdictions. Whileshe sees workfare as potentially good policy, sheoutlines the reasons why it fails to move peopleinto real jobs. See also Peek, supra.

16 For a more detailed discussion see Mulvale,supra and Barbara Murphy, The Ugly Canadian:The Rise and Fall of a Caring Society (J. GordonShillingford, 1999).

17 Wendy McKeen and Ann Porter, “Politics andTransformation: Welfare State Restructuring inCanada” in Changing Canada: PoliticalEconomy as Transformation, edited by WallaceClement and Leah F. Vosko (Montreal andKingston: McGill-Queen’s University Press,2003) at 111.


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for the provinces. McKeen and Porterhighlight the changes in provincialpolicy that resulted from the fundingreductions. They state: At the provincial level governments havealso reduced expenditures andundertaken sweeping welfare statereforms, including reforms in education,health, and social assistance. They haveincluded the privatization of manyservices, the introduction of workfareprograms within social assistanceprograms, and the closing andrestructuring of many schools andhospitals.18

The cutbacks hardened the moreregressive tendencies that were surfacingin welfare policy, leading to furtherstigmatization of the poor. Reducing thenumber of people receiving assistancebecame a pressing objective of welfarereforms across Canada.19 Due to thedramatic nature of the changes, anti-poverty activists turned to the Charter toforestall or reverse the negativeconsequences of the altered policies.

18 Ibid at 115. 19 See Ernie Lightman, Andrew Mitchell andRichard Shillington. Tracking the Outcomes ofWelfare Reform. Workfare Watch Bulletin,Volume 1, Bulletin #15, April 2002, accessedon-line:http://www.welfarewatch.toronto.on.ca/wrkfrw/bul15.htmThe Bulletin states: "Welfare reform in Ontario,like elsewhere in the United States and Canada,has been reduced to a single narrow purpose‚reducing the caseload."

Gosselin v. Quebec (AttorneyGeneral) In December 2002, anti-poverty activistsand women’s groups were deterred inadvancing equitable social policy due topronouncements made by the SupremeCourt of Canada in Gosselin v. Quebec(Attorney General).20 Gosselinconsidered a welfare regulation inQuebec that reduced payments torecipients age 30 or under, to one thirdof the regular benefits, unless the personwas enrolled in a work-readinessprogram.21

The majority ruling dashed the hope thatthe Supreme Court would advance socialjustice in Canada. Prior to the decision,the National Association of Women andthe Law stated:

For women, access to adequate socialassistance is an important equality issue.Poverty is a central fact of manywomen’s lives in Canada. It is crucialthat the Charter be understood toprovide basic protections for all people,including the poorest. 22

20 Gosselin v. The Attorney General of Quebec,2002 SCC 84. accessed on-linehttp://www.lexum.umontreal.ca/csc-scc/en/pub/2002/vol4/html/2002scr4_0429.html

21 The regular benefit was established to coverbasic needs for food, clothing and shelter. Thereduced benefit was expected to cover the sameitems. The problem with the mandatorylearnfare requirement was the limited number ofspaces in training programs.

22 National Association of Women and the Law,Gosselin vs. Quebec, Press Release, Ottawa -Thursday, October 25, 2001, accessed on-linehttp://www.nawl.ca/gosselin-pr.htm, accessed13/08/03


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The majority decision of the courtaffirmed several regressive social policytendencies including: the state’s retreatfrom social welfare initiatives, theemphasis placed on labour marketinvolvement, the use of workfare andother “employment readiness” programs,and the view that poverty is essentiallyan individual, rather than a state orcommunity, problem resolvable throughcorrective measures aimed at the poor.The decision also contained dissentingopinions, which clearly outlined theimplications for women’s health andwell-being when recipients are under-served by social programs.

Poverty, Heath and Access to Justice

In a study supported by the NationalNetwork on Environments and Women’sHealth, Gilmour and Martin examinedOntario welfare reforms that followedthe demise of CAP and the introductionof the CHST. In particular, theydescribed the shift in ideology as well asthe changes in legislation, policies andadministrative practices. By examiningthe case files of a community legalclinic, they were able to create acomposite picture of the impacts ofwelfare reforms on women’s health.They showed how women wereparticularly vulnerable to restrictiveinterpretations of eligibility criteria,allegations of welfare fraud, and loss ofbenefits. They described women’s needfor legal counsel to challenge thebureaucratic decisions that threatenedtheir income security. Yet they alsonoted the contradictions and limitationsof legal services and the need for

broader political strategies to reducewomen’s poverty. 23

This paper analyzes policies and laws inSaskatchewan and Manitoba todetermine their implications forwomen’s health.

23 Joan Gilmour and Dianne Martin. Women’sPoverty, Women’s Health: The role of access tojustice. (Toronto: National Networks onEnvironments and Women’s Health, 2002)


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Social Assistance Reforms inManitoba and Saskatchewan In the 1990’s, the Provinces ofSaskatchewan and Manitoba altered theirsocial assistance laws and policies,largely in response to the CHST. Manitoba Social assistance in Manitoba isgoverned by the Employment andIncome Assistance Act (EIA). In 1996,the EIA renamed and amended theformer law titled the Social AllowancesAct. It outlines the framework for theprovision of provincial and municipalassistance.24 Further conditions andstipulations are included in thesupporting regulations and theEmployment and Income AssistanceAdministrative Manual.25

In 1993-1994, the Government ofManitoba reduced dental and healthbenefits, shelter allowances and specialneeds coverage for some groups onsocial assistance. The government alsochanged its policies governing therecovery of so-called overpayments,with the result that many recipientsreceived less money on their monthly 24 A further amendment went into effect June 01,2004 that established the province as the singlepayor for assistance. It authorized the province toadminister all provincial income assistance inrural and northern Manitoba. Accessed on-line:http://www.gov.mb.ca/chc/press/top/2004/06/2004-06-01-02.html

25 Manitoba Family Services and Housing,accessed on-line:http://www.gov.mb.ca/fs/eiamanual/tablec.html#intro

cheques. In 1994, the Manitobagovernment also introduced a campaignto encourage people to turn in “welfarecheats”. In 1996, the Government ofManitoba continued its pattern ofcutbacks and reduced its welfare budgetby $23 million.26

The Employment and Income AssistanceAct made income assistance morecontingent on attachment to the paidlabour force. The benefit levels werereduced for ‘employable’ individualsand couples without children. Peoplewere increasingly expected to participatein training programs or find paidemployment. Failure to comply withwork expectations could result in areduction or, in the case of individuals orcouples without children, complete lossof income benefits.27

MacKinnon describes the changes inManitoba's income assistance policyfollowing the collapse of CAP. Shestates: …the Employment and IncomeAssistance Act gives the government thepower to implement work for welfarepolicies. Individuals could now berefused assistance if they failed to "meetthe employment obligations to thesatisfaction of the director or themunicipality." Years of postwar struggleto ensure the right to financialassistance to all citizens was gone.28

26 National Council of Welfare. Another Look atWelfare Reform (Ottawa: National Council ofWelfare, 1999)

27 Ibid

28 Shauna MacKinnon, Workfare in Manitoba: APrimer (Winnipeg: Canadian Centre for PolicyAlternatives – Manitoba, 1999)


8

The implementation of the Employmentand Income Assistance Act marked themove towards "workfarism" on thePrairies. 29 In order to obtain benefits,persons deemed ‘employable’ wererequired to develop individual case plansthat involved active job searches,employment, or participation in trainingthat would prepare them for paidemployment. Most people wereconsidered employable except forpersons with disabilities and singleparents with children under six. Prior to1996, single parents with children under18 were not classified as ‘employable’.In 1996, single mothers of school agechildren were increasingly expected toengage in job searches or accept paidemployment as a condition of eligibilityfor income assistance.

Saskatchewan

After the CHST was passed, theSaskatchewan government became moreardent in redesigning social assistance.30

In 1996, it released a discussion paper,Redesigning Social Assistance: 29 Alberta implemented workfare in the early1990's, see Quaid, supra 2002. Chapter 8:Alberta's Mandatory 'Voluntary Opportunities.’

30 In 1991, the newly elected New DemocraticParty released Changing Directions. The papercriticized former Conservative governmentpolicies that centred on “inadequate welfarerates, harsh controls, arbitrary case closures anda general undermining of the dignity of peopleon welfare.” The policy paper was followed bysystem reform. Between 1992 and 1996, thegovernment introduced a variety ofadministrative and policy changes aimed at“improving service to the poor.” NationalCouncil of Welfare. Another Look at WelfareReform (Fall 1997) at 47; accessed on-linethrough Canadian Social Research Links:http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/welref.htm

Preparing for the New Century. Thepaper called for changes, due to thetermination of the Canada AssistancePlan, increased federal off-loading, asluggish economy and the need toremove barriers to employment.31 Thenegative effects of child poverty onlong-term life outcomes were discussed.In summary, the Province identifiedseveral objectives for its revised policies.These ranged from “protecting the mostvulnerable” and encouragingemployment and involvement in socialand economic spheres to reducingpoverty, streamlining administration andenhancing accountability. 32

According to the National Council onWelfare, the reforms introduced inSaskatchewan were not accompanied bythe same harsh cutbacks thatcharacterized other provinces:

By the end of the year, the governmenthad not made any improvements to itswelfare system, but it had not made anycuts either. Compared with some otherprovinces, Saskatchewan had donebetter for its welfare recipients by doingnothing.33

Unlike Manitoba, Saskatchewan did notalter the name of its social assistanceframework legislation. TheSaskatchewan Assistance Act providesthe overall framework for the provision

31 Redesigning Social Assistance: Preparing forthe New Century, Discussion Paper; accessedon-linehttp://www.gov.sk.ca/socserv/financial/welfare_redesign/REDSN96.html 32 Ibid at 5.33 National Council of Welfare (1997) supra.


9

of social assistance in Saskatchewan.34

Various regulations operate under thatlaw stipulating the guidelines for thevarious programs, including theEmployment Supplement Regulations,the Benefit Adjustment Regulations, theTransitional Employment AllowanceRegulations and the SaskatchewanAssistance Regulations. In March of 1998, the Province ofSaskatchewan announced an initiativecalled Building Independence –Investing in Families. According to thenSocial Services Minister, Lorne Calvert,the changes sought to turn the welfaresystem “on its head.” The governmentdescribed the old system as "flawed", forit fostered "dependence" by creatingbarriers to employment that were oftenintergenerational. It stated that the newapproach would “provide opportunities”and promote independence from publicincome support.35

The Building Independence Initiativesaw the establishment of several targetedprograms.36 These included:

34 An Act to provide for the Granting ofAssistance to Persons in Need; Chapter S-8 ofThe Revised Statutes of Saskatchewan, 1978,(effective February 26, 1979) as amended by theStatutes of Saskatchewan, 1979, c.65; 1979-80,c.M-32.01; 1980-81, c.79; 1983, c.11 and 77;1989-90, c.54; 1994, c.9; 1997, c.19 and 49;1998, c.33; and 2000, c.24.

35 Saskatchewan Social Services Newsletter,Next Step, Budget Edition, 1998 “BuildingIndependence – Investing in Families – InitiativeLaunched” at 1. 36 In addition to these programs, others alsooperate. Senior citizens who are not able to meettheir basic needs are granted support under theSaskatchewan Income Plan Act (An Actrespecting the Payment of Benefits to or onbehalf of Certain Senior Citizens) Chapter S-25.1 of the Statutes of Saskatchewan, 1986

• The Provincial Training Allowance,

administered by Post-SecondaryEducation and Skills Training, whichprovides basic income support toadults in basic education programs.

• Family Health Benefits which

provide health benefits to low-income working families withchildren. This means that workingfamilies are not barred fromreceiving important benefits.

• The Saskatchewan Employment

Supplement which providesassistance to working parents andthose who receive child or spousalsupport. Most recipients arewomen.37

• The Saskatchewan Child Benefit to

complement the National ChildBenefit.

According to the Minister of SocialServices: These programs demonstrate that byproviding crucial supports outside ofsocial assistance, individuals andfamilies can move away from welfareand into the work force. They haveremoved inequities that many low-income working families experienced intheir struggle for independence.38

(effective January 1, 1987) as amended by theStatutes of Saskatchewan, 1988-89, c.42; 1996,c.20; and 2000, c.50 and regulations, Chapter S-25.1 Reg 3 (effective February 21, 2002).

37 Warnock, supra

38 Government of Saskatchewan. Backgrounder:Building Independence; accessed on-linehttp://www.dcre.gov.sk.ca/mediaroom/pdfs/Phase1Backgrounder.pdf


10

Warnock describes the BuildingIndependence Program in differentterms. Rather than providing benevolentsupport to low income persons, heargues this program adopts the LabourForce Attachment Model (or LFA) "thatstresses moving people off welfarequickly through low cost programs andinto jobs which pay near the minimumwage."39 The goal of the program is "toprovide a new labour pool which haslittle option but to work for nearminimum wage and to fill the corporateneed for part time and temporaryworkers."40

Women are the majority of workersemployed at or near the minimumwage.41 Consequently, they have beendisproportionately affected by theBuilding Independence program.Warnock argues that the failure toimplement policies that support the trueindependence of women, such as fulllabour integration and high wages, arerepresentative of the patriarchal beliefsystem that has been operative on thePrairies for decades.42

39 Warnock, supra, at 380.40 Ibid41 QED Information Systems. Minimum WageDatabase. August 2001, page 24. Based onLabour Force Survey data for Saskatchewan in2000. Women comprised 50% of those below theminimum wage, 57% of those at the minimumwage ($5.90) and 64% of those earning justabove the minimum wage (from $6.10 to $6.99).Proportions in Saskatchewan are similar to thosein other provinces.

42 Warnock supra at 206. says: “Traditionalpatriarchal values are deeply entrenched inSaskatchewan. They are particularly strong inour rural areas and small towns. The inequalitiesbetween men and women, and male dominationof the major institutions in our society, continueas a major social problem.”

In 2003, the Province of Saskatchewanintroduced a new set of regulationscalled the Transitional EmploymentAllowance Regulations (TEA).According to the Government, thisprogram does not provide socialassistance.43 It offers temporaryfinancial support to people to enablethem to enter the paid workforce. 44 Thedetails of this program are discussedlater in this paper. In Race to theBottom: Welfare to Work Programmingin Saskatchewan and its Similarities toProgramming in the United States andBritain, Garson Hunter describes theprogram as Saskatchewan's firstsignificant step into workfare.45 Prior tothe TEA, Saskatchewan focused on re-training and employment readinessprograms that were essentially"voluntary." Hunter comments: Social policy in Saskatchewan has takenthe direction of an increasing number ofprograms designed to keep workers inthe labour force under conditions of low-wages, little or no job security, few ifany benefits and short-termemployment.46

43 Garson Hunter "Race to the Bottom: Welfareto Work Programming in Saskatchewan and itsSimilarities to Programming in the United Statesand Britain" in Garson Hunter and DionneMiazdyck, Current Issues Surrounding Povertyand Welfare Programming in Canada: TwoReviews (Regina: Social Policy Research Unit,August 2003) at 14. Hunter criticizes thegovernment’s use of regulations to make majorpolicy changes. Unlike laws which undergopublic debate, regulations are introduced throughCabinet.

44 Ibid45Ibid46Ibid


11

Changing Names, ChangingPolicy Direction On April 1, 2003, the SaskatchewanDepartment of Social Services wasrenamed the Department of CommunityResources and Employment. Accordingto the government, the new nameaccurately reflects the department’smandate to move people from relianceon social assistance to labour marketinvolvement.

The change to the name of the Manitobalaw, the expansion of job readinessprograms in both provinces and thechange of the Saskatchewan departmentname to the Department of CommunityResources and Employment aresuggestive of broader policy changes. Byaltering titles, both provinces havereframed their mandate to emphasizethat social assistance is a stop-gap thatprovides temporary support to personswhile they foster labour marketinvolvement.47

A recent study states that women havedisproportionately borne the burden ofeconomic restructuring and the movetowards non-permanent, part-time work,often in the service sector. Rather thanbeing the beneficiaries of generouswelfare plans, women are in fact“shouldering a disproportionate share ofthe burden of economic restructuring.” 48

Hadley explains: 47 MacKinnon, supra, states that the word "socialallowances" was deliberately eliminated from theManitoba law to "reflect an emphasis on 'work'.(at 2)

48 Karen Hadley, And We Still Ain't Satisfied:Gender Equality in Canada, A Status Report for2001 (Toronto: Centre for Social Justice) at 1.

Corporate globalization and the neo-liberal agenda have led to a dramaticgrowth in part-time and temporary jobs,and women are most likely to beemployed in these jobs. Government cut-backs and privatization have resulted inthe loss of women’s unionized publicsector jobs to the private sector with anaccompanying loss of benefits, pensionsand security. 49

There are clear connections betweenwork and well-being. Few argue againstefforts to foster greater involvement inpaid employment. However, there isequally clear evidence that work in thelow-paying service sector, where manywomen are concentrated, confers few, ifany, of the benefits associated with"going to work." The social policy discourse thatemphasizes ‘building independence’ and‘increasing self-reliance’ is based on anarrow definition that equatesindependence with earned income andproductive activity with paidemployment. The time demands and theuse value of women’s unpaid work inthe home are overlooked, and motherson welfare are made to feel that theircontribution to society is non-existent.

As Hanson et al have shown, mothers onsocial assistance spend long hoursstretching budgets and finding scarceresources, preparing food, findingadequate housing, cleaning, doinglaundry, running errands using publictransportation, caring for children anddealing with their health and behaviouralproblems. Yet this unpaid work ofmothers living in poverty is largelyinvisible to those who make social 49 Ibid at 2.


12

policy. In particular, the increasingtendency to define mothers with youngchildren as “employable” and requirethem to engage in active job searches forpaid employment as a condition ofeligibility for social assistance seems tobe based on the false assumption thatthese women are not working.50

Unlike Manitoba, Saskatchewan has notestablished a minimum age that childrenmust reach before parents are required toreturn to the paid labour market. Thedecision on employability is left to thediscretion of the worker.51

Benefit Levels A disconcerting aspect of socialassistance policy in the Prairies is thefailure to increase benefits to reflect thecosts of living. Assessing benefit levelsis a complex undertaking as the monthlypayments vary depending on theprogram in which the recipient isregistered. However, the NationalCouncil on Welfare has analyzed thetrends in social assistance benefit levelsover time and compared them to changesin the cost of living. Between 1989 and2002, the real purchasing power of asingle employable person’s welfarebenefits dropped by 33.5% in Manitobaand by 10.6% in Saskatchewan. Duringthe same time period, the purchasingpower of welfare benefits for a single

50 Hanson, Hanson and Adams, supra.51 National Council of Welfare, Welfare Incomes2003, Ottawa: Minister of Public Works andGovernment Services Canada, 2004) at 11.

parent with one child dropped by 18% inManitoba and 27% in Saskatchewan.52

Social justice advocates argue thatbenefit levels are less than adequate tocover even minimal living costs. Theargument that social assistance is atemporary support has become a primarymeans of justifying the maintenance ofbenefit levels far below the poverty line.Women on social assistance in bothprovinces have reported difficulties insecuring adequate housing, nutritiousfood, appropriate clothing, medicationsand other basic needs for themselves andtheir children; and they haverecommended increasing benefit levelsto reflect rising costs of food, housingand other necessities. 53

The National Council on Welfare reportsthat the 2003 welfare income for a singleparent with one child was 52% of thepoverty line in Manitoba and 59% of thepoverty line in Saskatchewan. However,for single employable individuals thedepth of poverty was even greater.Welfare income for single employableindividuals was set at 28% of thepoverty line in Manitoba and 36% of thepoverty line in Saskatchewan. 54

52 National Council on Welfare. WelfareIncomes 2002 (Ottawa, National Council ofWelfare, 2003) For further details see Table 1.For a full explanation of what is included inthese figures, see the full report on-line athttp://www.ncwcnbes.net/htmdocument/reportwelfinc02/Welfare2002.htm#_Toc500047789

53 Kerr, Frost and Bignell, supra and Wiebe andKierstead supra.

54 National Council of Welfare. WelfareIncomes 2003 (Ottawa: National Council ofWelfare, 2004) at 28. For more details, see Table2. For an explanation of how these categoriesare defined see the full report on-line at


13

Saskatchewan

Benefit levels in Saskatchewan are set atlevels well below the most widely used,though unofficial, poverty line, theStatistics Canada Low Income Cut-Off(LICO). In 2002, Peter Gilmer of theRegina Anti-Poverty Ministry, urged thegovernment to give a higher priority tosocial welfare spending.55 He stated: The rates have barely increased in 20years while the cost of living has risenby 70 per cent. The adult basicallowance for everything except shelter

http://www.ncwcnbes.net/htmdocument/reportWelfareIncomes2003/WI2003_e.pdf

55 Pamela Cowan, Province Needs to Do More toFight Poverty, Group Hears, Leader Post,October 25, 2002, accessed on Povnet, 17/08/03,http://www.povnet.org/articles/sask_needs_more.htm This finding is refuted by the Fraser Institute. InThe Adequacy of Welfare Benefits in Canada,released in May 1999, it states that incomeassistance levels in Canada are more thanadequate to cover the cost of basic necessities forthe most vulnerable members of society.According to the Institute, the benefits availableto single parents and the disabled exceedminimal needs in every province. The onlygroups whose requirements were not coveredwere single employables. In the Fraser Institute’sview, this is acceptable, for the followingreasons: “The level of benefits available to singleemployable recipients reflects the fact that thesepeople are not expected to collect welfare on along-term basis, and that provincialgovernments, regardless of their political stripe,have chosen to be less generous with groups theyconsider employable.” Even with the earned employment income thatplans allow before benefits are reduced, manysingle employable cannot cover their basic needsexcept in the provinces of Saskatchewan andQuebec, according to the Fraser Institute Report,cited above.

is only $195 per month. This works outto $6.50 a day and the additionalallowance for persons with disabilities isonly $40 per month.56

Persons who are obtaining incomesupplements and job training allowancesfare slightly better than the familiesrelying strictly on assistance.57 Many,however, remain "desperately poor."58

The widely-touted Child Tax Benefitconferred no financial gain to the poorestfamilies, those on social assistance, whosaw their monthly welfare chequesreduced accordingly. Consequently,one of Saskatchewan's central strategiesto reduce the alarmingly high levels ofchild poverty was not directed to thosemost in need.

56 Cowan supra.57Alternate Budget of Choice (ABC) WorkingGroup. Saskatchewan Alternative Budget ofChoice: A Budget for Equity, 2004-2005.(Saskatchewan Office: Canadian Centre forPolicy Alternatives, 2004) at 24. As stated, thispaper's purpose is to comment on generaltendencies while acknowledging the need forcomplex and detailed analysis into the varyingbenefit levels paid under different programs. Tocompare basic assistance benefits with those paidunder the newly established TransitionalEmployment Allowance, brought in 2003, seeGarson Hunter "Race to the Bottom: Welfare toWork Programming in Saskatchewan and itsSimilarities to Programming in the United Statesand Britain" in Garson Hunter and DionneMiazdyck, Current Issues Surrounding Povertyand Welfare Programming in Canada: TwoReviews (Regina: Social Policy Research Unit,August 2003). The amounts for shelter and basicallowances are the same, yet there are otherimportant differences. For example, there are nodiscretionary benefits (damage deposits, etc.)under the TEA. See Appendix, pages 25-29.

58 Ibid


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Manitoba

Advocates in Manitoba express similarconcerns about assistance levels in thatprovince. In Saskatchewan, thepredominant approach was to neglectbenefits, letting them fall throughinflation and increases to the cost ofliving. Welfare reform in Manitoba wasaccomplished by active decreases inbenefits. In 1996, for example, theCanadian Centre for Policy Alternativesreported that the rates for singlerecipients deemed employable wentfrom $458 per month to $411. Forchildless couples, the rates were reducedfrom $774 per month to $692. 59

In January of 2004, basic benefit levelswere increased in Manitoba by $20.00per month. This increase counters someof the losses that occurred over the lastyears. According to Manitoba's GreenParty, the extra allotment is dramaticallyinsufficient for it did not counter theeffects of inflation.60

Consequences of the Failure to RaiseBenefits The failure to raise benefits is a gravepublic policy concern, particularly due toits negative implications for women andchildren.

The Canadian Research Institute for theAdvancement of Women found that low-income women report that limitedfinances, stress and isolation wear them

59 MacKinnon, supra, at 3.60 The Green Party of Manitoba; NDP holdswelfare at 30% below Tories' 1992 levelaccessed on-line:http://www.greenparty.mb.ca/news/news012904

down emotionally and physically.Poverty undermines self-confidence,making it more difficult to be healthyand to provide a positive environmentfor children. The challenges of living inpoverty are numerous. They includefinding work, locating better-paid jobs,and finding adequate housing andsubsidized child care to facilitate workor school involvement. With limitedresources, women must meet thenutritional, clothing and other needs ofchildren and themselves, and getemotional support from others. Many aretrapped in a cycle that opens fewavenues. Low-income women struggleto meet minimal living standards,depleting the resources that could bedirected towards personal change. 61

Providing benefits below poverty levelruns counter to the policy objective offostering work involvement. A recentpublication, Saskatchewan AlternativeBudget of Choice: A Budget for Equityalso calls upon the government to raiseassistance levels. The authors of thedocument state: Maintaining low assistance rates andtightening eligibility is a cruel andillogical way of promoting labour forceattachment. The vast majority of lowincome people want to be productiveregardless of income. Currently, the vastmajority of persons on social assistanceare already productive in partialemployment or activities that are notmonetarily rewarded.62

61 Canadian Research Institute for theAdvancement of Women, Women and Poverty:A Fact Sheet prepared by Marika Morris, March2002 http://www.criaw-icref.ca 62 ABC Working Group, supra.


15

New Messages: Cracking Downon Welfare Fraud and Ending"Dependency"

The Governments of Saskatchewan andManitoba have criminalized povertythrough renewed efforts to crack downon welfare fraud. Researchers haveconfirmed that the very low numbers ofrecipients who engage in fraud often doso because of below poverty levelincomes.63

In The Ugly Canadian: The Rise andFall of a Caring Society, BarbaraMurphy documents changing Canadianvalues and the move away from acompassionate society.64 The increase innegative attitudes towards the poor isevidence of the shift. According toMurphy, public announcementsperpetuate stereotypes about the poor, 63 In Women, Crime and the Canadian CriminalJustice System. (Cincinnati: Anderson, 2000)Walter S. DeKeseredy states at 28-29 that anincrease in property level criminality amongwomen can be attributed to economic policies:

“A growing number of Canadian women areliving in a ‘cold new world. This world ischaracterized by the following major economicchanges: globalization, the rise of the‘contingent’ work force, the North AmericanFree Trade Agreement, transnationalcorporations moving to Third World countries touse cheap labor, the implementation of hightechnology in workplaces, and the shift from amanufacturing economy to a service-basedeconomy.

Thus, it is likely that we will see even morewomen committing, and being arrested for,property offences. An increase in the number ofmen charged for these crimes is also likelybecause many men are also faced with theproblem of trying to make a living in ‘hardereconomy.”

64 Murphy, 1999.

making it easier to introduce socialpolicies that work against low incomeCanadians. In the Provinces of Saskatchewan andManitoba there are few efforts togenerate a more positive view of personson assistance, particularly women.Governments continually use languagearound welfare dependency and the needto encourage workforce involvement. According to anti-poverty activist, JeanSwanson this terminology, whileseemingly "helpful", creates detrimentalimages of low-income Canadians. Shestates: Interestingly, the policies all imply thatlow-income people, not the lack of jobsor decent wages, cause poverty. Freetrade, high tech, and corporaterestructuring are all reducing thenumber of available jobs. But listeningto this social policy newspeak, you'dthink poverty was caused by individualslacking incentive, by dependent people,by the poverty cycle, and by low self-esteem.65

The suggestion that large numbers ofclaims are fraudulent also stigmatizeslow-income people. Emphasizing fraudreinforces the perception that assistancerecipients are indolent and greedy.

Both provinces have made publicpronouncements on their efforts toreduce fraud, sending the message thatsuch practices are rampant anddemanding of a forceful counter, whenin fact, information obtained from the 65 Jean Swanson, Resisting Workfare in EricShragge, ed., Workfare: Ideology for a NewUnder-Class (Toronto: Garamond Press, 1997)149-170 at 152


16

Government of Manitoba website statesthat: "Welfare fraud is extremelyinfrequent, 1-2% at any given time."66

According to criminologist, WalterDeKeseredy, welfare related fraud iscommitted by those surviving on grosslyinadequate incomes. He states: Women who defraud the government doso because they and their childrencannot afford to live on minimal welfarepayments or wages accumulated from“pink collar ghetto” work (e.g. workingas a store clerk). 67

While dishonest acts are rare, theSaskatchewan government announcedthe adoption of stringent"accountability" measures in 1998,including authorizing the police toinvestigate cases of suspected welfarefraud. 68

The Province of Manitoba also enactedpolicies directed towards strictcompliance with welfare rules. These 66 Winnipeg Youth Town Hall Meeting withMinisters, February 21, 2003;http://www.edu.gov.mb.ca/youth/Initiatives/Honourable_Becky_Barrett.html

67 Walter S. DeKeseredy, Women, Crime andthe Canadian Criminal Justice System.(Cincinnati: Anderson, 2000) at 27.

68 News Release, Social Services – 303, SocialServices Further Enhances AccountabilityMeasures; April 30, 1998. In April 1998, theProvince of Saskatchewan announced that it hadstrengthened its “accountability measures”relating to social assistance. The central elementsof its strategy were the creation of 30 positionsdedicated to verifying the information providedby assistance recipients The change signalledthat the investigation and prosecution of cases ofwelfare fraud would be handled by the criminaljustice system where stricter penalties includingjail time became a possibility. This option,however, was always available in cases of fraud.

included the introduction of a telephoneline for reporting fraud, the creation of awelfare abuse investigation unit and theintroduction of a verification processthat matches client information withUnemployment Insurance, VitalStatistics and Revenue Canada.69 Thefraud line was discontinued when theNew Democratic Party was elected tothe government in 1999, as part of amove to promote the independence anddignity of assistance recipients.

The study Walking on Eggshells70 pointsto the sad and ironic outcomes of theattention given to welfare fraud incontemporary assistance systems. Whilethe study was conducted in Ontario, itoutlines the potential ramifications ofwelfare fraud policies for women acrossthe country. The study documents theways that abusive men are able toexploit the welfare system's pronouncedhostility towards clients, particularlywomen. Men used the welfare fraud linein Ontario to report manufacturedviolations, resulting in a withdrawal ofbenefits while the situation wasinvestigated. They also falsely reportedon "spousal relationships", insisting thatwomen were not eligible for benefits dueto the presence of a new partner. Thestudy demonstrated that the welfaresystem enhances the power of violentmen over women because it offersanother way for men to leverage control. 69 Manitoba Government News Release, Aug 09,1995, “Manitoba, Alberta agree to share welfareinformation.”

70 Janet Mosher, et al. 2004. Walking onEggshells: Abused Women's Experiences ofOntario's Welfare System: Final Report ofResearch Findings from the Woman and AbuseWelfare Research Project accessed on-linehttp://www.dawn.thot.net/walking-on-eggshells.htm


17

This picture of abused women'sexperiences on welfare stands in sharpcontrast to the state's promise of zerotolerance of domestic violence sofrequently trumpeted in the criminaljustice context. The 'deserving'recipients of criminal justice protection(and we hasten to add that thisprotection does not always materializein practice) are, as our report details,recast within the welfare regime asundeserving and untrustworthy. In thewelfare context abused women aresubjected to another zero tolerancepolicy -- zero tolerance of welfare fraudregime -- a regime abusive men readilyexploit.71

Where a conviction is obtained on asocial assistance related fraud charge,the defendant’s basic needs must beprovided for. The case of KimberlyRogers in Ontario illustrates the need forcompassionate responses to criminalbehavior. Found guilty of fraud, she wascut off all social support with noalternative means of economic survival.Rogers died tragically while awaiting anappeal.72 A coroner’s jury investigatingher death recommended the abolishmentof life- time bans on social assistancereceipt for persons similarly convicted.While the Rogers case is particularlyharsh, others have also been subject tosimilar treatment.73 The state andsociety must ensure that penalties forcriminal fraud do not result in theprofound destitution experienced bymany.

71 Ibid page 7.72 As cited in Gilmour and Martin 2001.73 The author of this study is aware of similarcases in Saskatchewan.

Reducing Caseloads

Governments in Saskatchewan andManitoba commonly cite reductions inthe numbers of persons receivingassistance as evidence of the success oftheir policy reforms. Since theimplementations of the reforms, thenumbers of people receiving assistancein Manitoba has declined by 22 percentoutside of Winnipeg and by nearly 30percent in Winnipeg.74

On June 14, 2004, the SaskatchewanDepartment of Community Resourcesand Employment issued a news releaseentitled "Province's BuildingIndependence Initiative ProvingSuccessful." It highlighted the fact that41 per cent fewer families relied onassistance due to the implementation ofthe program in 1997.75

In their announcements, governmentsimply that caseload changes can beattributed to the move from assistance towork. Anti-poverty activists, on theother hand, point to an increasedwillingness of governments to denyassistance benefits. According to KimPate, Executive Director of the CanadianAssociation of Elizabeth Fry Societies,increased imprisonment andhomelessness among women may 74 Tom Janzen, Tom Carter and Brian McGregor,A New Face on Poverty: Social Assistance inWinnipeg’s Inner City, 3 Canada Research Chairin Urban Change and Adaptation, ResearchHighlight, February 2004 at 2accessed on-linehttp://ius.uwinnipeg.ca/CRC/crc_publications_RH3.pdf

75 Saskatchewan Community Resources andEmployment #04-359;http://www.gov.sk.ca/newsrel/releases/2004/06/14-359.html


18

account for the reductions in assistancecaseloads. She states:

In the Prairie Region most of the womenin prison are Aboriginal, contributing toa situation where they represent themajority of the women's jail population.We know the increasing numbers ofwomen in prison is clearly linked to theevisceration of health, education andsocial services. We also know that thecycle intensifies in times of economicdownturn. It is very clear where we aresending the people who are experiencingthe worst in the downturn in theeconomy and social trends. Jails are ourmost comprehensive homelessnessinitiative.76

Pate goes on to point out that the lack ofeconomic parity puts women at risk ofturning to prostitution, substance abuse,and criminal behaviours to cope.

Notably, Manitoba’s plan emphasizes“self reliance” and stringent eligibilitydeterminations. Official pronouncementsdescribe the Employment and Assistanceprogram as a “last resort” for personswho are unable to meet their basic needs.To qualify for benefits, applicants mustbe unable to meet essential requirementsrelated to food, clothing, housing andpersonal needs. The central objective ofthe program is assisting people find orreturn to paid work.77 Those who areconsidered exempt are single parents 76 Kim Pate, Prisons: The Latest Solution toHomelessness, Poverty and Mental Illness.WomenSpeak Series – Calgary – September 18,2003; http://www.elizabethfry.ca/confernc/prison/1.htm

77 Manitoba Family Services and Housing,Employment and Income Assistance Programhttp://www.gov.mb.ca/fs/org/eih/eia_programs.html

with a child less than six years old,persons with a chronic mental orphysical illness or disability, and personshoused in emergency shelters.

For persons not in those categories,forming and working to implementpersonal employment goals areconditions of continued social assistanceeligibility. The employment stipulationmay be rescinded temporarily for “healthor personal issues such as familyviolence or children with special needs”.All other recipients are required tofollow a Personal Action Plan, whichoutlines employment activities andgoals. Penalties are imposed for thosewho do not adhere to the work relatedexpectations.78

As noted earlier, assistance policychanges in Saskatchewan encouraged re-training and job readiness amongemployable recipients. The reforms alsofocused on the elimination of the"welfare wall", the removal of thelimited financial advantages ofassistance benefits over work. In 2003,however, the Province enacted theTransitional Employment AllowanceRegulations thereby dramaticallyshifting assistance policy. In "Race tothe Bottom: Welfare to WorkProgramming in Saskatchewan and its 78Government of Manitoba, The Employmentand Income Assistance Administration ManualSection 6.7.3. According to the manual,participants who do not follow their Plan mayhave their budget reduced by $50 per month,followed by a further $50 reduction after sixmonths ($100 maximum). Single generalassistance participants may have their incomeassistance terminated. Benefits are re-instatedwhen the participant resumes an employmentenhancement measure or accepts employment.Accessed on-linehttp://www.gov.mb.ca/fs/eiamanual


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Similarities to Programming in theUnited States and Britain", GarsonHunter provides an overview of theprogram.79

According to Hunter, eligibility underthe TEA is not strictly determined byneed. Benefits are granted to persons inneed if they participate in employmentreadiness programs or demonstrate a"reasonable expectation of becomingself-sufficient in a short period oftime."80 Persons receiving benefits underthe TEA must file a report every monthreporting on changes in their family unit,involvement in employment readinessprograms, income, place of residence,mailing address, utility andaccommodation payments. The TEAdoes not allow an exemption for earnedincome, even though the benefit amountsare exactly equal to those granted underthe Saskatchewan Assistance Plan. 81 Itdoes not allow for the payment ofdiscretionary benefits, such as damagedeposits, educational expenses forchildren and others.82 It does allow anemployment allowance to a maximum of$140 per month.83

Clients under TEA plan may beterminated if they are deemed ineligible,if they do not file a monthly report, ifthey do not attend the programs. Inaddition, the right to appeal is curtailed

79 Hunter, supra, at 13-14.80 Supra, Appendix under heading "Eligibility."

81 Hunter, supra, Appendix, see row titled"Benefit Amount", page 26 and row titled"Income", page 27.

82 Ibid see row titled "Other", on page 27.83 Ibid see row titled, "Employment Allowances."

under the TEA.84 Decisions to denyapplications, increase allowances, cancelallowances and require returns ofoverpayments are allowed. Fees foradvocates are not covered and no interimassistance is available pending theappeal process. Hunter notes, "Theprogram is designed to pressure andmaintain a low-wage labour force, anddiscipline the remainder of the labourforce who face tenuous employmentsituations."85

While the government lauds theinclusion of work incentives and workexpectations, the Canadian Centre onPolicy Alternatives categorizes them as“workfare” because they impose anobligation to work in exchange forwelfare benefits.86 According to theCentre, workfare does little to alleviatepoverty. Workfare participants areusually unable to locate employment thatis long lasting or that pays a living wage.Consequently, most return to publiclyfunded income security plans.87 Inaddition, workfare programs are costlyto administer and to run. The one areathat they have proven effective is inhumiliating and stigmatizing the personsinvolved.

Manitoba policies assume thatemployment provides an alternative toliving in poverty. Emphasizing thelabour market as the path to self-sufficiency and independence isproblematic. For the working poor,

84 Ibid see row titled "Termination," on page 29.See row titled "Appeals" on page 28.

85 Ibid at 14.86 MacKinnon, supra at 3.87 CCPA – MB, Fast Facts, Workfare Doesn’tWork, September 16, 1999, at 1


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employment is not the road to a worryfree existence, although it may decreaseabsolute reliance on public funds forincome security. Questioning the valueof Manitoba reforms, ShaunaMacKinnon states:

The problem isn’t the people on welfare.The problem goes far beyond the numberof welfare cases. Welfare dependencyand poverty is a function of highunemployment and inadequateredistribution of wealth. This needs to beat the forefront of any discussion thatattempts to propose welfare reformmeasures.88

Emphasizing Women'sDependency on Male Partners

Governments describe contemporaryassistance policies in Saskatchewan andManitoba as promoting independenceand self-sufficiency. Ironically,provisions that contain vestiges of theview that women are or should bedependent on men, exist in current lawsand directives.

Spouse in the House Rules Provincial assistance plans are incometested, meaning that recipients must haveincome and assets under a certain levelbefore they are eligible. Eligibility isdetermined in reference to individualand/or family financial resources. For women the determination of when afamily unit is established is contentious,for they are subject to the presumptionthat economic dependency on men is thenatural order of their lives. It also 88MacKinnon, supra, at 17.

presumes that women have equal accessto the household income. If a recipientand a person who earns an incomecohabit, the relationship is subject toscrutiny by departmental staff todetermine whether it disqualifies thewoman for social assistance eligibility. In Saskatchewan, adults who residetogether for a period of three monthsmay be considered “economicallyinterdependent” if certain criteria aresatisfied. In Saskatchewan, the SocialAssistance Program Policy Manualoutlines criteria for determining whetheran undisclosed live-in relationship wouldaffect a woman’s eligibility for incomeassistance. These include: the length ofcohabitation, sharing a phone number,names on utility bills or insurancepolicies, income tax records, children’sbirth parents, common surnames, etc.89

The policy manual outlines the factorsthat cumulatively determine whether the“couple” is financially intertwined. Thefactors relate to how the details of dailyliving are determined and arranged. Ifresources and responsibilities are shared,the assumption is one of mutual reliance. In Manitoba, assistance benefits may beterminated if a “common law”relationship is deemed to exist.90 Thedetermining criteria are: financialinterdependence, family interdependenceand shared residency. Evidence of two

89 Saskatchewan Social Assistance ProgramPolicy Manual, (Regina: SaskatchewanCommunity Resources and Employment,September 2003)http://www.dcre.gov.sk.ca/publications/pdfs/sapmanual.pdf90 Manitoba Family Services and Housing,Employment and Income AssistanceAdministrative Manual, s. 8.1.4, on-linehttp://www.gov.mb.ca/fs/eiamanual/index.html


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of these three factors must be present inorder to establish a common-law union.In the policy manual financialinterdependence is described as the mostimportant.91

Women’s groups have continuallyargued that these provisions constitutegender-based discrimination. Women aredisproportionately affected by the“spouse in the house” rules. The rulesare based on the assumption thatwomen’s relationships must be carefullyscrutinized to determine whether theyreflect the “natural” patterns ofeconomic dependency. Spouse Out of the House – ChildMaintenance Orders

Both Saskatchewan and Manitobarequire single parent applicants to pursuea support order from a former partner asa term of eligibility. In Manitoba,recipients are obliged to pursue amaintenance order on the recipient’sown behalf or on behalf of dependentchildren.92 Saskatchewan stipulates a

91 Ibid

92 Section 9(2) states: An applicant or recipient and the applicant’s orrecipient’s spouse or common-law partner shallmake all reasonable efforts on behalf of himselfor herself and any dependants to obtain themaximum amount of compensation, benefits orcontribution to support and maintenance thatmay be available under another Act or program. http://www.gov.mb.ca/fs/programs/eia/policymanual/tablec.html Employment and Income Assistance Regulation;Manitoba Regulation 404/88 R; Filed October11, 1988; accessed on-line http://www.gov.mb.ca/fs/programs/eia/policymanual/2.html#r9s2

similar requirement.93 Because womenpredominate among single parentfamilies on the Prairies, it is women whomust fulfil the requirement to pursuechild maintenance orders. Some lowincome women report feeling pressuredto pursue a support order from a formerpartner. Failure to pursue an order canlimit eligibility or lead to thewithholding of funds.94

According to feminist researchers, thisapproach works to further “privatize”women’s poverty. It attributes theproblem to “dead beat” dads rather thanthe social and economic policies thatoften limit women’s ability to earn a“breadwinner” wage. Although formerpartners must be considered for supportfor dependent children, a policyapproach that seeks to shift women’s“dependency” from social assistanceplans to former partners, who maythemselves be poor, violent or unsafeparents, is limited in its capacity toimprove women’s lives.95 This point wasmade very strongly in the recent studyWalking on Eggshells.96 The women

93 Saskatchewan Department of CommunityResources and Employment, Social AssistanceProgram Policy Manual, Chapter 3, Paragraph F;accessed on-line.

94 Clients at Regina Anti-Poverty Ministry reportreceiving a form letter with the following insert: It is important that Social Assistance clientsmake use of all other resources they haveavailable and that is why it is required that theypursue child support if their circumstances leadto this option. When clients don’t follow throughwith expectations their benefits can be held Letter to anonymous client from SaskatchewanSocial Services. Details withheld on request. 95 In Saskatchewan, recipients are exempt frompursuing maintenance order where there is thepotential for abuse. 96 Mosher, et al. supra.


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interviewed in the study revealed thatthey were subject to pressure fromworkers to pursue child support orders.All the women in the study weresurvivors of violent relationships. The Welfare "Chill" andDisenfranchisement

One of the more serious consequences ofthe contemporary welfare "chill"described in this paper is that itdisenfranchises recipients in the politicalarena. In Workfare States, James Peekstates that the creation of a hostileclimate is an intended consequence ofmodern income assistance policy.97 Byrestricting eligibility, deeplyimpoverishing recipients, perpetuatingstereotypes about dependency and fraudand increased monitoring, the stateproduces a "chilly" climate thatdiscourages people from applying forbenefits. It also lowers the expectationsof persons who are on benefits bysending this message that assistance is aprivilege, granted grudgingly, rather thana right. For women, the implications areparticularly problematic for itundermines their rights as citizens.

In the paper, The Collective AdvocacyFunction of Voluntary SectorOrganizations, Gloria DeSantis linkspolicy advocacy to individual andcommunity well-being.98 She states that

97 Peek supra.98 Gloria DeSantis, The Collective AdvocacyFunction of Voluntary Sector Organizations inSocial Policy Processes: Exploring Links withPopulation Health, Regina, Saskatchewan, April2004, unpublished manuscript.

involvement in democratic processes hasseveral health outcomes, including:

• greater empowerment and sense ofcontrol over one’s life;

• new and/or stronger socialnetworks among people incommunities;

• participation and sense ofbelonging to a community;

• individual learning.99

DeSantis argues that the collectiveadvocacy process is hierarchical, withsome groups and not others perceived asdeserving of the ear of officials andinfluential policy makers. In her view,social assistance recipients are now atthe bottom of the ladder of deservedness.From the perspective of women's health,the removal of assistance recipients fromthe sphere of political legitimacy isdisturbing. DeSantis points out thatadvocacy may result in:

...changes in government policy which inturn delivers what community residentsneeded has a positive impact on theirhealth status (e.g., an increase in incomeassistance rates for people living onwelfare, a new program to supporthealthy development of adolescents withdisabilities).100

Silencing recipients ensures that animportant door to increased well-being isessentially closed. This may beaccomplished through the perpetuationof negative stereotypes. However, it isalso probably a by-product of theincreased targeting found in assistancepolicies and in the growing emphasis onwork. The demands of low wage,unpredictable employment coupled with 99 Ibid100 Ibid


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child care leave women with little timeto devote to community or evenindividual advocacy. DeSantis andothers suggest that governments havebeen successful in politicizing socialassistance as an issue while de-politicizing assistance recipients. Forwomen, this is a particular concernbecause advocacy work often providedthem with opportunities for skill-building, a sense of authority and,perhaps most importantly, with a voicein the community. 101 Their involvementled to the creation of safer homes andneighborhoods, meaning that theiractivism benefited many besidethemselves.

SUMMARY: The Retreat fromCAP Standards and Principles

A troubling aspect of the socialassistance reforms in Saskatchewan andManitoba is the retreat from theprogressive standards intended in theCAP legislation. Some praiseworthyrequirements in CAP were:

granting assistance to every personin need, without reference to thecause of need,102

determining social assistancebenefits by a person's basicrequirements,103

101 Nancy A. Naples, Grassroots Warriors:Activist Mothering, Community Work and theWar on Poverty (New York: Routledge, 1998)

102 Canada Assistance Plan, 1985, Chapter C-1,s. 6(2)(a), [Repealed, 1995, c. 17, s. 32]

103 Ibid s. 6 (2)(b)

refraining from demanding work inexchange for the receipt of benefits104

The introduction of the CHST allowedthe provinces to abandon CAP'sstandards.105

This paper demonstrates that socialassistance reform in Saskatchewan andManitoba introduced restrictions oneligibility, reductions in benefits and theimplementation of workfare and trainingrequirements.106 Moving in thisdirection was not mandatory - the CHSTwas touted as a tool for achievingprovincial autonomy and regionalvariation.

It is particularly disconcerting that thesocial democratic governments that havegoverned in the Prairie provinces for allor much of the last decade implementedmany of these reforms.107 In Saskat-chewan, the New Democratic Party hasbeen in office since November 1991.Manitoba has had an NDP governmentsince 1999 when Gary Doer, a former

104 Ibid S.15 (3)(a) required that a province:"Provide social assistance in the province wherethe recipient lived, regardless of whether therecipient originated from that province”.

105 Adherence to CAP standards was achievedthrough the imposition of financial penalties.With a few exceptions, the provinces compliedwith the CAP requirements.

106 This argument will be further supported in thediscussion in the next section.

107 In Saskatchewan: The Roots of Discontentand Protest, John W. Warnock provides a strongcritique of the social policies of the current NewDemocratic government. He argues that those ofthe Progressive Conservative government inpower before 1991 inspire them. (Montrẻal:Black Rose Books, 2004) See in particular,Chapter 12: Social Democracy on the Prairies.


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union leader, was elected Premier.108

Doer refused to implement some of themore regressive policies of the previousProgressive Conservative government.For example, he did not implementregulations that would have forcedsingle mothers on assistance withchildren under six to "volunteer" as acondition of entitlement.109

108 Government of Manitoba, Biography ofPremier Gary Doer;http://www.gov.mb.ca/minister/premier.html

109 On a positive note, the Government ofManitoba has maintained the Manitoba Women'sDirectorate as part of its central structure, butthere is no longer a Women's Health Unit inManitoba Health. The Saskatchewan Women'sSecretariat was abolished in 2002. A muchsmaller unit replaced it, housed within theDepartment of Labour. This and the decimationof an organized women's movement has leftSaskatchewan women without a strong voice ingovernment to shape public policy. The PrairieWomen's Health Centre of Excellence works tofill this role by funding research projects thatadvise on the policies required for women'shealth.


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SECTION 2.

GENDER, SOCIAL ASSISTANCE POLICIES AND WOMEN’S HEALTH

The authors of the study Walking on EggShells identify the pressing need forgender sensitivity in the creation andimplementation of social assistancepolicies. The women they interviewedreport on the challenges that result fromthe competing policy objectives in thecurrent law. Women are still held to theirresponsibilities as homemakers and childcare providers, due to the absence ofuniversal child care or other supportsthat might assist their roles. On the otherhand, they are now subject to workexpectations that often ask that theyforego their mothering responsibilities,at least during work hours, to fulfil thepolicy goals of fostering "good workers"and "responsible citizens." The womenreported confusion in making sense ofthe competing directives. They rightlyassessed the shallowness of publicsupports, including retraining andworkfare programs. Many returned toabusive relationship, finding it was thebest choice "in a social context ofhorrendously constrained options." 110

In a submission to the United Nations,the Canadian Feminist Alliance forInternational Action [FAFIA]commented on the “particularly harshimpact on Canadian women of therestructuring and cutback of federal andprovincial programs.” 111 They citemany damaging implications including:

110 Mosher et al. supra at 92.

111 Canadian Feminist Alliance for InternationalAction supra, Paragraph 75 at 21.

• increases in women’s unpaidresponsibilities;

• decreases in full-time, secure jobs;• jeopardized personal safety;• the increased under-servicing of

women with disabilities;• cut-backs in relation to social

assistance benefits,• the stigmatization of poor mothers. FAFIA’s findings listed abovedemonstrate the failure of social welfarepolicies, both past and present, to ensurethat women were and are provided witha living wage. Instead of designing policies that willaddress and reverse the entrenchedpatterns of poverty and economicinequality for women, federal andprovincial governments have adopted aneo-liberal economic agenda thatdeepens women[‘s] social and economicdisadvantage. In this period,governments have cut social programsand services, cut women’s “good” jobs,diminished social assistance benefits,and tightened eligibility rules for socialassistance and unemployment insurance.For women, who are the majority of thepoor, the majority of social assistancerecipients, and major users of socialprograms and social services, the impactof this diminished commitment to socialdevelopment and economic fairness hasbeen harsh. 112

112 Ibid at 8.


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Clearly, the consequences for women ofsocial assistance policy reform havebeen grave. Notably, they haveaccomplished little in the way ofaddressing the concerns of women'sgroups and anti-poverty activists. Oneoverriding concern is the furtherentrenchment of women's poverty overthe last decades of reform.

Linking Poverty And Health Poverty is identified as the mostinfluential factor in regard to healthstatus.113 It is well documented thatgender is a central determinant ofpoverty.114 Because women comprisethe majority of the world’s poor, theconnections between poverty and healthare of great concern to women’s healthadvocates. A recent Canadian reportdescribes women’s incomes as“astonishingly low” for over half ofwomen had incomes from zero toapproximately $14,000 in 1998.115

113 See for example: Dennis Raphael, “FromIncreasing Poverty to Societal Disintegration:The Effects of Economic Inequality on theHealth of Individuals and Communities” in PatArmstrong, Hugh Armstrong and David Coburn,Unhealthy Times: Political EconomyPerspectives on Health and Care in Canada(Don Mills, Oxford University Press, 2001) at223- 241. 114 More than 1 billion people in the worldtoday, the great majority of whom are women,live in unacceptable conditions of poverty,mostly in the developing countries. FWCWPlatform for Action Women and Poverty,http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/beijing/platform/poverty.htm accessed April 21, 2003.Social class and race also play definitive roles indetermining low income. 115 Hadley 2001. page viii.

At the provincial level, the statistics arecomparable. In the report, Women,Income and Health in Manitoba: AnOverview and Ideas for Action, LissaDonner states that Manitoba’s povertyrate is the third highest among theCanadian provinces, and for women,Donner found that “the picture worsens:19.9% of Manitoba women aged 18 andover were poor in 1999.”116 Thedisparity between men’s and women’sincomes was marked. In 1999, poorwomen in Manitoba outnumbered poormen by 29,000.117 Donner’s researchconfirms that certain women wereparticularly likely to encounter poverty -these are senior women, women withdisabilities, Aboriginal women andvisible minority women.118

In Saskatchewan, the research revealssimilar trends. In 1998, women whowere employed on a full-time, full-yearbasis earned 77% of what men whoworked under similar conditionsearned.119 The average income ofwomen was 66% of the average incomefor men. In 1999, 30% of lone parentfamilies headed by women lived underthe poverty line. In families with twoparents, 6.5% of children lived below thepoverty line compared to 29% ofchildren living in lone parent familiesheaded by women.120

In recent years, the researchdocumenting the health effects that low 116 Donner supra at 1. 117 Donner supra. 118 For more details see Donner, supra. 119 Women’s Secretariat page 11-12 120 Ibid


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income exerts on poor women hasbroadened. This research tells us thatpoverty significantly curtails women'squality of life. According to theCanadian Research Institute for theAdvancement of Women (CRIAW): The health problems associated withwomen’s poverty are many-fold. Theyinclude acute and chronic ill health,susceptibility to infectious and otherdiseases, increased risk of heart disease,arthritis, stomach ulcers, migraines,clinical depression, stress, breakdown,vulnerability to mental illness and self-destructive coping behaviours. 121

Dennis Raphael argues that the lowerhealth of low-income persons isattributable to the lack of control andsense of hopelessness that theyexperience.122 These include high levelsof stress, which lead to reliance onunhealthy stress reduction strategies likesmoking, sweets consumption, andsubstance abuse. According to Raphael,“Such stress models may go a long wayto explaining the socio-economicstatus/illness relationship…”123 The pooralso experience greater social isolationand have more limited access to socialsupports. Because social supports arealso a determinant of health, the absenceof these networks in the lives of low-income people has implications for theirwell-being.124 Raphael has not done a

121 Marika Morris, Women and Poverty: A FactSheet (Canadian Research Institute for theAdvancement of Women, March 2002 ) accessedon-line: http://www.criaw-icref.ca/Poverty_fact_sheet.htm

122 Raphael supra at 238. 123 Ibid

124 Ibid

gender analysis and it would be valuableto know how these effects differ and arethe same for women and for men. Anti-poverty advocates argued againstthe welfare reforms in Manitoba, arguingthat the civil rights of recipients wouldsuffer by eroding benefits, limitingeligibility and promoting employment.125

The deleterious health implications werea central reason for their opposition tothe new law. In their brief to theStanding Committee, they state:

Vulnerable individuals, families andchildren who must depend on socialassistance are already at risk of poorhealth, poor educational outcomes,limited vocational success, and a rangeof social problems because of thepoverty in which they live. This risk hasbeen increased by the actions of thisgovernment in decreasing benefits.Similarly, we are concerned that theincreased discretion that is proposedwill add to the uncertainty and stressexperienced by recipients and will leadto unfair treatment for those who aremost vulnerable. Starvation, poorhousing, inadequate clothing and lack ofaccess to day care do not provide thebasis for obtaining employment andeducation, they erode it.126

125 Social Planning Council of Winnipeg andFaculty of Social Work University of ManitobaJoint Submission to The Standing Committee onLaw Amendments 2nd Session, 36th Legislature,Manitoba, 45 Elizabeth II, 1996, ReceivingSubmissions on Bill 36, The Social AllowancesAmendment and Consequential AmendmentsAct, October 10, 1996; accessed on-line,http://www.spcw.mb.ca/reference/doc_bill36.pdfat 1. 126 Ibid


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Prairie Women’s Health Centre ofExcellence has supported a number ofstudies and reports that demonstrate thelinks between women’s deprivation andtheir health. Five reports supported byPWHCE and two other reports arereviewed and their findings andrecommendations for policy change areconsolidated in Exploring theIntersections Between Women’s Healthand Poverty by Josephine Savarese.127

Savarese points out that despite thesupposed use of a population healthmodel in Canada, and gender identifiedas a determinant of health, women andgender differences are not trulyacknowledged, nor accommodated ingovernment policies and that theinteraction of poverty with gender isneither understood nor incorporated ingovernment services structures. Theevidence base used for policydevelopment, implementation orreview, has not demonstrably takenwomen and gender into account.

This point is further supported by twoqualitative explorations of women’sexperiences on social assistance, in eachof Saskatchewan and Manitoba releasedby the Prairie Women’s Health Centre in2004.128 The women and serviceproviders give interviewed first-hand

127 Josephine Savarese, Exploring theIntersections Between Women’s Health andPoverty. (Winnipeg: Prairie Women’s HealthCentre of Excellence, 2003)

128 Rhonda Wiebe and Paula Kierstead. Survivingon Hope is Not Enough: Women’s HealthPoverty, Justice and Income Support inManitoba. (Winnipeg: Prairie Women’s HealthCentre of Excellence, 2004) and Mildred Kerr,Debbie Frost and Diane Bignell. Don’t We CountAs People? Saskatchewan Social Welfare Policyand Women’s Health (Winnipeg: PrairieWomen’s Health Centre of Excellence, 2004).

experience of women’s desperateencounters with an often hostile system,and the effects they see in their health.129

Wiebe and Kierstead, and Kerr, Frostand Bignell found direct links betweenwomen’s impoverishment and theirphysical and mental health. Women onsocial assistance frequently must choosebetween a safe place to stay and food fortheir children and themselves. Theylacked information on their rights undersocial assistance regulations and oftenfelt unable to challenge decisions madefor them.130

Walking on Eggshells: Abused Women'sExperiences of Ontario's Welfare Systemis a new Canadian study which presentsimportant findings on the connectionsbetween social assistance policies andwomen's health. The findings show thatwomen who turn to social assistanceafter leaving abusive relationships findlimited support and little refuge. In fact,they describe their encounters with thewelfare system are undermining and dis-empowering. Welfare fails to covertheir basic needs, meaning that they (andtheir children) often go with limitedfood, shelter and clothing.131

129 See also The Research Committee of TheWomen's Addiction Foundation, Shining a Lighton Treatment Issues Women Face: A Profile ofWomen Participating in the Aurora HouseProgram, 1985-1995 for another example ofimpoverished women’s health experiences;accessed on-linehttp://www.womenfdn.org/Resources/3Shining.html

130 See also Women Need Safe AffordableHousing by Molly McCracken and Gail Watson.Prairie Women’s Health Centre of Excellenceand Women’s Health Clinic 2004.

131 Mosher et al. 2004


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The women described the system inprofoundly negative terms. Workerswere found to lack candor in terms ofentitlements, exemptions and exceptions.

Consequently, the women interviewedwere without a steward to guide themthrough the complexities of the systemand sometimes felt misled. In fact, thetreatment they received was almostalways undermining and humiliating.The practices of the system paralleledand complemented that abusivetreatment the women received in therelationships they were fleeing.Consequently, many returned to violentsituations, believing that this was theirbest option.

Due to these findings, authors conclude:

What is needed most urgently and mostprofoundly is a fundamental paradigmshift; a shift from viewing poverty as thefailing of individuals, and those who arepoor as lazy, unmotivated and deceptive.To the extent that the welfare system inOntario continues to operate from sucha paradigm, there is really little hopethat it will offer meaningful support tofacilitate women's safe exit from abusiverelationships. Women will continue tobe subjected to demeaning, humiliatingtreatment; will be constantly regardedwith suspicion; and will be subject to thecontrol and discipline of the state.Women will continue to return toabusive relationships, women will not besafe, and women will not be equalcitizens.132

The population health model,purportedly the basis of Canada’s healthcare systems, provides a theoretical basis

132 Ibid

for action on low income. Despite thebody of evidence connecting gender,poverty and health, the social policyresponse has been inconsistent.Ironically, the population health modelbecame the policy fashion during aperiod when income inequality deepenedand when governments, includingSaskatchewan and Manitoba weakenedrather than enhanced the social safetynet.

Furthermore, the provinces have notadequately ensured that incomeassistance policies and programssufficiently promote gender inclusivityand equality.


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SECTION 3.

CHANGES FOR REAL REFORM

The recommendations below arisedirectly from this work, but have beenraised time and again by otherresearchers and policy analysts whorecognize the need for new directions insocial policy reform. Income assistancepolicies need to be redesigned topromote health and social justice, notsimply reduce welfare caseloads.Governments in Canada mustacknowledge that citizens continue tovalue a reliable social safety net that willprovide sufficient income for those whocannot provide for themselves. Ensuringcitizens’ rights to a basic income couldalso provide greater economic securityfor those who take on important unpaidroles and responsibilities in our society,raising children or providing care tothose who are sick or disabled.

Income assistance policies and access toadvocacy services are inextricably linkedto human rights, social justice andhealth. Yet despite ample evidence oftheir importance, those factors outside of“health care” which are vital to goodhealth largely remain separated fromhealth in the policy realm. Currentrhetoric about the need for“interdigitization” of departments,“horizontality”, and “multi-sectoral”solutions has not yet demonstrated anyreal shift in the established paradigm.Governments must recognize that, whileinvestments in health care are important,social investments that reduce povertyare essential to population health.

This report outlined the changes thathave occurred in social assistance

policies in Saskatchewan and Manitobaover the last decade. It documented thehardship that women experience whenthey have insufficient income to meettheir own and their family needs. Itillustrated the deepened poverty ofpeople reliant on income assistance, thestigmatizing climate of ideas thatperpetuate negative images of welfarerecipients and the difficulties womenface in asserting their rights orchallenging decisions that affect theirincome security. The gender-basedanalysis in this paper has examined someof the costs women bear and illustratedthe need for substantial revision to theexisting regulations and policies.

1. Adhere to international laws andcovenants to protect women’shuman rights and reducewomen’s poverty.

Canada is a signatory to internationaldeclarations and covenants, such as theUniversal Declaration of Human Rights,International Covenant on Economic,Social and Cultural Rights, and theConvention on the Elimination of AllForms of Discrimination Against Women(CEDAW), that address the basic humanrights and entitlements of all persons.133

133 A “treaty” or “convention” is like a contractamong a group of states and is legally bindingunder international law. “States Parties” are thecountry members of the UN, like Canada, thathave ratified CEDAW. By ratifying thisconvention, Canada promised to comply with itsterms and agreed to be held internationallyaccountable for compliance. M. McPhedran withR. Sutherns 2004. Policy Recommendations in


31

These include the right to an adequatestandard of living including food,clothing, shelter, as well as health andeducation.

Canada is also a signatory to the BeijingPlatform for Action which requires thatstate programs “address the needs ofwomen throughout their lives and takeinto account their multiple roles andresponsibilities, the demands on theirtime, the special needs of rural womenand women with disabilities and thediversity of women’s needs arising fromage and socio-economic and culturaldifferences, among others.”134

The provinces of Saskatchewan andManitoba should take the lead inensuring that social assistance policiesare consistent with the human rightsstandards in these agreements.

2. Adhere to national commitmentsto conduct Gender BasedAnalyses of all policies andprograms.

In 1995 the Government of Canadaissued the Framework for GenderEquality, which includes stipulations fordepartments to conduct gender basedanalysis on all new policies andprograms. Although a few departmentshave pursued the standards, enforcementhas been sporadic and provincial

Rural, Remote and Northern Women’s Health:Policy and Research Directions. Centres ofExcellence for Women’s Health.

134 Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action,Fourth World Conference on Women, 15September 1995. A/CONF 177/20 (1995)

governments have demonstrated littledesire to follow suit.135

While both men and women are affectedby income assistance policies, they maybe affected in different ways. Genderhas an influence on parentingresponsibilities, access to training andemployment opportunities, and exposureto violence. All these things need to betaken into account when designingpolicies and regulations that affectwomen’s access to income assistance.Governments need to conduct genderbased analyses of various incomesecurity policy alternatives in order toachieve equitable outcomes for womenand men.

3. Increase the benefit levels ofsocial assistance payments.

Social assistance benefits in Manitobaand Saskatchewan are appallingly low.Significant increases are requiredimmediately in order to provide peoplewith incomes adequate to meet theirbasic needs. For women on incomeassistance, the implementation of thisgoal is crucial to their health and well-being.

In addition, governments shouldinvestigate the feasibility of basicincome programs that would “provide anunconditional, adequate income toensure life with dignity and self-determination to every adult person”.136

135 Notable exceptions are the CanadianInternational Development Agency, and Indianand Northern Affairs.

136 ABC Working Group. 2004-2005.Saskatchewan Alternative Budget of Choice: ABudget for Equity (Saskatchewan Office:Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, 2004)


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In the provinces of Saskatchewan andManitoba, reputable groups havedetermined adequate assistance levels.

In Saskatchewan: In 2004, theAlternative Budget of Choice (ABC)Working Group made the followingrecommendations:

Allocate $58 million to raise socialassistance rates: a 20% increase forfully employable persons, and a 25%increase for persons with disabilities.

Allocate $1 million to implement aplan for a Basic Income Program by2005.

In Manitoba: In 2004, the CanadianCentre for Policy Alternatives –Manitoba137 made the followingrecommendations:

Provide a 20% increase in socialassistance rates and a commitment toreview rates to bring them in linewith an Acceptable Living level;

Allow recipients to retain the first$200 and 25% thereafter of earningfrom paid employment, until theirearning reach the level of socialassistance;

Allow low wage earners to qualifyfor social assistance supplementsusing the same formula.

at 24-26. For a general discussion of the coneptof a universal citizen’s income, see: S. Lerner,C.M.A. Clark, W.R. Needham, Basic Income:Economic Security for All Canadians (Toronto:Between the Lines, 1999).

137 Accessed on-line atwww.policyalterntives.ca/manitoba/apb01-03.pdf

4. Develop a new nationalframework for income securityand social inclusion.

Provincial income assistance programsrely upon adequate transfers of fundingfrom the federal government. Increasedfederal funding for income securityprograms should be accompanied withclear national standards that willguarantee that all citizens have the rightto an adequate income to meet theirbasic needs. Poverty reduction shouldbecome a higher priority in federal andprovincial policy agendas. In addition toincome security programs, governmentsneed to develop a broad social inclusionpolicy framework that addresses theunderlying structural causes of economicmarginalization and social exclusion.Begin the war on the causes of poverty.

5. Promote fair work, not workfare.

This paper documented the growingtendency in Manitoba and Saskatchewanto link income benefits to participationin employment readiness or labour forceattachment programs.

This paper takes exception to the viewthat any paid work is “good” work.Women are particularly vulnerable to theeconomic insecurity that accompanieslow wage, part time and contingentemployment. In addition, placing morework expectations on women often failsto account for the competing demands ofunpaid work in the home or the stressesof trying to balance low waged workwith family responsibilities. Compellingpeople to participate in programs doeslittle to create new jobs at decent wages.Government should assist people topursue training and employment by


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providing adequate supports, withoutcoercive penalties. The federalprotection against compulsory workfarewhich existed under the CanadaAssistance Plan should be reinstated.

Governments should protect workers byraising the minimum wage.138 Socialinvestments in job creation and childcarewould expand employment opportunitiesand help women and men balance workand family responsibilities.

6. Recognize that poverty ishazardous to women’s health139

True adherence to a population healthmodel impels governments to workacross departments to address the rootcauses of health inequities. For sometime, federal, provincial and territorialgovernments in Canada haveacknowledged that income is a majordeterminant of health. “Canadians withlow incomes are more likely to havephysical, social and mental healthproblems than Canadians with higherincomes. They are also more likely to dieearlier than other Canadians, no matterwhich cause of death is considered.”140

138 Just Income Manitoba (www.just-income.ca)calls for changes in minimum wage to make itpossible to live (not just subsist) on low-incomeemployment .

139 See the Women, Income and Health Project,Women’s Health Clinic, Winnipeg. They arerunning a social marketing campaign entitledPoverty is Hazardous to Women’s Health. Formore information seewww.womenshealthclinic.org/

140 Federal Provincial and Territorial AdvisoryCommittee on Population Health. Toward aHealthy Future: Second Report on the Health ofCanadians. Health Canada, Ottawa, 1999.

The Federal, Provincial, and TerritorialAdvisory Committee on PopulationHealth calls for “improving health byreducing inequities in incomedistribution and in literacy and ineducation.” The Committee has calledfor “dialogue with other health-determining sectors about the healthimpacts of policies in sectors outsidehealth and about collective actions thatcan be taken.”141

Income assistance policies should beevaluated and redesigned with theexplicit goal of reducing healthinequities by reducing income inequities.

7. End the criminalization of peopleliving in poverty.

The Governments of Saskatchewan andManitoba have placed undue emphasisand resources on eliminating welfarefraud. These strategies intensify thecriminalization of the poor. Because theincidence of fraud is very low, theresources directed to combating it arebetter spent on increasing basicallowances.

Governments need to reexamine thecircumstances that that bring women inconflict with the law. Strategies tocounter criminality should focus onprevention rather than punishment.

141 Ibid


34

8. End the stigmatization of peopleliving in poverty.

While negative messages about poorpeople are more muted in the Prairieprovinces, talk about welfare fraud andwelfare dependency has fostered verynegative images of people on incomeassistance. The complex rules, reportingrequirements and surveillance castpeople on social assistance as lazy anduntrustworthy.

The government should promote positiveimages of women on income assistance,their strengths, resilience andcontributions to community life.

9. Repeal “spouse in the house”rules. Recognize that women donot necessarily have equal or anyaccess to other householdincome. Recognize that womenare entitled to adequate personalincome.

Inquiries into relationships among adultssharing a home must either be strictlyconcerned with the actual financialarrangements and sharing of incomes, orbe dropped. There is no justification forpresuming that a woman can depend onthe income of her male companion, northat she should, nor that she is notentitled to adequate income for herselfand any children.

10. Ensure advocacy services areeasily accessible, and that women onsocial assistance receive clearinformation on their rights andentitlements.

People on social assistance face manybarriers in asserting their rights or inchallenging decisions that threaten theireconomic security. They need access toinformation about their rights and accessto trained advocates who can help themclaim the benefits to which they areentitled.

The government should ensure thatpeople receive information about theirright to appeal and advocates’ contactinformation at the time of orientationand at any time a dispute comes forward.An independent system of advocacyservices should be highly visible andaccessible to people in order for theappeal mechanisms to be fair andeffective in protecting people’s rights.

11. Recognize women’s unpaid workin the home and in the community.Support job creation geared tocommunity development in theneighbourhoods where poor womenlive.

The unpaid work women do in theirhomes and their communities has beenextensively documented. To effectivelyaddress women’s poverty, this workneeds to be acknowledged, valued andencouraged, particularly throughfinancial remuneration. The push to seeassistance recipients in the paid labourforce is based, at least partially, on thebelief that they are not engaged in“productive activities”. Social justicegroups have exposed the fallacy of this


35

viewpoint and have worked to ensurethat unpaid labour, such as care forchildren and the elderly is recognizedand upheld for its value to society atlarge.

The Social Planning Council ofWinnipeg and the University ofManitoba Faculty of Social Work arguethat the definitions of work in socialassistance legislation should

“provide support for those engaged inunremunerated socially useful activity,especially since there is an insufficientsupply of jobs in the regular labourmarket. Forms of unpaid, meaningfulwork which contribute to a productiveand creative society must be taken intoconsideration. Many unemployedindividuals participate in meaningful,unpaid community work. Many peopleorganize to improve their communitiesand build better neighborhoods. Manyothers perform essential services athome such as caring for children or forelderly parents, especially as thegovernment cuts back these services.Many of these activities build skillswithout remuneration. This kind of workshould be valued and supported.”142

12. Support social services andcommunity resources for women.

Women’s safety and their ability toescape violent relationships is dependenton the availability of adequate supportsand networks in the community:adequate assistance, shelter, counseling,safe housing, child care, access toemployment that pays a living wage.

142 Supra at 5.

Federal and provincial governmentsshould provide adequate stable fundingto provide accessible communityservices for women leaving violentrelationships or facing other personalcrises.


36


37

APPENDIX

Table 1: Welfare Benefits In Saskatchewan and Manitoba, in 2002 Constant Dollars,By Year And Category Of Recipient

1989 1999 2001 2002 % change,1989-2002

% change.2001-2002

SingleEmployableSaskatchewan

6,498 5,966 5,899 5,808 -10.6% -1.5%

SingleEmployableManitoba

8,047 5,764 5,470 5,352 -33.5% -2.2%

Person with aDisabilitySaskatchewan

10,589 8,788 8,609 8,436 -20.3% -2.0%

Person with aDisabilityManitoba

8,751 8,688 8,295 8,117 -7.2% -2.2%

Single Parent,One Child,Saskatchewan

13,272 10,213 9,608 9,687 -27.0% 0.8%

Single Parent,One Child,Manitoba

11,744 9,629 9,569 9,636 -18.0% 0.7%

Couple, TwoChildren,Saskatchewan

18,416 14,811 13,625 13,076 -29.0% -4.0%

Couple, TwoChildren,Manitoba

19,060 13,987 13,129 12,849 -32.6% -2.1%

Source: National Council on Welfare. Welfare Incomes 2002 (Ottawa, National Council ofWelfare, 2003)For a full explanation of what is included in these calculations, see the full report online athttp://www.ncwcnbes.net/htmdocument/reportwelfinc02/Welfare2002.htm#_Toc500047789


38

Table 2: 2003 Welfare Benefits in Saskatchewan and Manitoba, compared with povertyline, by Category of Recipient

Total Welfare Income Poverty Line Welfare Income as Percentof Poverty Line

Single EmployableSaskatchewan 6,155 16,979 36%Single EmployableManitoba 5,567 19,795 28%Person with a DisabilitySaskatchewan 8,833 16,979 52%Person with a DisabilityManitoba 8,354 19,795 42%Single Parent, One Child,Saskatchewan 12,433 21,224 59%Single Parent, One Child,Manitoba 12,946 24,745 52%Couple, Two Children,Saskatchewan 18,492 31,952 58%Couple, Two Children,Manitoba 18,907 37,253 51%

Source: National Council of Welfare. Welfare Incomes 2003 (Ottawa: National Council ofWelfare, 2004) at 28.For a full explanation of how these categories are defined see the full report online athttp://www.ncwcnbes.net/htmdocument/reportWelfareIncomes2003/WI2003_e.pdf

ACCESS TO JUSTICE:SOCIAL ASSISTANCE ADVOCACY INSASKATCHEWAN AND MANITOBA

Bonnie Morton, Regina Anti-Poverty MinistryJosephine Savarese, Department of Justice Studies, University of Regina

PAPER 2.ACCESS TO JUSTICE: SOCIAL ASSISTANCE ADVOCACYIN SASKATCHEWAN AND MANITOBABonnie Morton, Regina Anti-Poverty Ministry andJosephine Savarese, Department of Justice Studies, University of Regina

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

INTRODUCTION 1

THE RIGHT TO APPEAL 1

ADVOCACY SERVICES IN SASKATCHEWAN AND MANITOBA 3Saskatchewan 3Manitoba 5

BARRIERS TO EXERCISING THE RIGHT TO APPEAL 6Limited Knowledge 6Limited Access to Advocacy Services 6Fear of Challenging the Department 8Limits of What Can Be Appealed 9

CONCLUSION 10

RECOMMENDATIONS 11

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to take this opportunity to thank many people who gave their time andexpertise to contribute to this paper. First of all, I want to express my appreciation forthe courage of the women who shared their stories and described their experiences ofaccessing advocacy services. Although they are identified simply as ‘Jane Does’ toprotect their anonymity, I sincerely thank them for their generous contribution to thiswork.

I would also like to thank the following Saskatchewan advocates and agencies: Rev.Robert Gay, for pioneering the former Downtown Chaplaincy in Regina, one of the firstcommunity advocacy organizations in Saskatchewan. Peter Gilmer of the Regina Anti-Poverty Ministry, for his insightful analysis and for handling some of my caseload whileI was writing this paper. Donna Smee, of People Empowering People, for continuing therural struggles in battling poverty. Maurice Wainright for his individual advocacy toensure poor people are treated fairly. Morris Eagles, for founding the Welfare RightsCentre and for his steadfast commitment to working for better conditions for poor people.Debbie Frost, an advocate with Equal Justice For All and the National Anti-PovertyOrganization, for her knowledge that comes from life experience, her strength ineveryday living and her friendship.

I am also grateful to the following advocates and agencies in Manitoba: Susan Bruce, anindependent advocate, for her time, energy and expertise about advocacy and relatedservices in Manitoba. Karen Lumley, of the Northend Stella Community Ministry, forher friendship and continued commitment to addressing poverty in her community.Shirley Van Schie, a lawyer with the Poverty Law Office of Legal Aid Manitoba, for herassistance in making sure I understood the services and advocacy process in Manitoba.

I would like to thank the external reviewers who provided feedback andrecommendations that helped us strengthen the paper. I would also like to thank KayWillson for working with me on this paper, for her editing skills, and for meeting with uswhen things seemed to get bogged down.

Finally, I would like to thank Josephine Savarese for asking me to work with her on thisproject. We spent many hours working together as co-authors of these two papers. I haveenjoyed working with her, and have learned so much from her.

Bonnie MortonRegina Anti-PovertyMinistryApril 2005

ACCESS TO JUSTICE: SOCIAL ASSISTANCE ADVOCACY INSASKATCHEWAN AND MANITOBA

INTRODUCTION

A woman calls on the phone to say herwelfare cheque has been cut and shedoesn’t know why. She was counting onthe money to pay her bills and buygroceries, and now she doesn’t knowwhat to do. She tried calling her welfareworker, but didn’t get an answer. As anadvocate in an anti-poverty organization,I frequently hear stories like this.

When someone calls or stops by theoffice I talk to them to gatherinformation and assess the situation. Mynext step is to call up the welfare workeror the supervisor to try to persuade thedepartment to change its decisions. Inmost situations women on socialassistance need a quick resolution to theissue at hand. Mediation and directnegotiation can usually take place muchmore quickly than a formal appealhearing.

If the department is not willing tochange the decision, or if the woman isnot happy with the department’s offer,she can still request an appeal. If shedecides to request an appeal hearing, anadvocate can help her prepare and mayaccompany her to the hearing and speakon her behalf.

This paper is based on my ownexperiences and my conversations withother advocates and women who havebeen on welfare. The focus of this paperwill be on women’s access to advocacyservices in Saskatchewan and Manitoba.

THE RIGHT TO APPEAL

In 1966, Canada made a number ofsocial and economic commitments toCanadians, through the CanadaAssistance Plan (CAP). CAPguaranteed that people who were without work and had no way offinancially supporting themselves andtheir families were entitled to incomeassistance benefits.

Along with the CAP right to incomeassistance when in need, people werealso guaranteed the right to appealdecisions that negatively affected theirbenefits.1 Although people had theright to appeal, there was no provisionwithin CAP or provincial legislation forthe creation of formal advocacy servicesto assist people when they needed to usethe appeal processes.

CAP ended in 1996 with theintroduction of the Canada Health andSocial Transfer. With the collapse ofCAP, provinces were no longer requiredto protect the right to appeal decisionsaffecting welfare entitlements. InSaskatchewan and Manitoba, the right toappeal was retained.

In Saskatchewan and Manitoba, thereare appeal processes in place, withappeal committees made up of peoplefrom the community who are notconnected to the welfare departments or 1 Canada Assistance Plan Act s.6 (2)(e)

Access To Justice: Social Assistance Advocacy In Saskatchewan and Manitoba

2

any other government ministries.Members of these committees are notrequired to have legal expertise. Duringtheir orientations they are instructed tomake their decisions using the existingsocial assistance policies andregulations.

In Saskatchewan and Manitoba, peopleapplying for, or receiving incomeassistance, have the right to appealdecisions they consider unfair. There areseveral grounds for appeal, includingdenial, discontinuation or reduction ofbenefits, the insufficiency of benefits tomeet basic needs, or unreasonabledelays.2 The person making an appealmay present evidence and bringwitnesses to a hearing, and designate arepresentative to act on her behalf.3

In Saskatchewan, there are two levels ofappeal. At first, an appeal is heard by aLocal Appeal Committee. If a person, orthe Department of SaskatchewanCommunity Resources and Employment,is not satisfied with a decision of theLocal Appeal Committee, they have theright to appeal to the Provincial AppealBoard. Decisions of the ProvincialAppeal Board are final and there are nofurther avenues of appeal. 4

2 Saskatchewan Assistance Regulations Section41 (1) and Social Services Appeal Board,Manitoba Family Services and Housing websitehttp://www.gov.mb.ca/fs/ssab.html#FinanceApp

3 Saskatchewan Assistance Regulations, Section41 (3) and Social Services Appeal Board,Manitoba Family Services and Housing websitehttp://www.gov.mb.ca/fs/ssab.html#FinanceApp

4 The Department of Social Services Act, RSS -1978, Chapter D-23, Section 10, Subsection 5,states the decision of the Provincial AppealBoard is final.

In Manitoba, before February 2002,there was one level of appeal before theSocial Services Appeal Board. Therewas also the possibility of appealing tothe Manitoba Court of Appeal, if leaveof appeal was granted to challengequestions of the Appeal Board’sjurisdiction, or on points of law. InFebruary 2002, the Manitobagovernment added a new level of appealcalled the Reconsideration Stage.Therefore, Manitoba now has two levelsof appeal at the community level, withthe chance of appeal at the Court ofAppeal.5

In both provinces, an appeal hearingmust take place within thirty days of thedate that the department receives arequest for an appeal. In Manitoba, anadvocate can request that the “file beplaced in pending” in order to have moretime to gather evidence. This additionaltime is not available to advocates inSaskatchewan.

In both provinces, if a woman has beencut off welfare, she can apply for interimassistance to cover the most basic needsuntil her appeal is heard. However, thereis no guarantee that she will be grantedinterim assistance. Advocates havenoted that there are a number of womenin both Manitoba and Saskatchewan whohave not been granted interim assistance,causing extreme hardship for thesewomen and their families.6

5 Van Schie, Shirley. Pers. Interview. 29/08/03

6 Bruce, Susan. Pers. Interview. 31/07/2003.Lumley, Karen. Pers. Interview. 29/08/2003.Gilmer, Peter. Pers. Interview. 11/08/2003.Wainright, Maurice. Pers. Interview.16/08/2003.


3

ADVOCACY SERVICES IN SASKATCHEWAN AND MANITOBA

Both Saskatchewan and Manitoba haveskilled advocates who provide advocacyservices. These services usually beginbefore the appeal hearing. In bothprovinces the advocates’ initial approachis to call up the welfare worker and/orthe supervisor to try to persuade thedepartment to change its decision. Ifsuccessful, this gives women quickresolution to the issues at hand. If thenegotiation process does not work, thewomen have to decide whether toappeal. The advocates then develop theirdefence strategies.

Saskatchewan

Between 1966 and the early 1970'sformal advocacy services for welfareappeals did not exist in Saskatchewan.Legal Aid did help low income womenwith divorce cases, child custody cases,and a few other civil matters. In veryselected cases Legal Aid would handlewelfare appeals, but it was not a servicethat was provided on a regular basis.7 In 1984 the mandate of Legal Aid wasrevised and Legal Aid staff were nolonger able to represent people atwelfare appeals.8

Over time it became clear that people onwelfare needed formal advocacyservices. Advocacy services were beingprovided in a very informal manner. Inmost cases women, being told they had a 7 Eagles, Morris. Pers. Interview. 07/08/2003.

8 The range of legal services to be provided incivil law matters are restricted to those identifiedin Legal Aid Regulations, 1995 Section 10.

right to have an advocate with them,would take family members to theappeals. While family or friends couldoffer support and describe the plight ofthe person, they usually had no idea howthe use the Regulations and Policies tosupport the appeal.

Slowly welfare advocacy organizationsstarted to develop in Regina. In 1971 theDowntown Chaplaincy (DTC) wascreated and funded by downtownchurches, to address the needs of thepoor. Reverend Robert Gay was hired tominister and advocate with and for thepoor. He found that although heprovided charity to those in need, he wasalso doing a great deal of welfareappeals and advocacy for women onwelfare.9 In the beginning he toopresented the plight of the individual tothe appeal committees, but eventuallylearned how to use the SaskatchewanSocial Assistance Regulations andPolicies to the benefit of the women hewas representing. Rev. Gay eventuallypassed these skills on to fellowemployees. Between 1987 and 1995 theDTC went through Aorganizationtransformation.10 This process shiftedthis ministry from a charity/social justicemodel to a social justice model. In 1995when Rev. Gay retired the DTC changedits name to the Regina Anti-PovertyMinistry (RAPM). For the past thirty-four years this ministry (DTC/RAPM),which is primarily church-funded, hasprovided advocacy services to welfarerecipients, and particularly to women. 9 Gay, Robert. Pers. Interview. 13/11/1990.

10 Ibid


4

June 6, 1973 the Regina Welfare RightsCentre (WRC) was created. Thisorganization provides advocacy services,trustee services, a housing program,information and referrals. According toMorris Eagles, who has worked for thisorganization since it opened, theprovincial government provides all ofthe funding for WRC.11 Thisorganization, like DTC/RAPM, has hadto learn how to use the Regulations andPolicies to benefit the people for whomthey advocate. These two organizationshave developed into skilled advocacyservice providers.

In 1986, social activists and welfarerecipients in Saskatoon created EqualJustice for All (EJA). This organizationalso provides advocacy services forwelfare appeals. EJA receives very littlefunding. It is used to cover telephonebills, photocopying, etc. EJA advocatesare all volunteers, and most are welfarerecipients themselves.12 Although theseare hard working people providing amuch-needed service, the organizationhas not been able to raise enough fundsto pay advocates for their services.

A number of organizations have beendeveloped for people with disabilities.These organizations usually provideservices and do systemic advocacy.They may do individual welfareadvocacy, but usually they refer theirclients to the welfare advocacy groups intheir communities.

Over the years the DTC/RAPM, WRC,and EJA have been asked to go to otherurban and rural centers to provideadvocacy services. These organizations

11 Eagles, Morris. Pers. Interview. 07/08/2003.

12 Frost, Debbie. Pers. Interview. 24/08/2003.

have tried to accommodate theserequests, but the lack of funding, staff,and transportation has made it verydifficult to respond to all these requests.One way that RAPM, WRC, EJA, andthe Saskatchewan representatives of theNational Anti-Poverty Organization(NAPO) have tried to address theshortage of skilled welfare advocates inSaskatchewan has been to go intocommunities and provide advocacytraining. Advocacy training hasincreased the number of individuals whocan provide advocacy services uponrequest. However, it has not led to thedevelopment of formal advocacyorganizations in these communities.

Individuals who provide advocacyservices have very little funding to covertheir expenses. The Department ofCommunity Resources and Employmentprovides $45.00 to advocates per appeal,but no funds are provided for themediation/negotiation attempts to sortout problems before going to appeals. The department will also provide atransportation allowance to get to theappeal location, but only if it is heldoutside the person’s home community.Often the funds provided do not coverall the advocates’ out-of-pocketexpenses.13

Manitoba

In Manitoba, Legal Aid providesadvocacy services including appeals forpeople receiving income assistance.14 Legal Aid services are not as restrictiveas they are in Saskatchewan.

13 Wainright, Maurice. Pers. Interview,16/08/2003

14 Bruce, Susan. Pers. Interview. 13/07/2003.


5

Between 1997 and January 2000, aparalegal employed at Manitoba LegalAid was available to assist individualswith welfare issues. Since January 2000,the Legal Aid office in Winnipeg hasoffered a Poverty Law Program thatprovides legal services to low-incomepersons dealing with problems related towelfare benefits, disability claims,landlord-tenant disputes, etc. ThePoverty Law Office has two full timelawyers dealing specifically with theseissues, as well as other lawyers who takeon some of these cases.15 Sixty-five toseventy percent of the Manitobapopulation resides in Winnipeg. LegalAid lawyers in the Poverty Law Officerespond to all welfare advocacy requestsfor their services.16

Legal Aid also has satellite offices inBrandon, Dauphin, and Thompson.These offices do not have specializedpoverty law departments or lawyers thatdeal strictly with welfare cases.17 Thelawyers in these offices deal withvarious legal matters and welfareappeals that come to them, as long as theindividual qualifies for Legal Aid.

There are cases in which women maynot turn to Legal Aid for advocacyservices for a variety of reasons. Womenmay live in communities where they donot have access to Legal Aid services orthey may not understand Legal Aid is aservice they can access. In some caseswomen might feel more comfortableseeking assistance from organizationsthat they believe better understand theirsituation. This could include First 15 Van Schie, Shirley. Pers. Interview.29/08/2003.

16 Ibid

17 Ibid

Nations organizations or organizationsfor persons with disabilities.In Winnipeg, rural communities andsmall urban centres, community servicegroups that normally provide serviceprograms and lobby on behalf of theirmembers have also started providingwelfare advocacy services.18 Whenorganizations, community agencies, andindividuals want to learn how to beeffective advocates the Continuing LegalEducation Association (CLEA) will givepresentations on legal issues and how todo advocacy. These presentations aregiven by the Legal Aid lawyers from thePoverty Law Office.19 This training hasa ripple effect. Advocates fromcommunity agencies also train others toassist in providing advocacy services.20

18 Bruce, Susan. Pers. Interview. 31/07/2003

19 Van Schie, Shirley. Pers. Interview.29/08/2003

20 Bruce, Susan. Pers. Interview. 31/07/2003.


6

BARRIERS TO EXERCISING THE RIGHT TO APPEAL

People on social assistance have theright to appeal decisions, but they facenumerous barriers that limit their accessto a fair hearing. While people have aright to designate a representative to acton their behalf, their access to skilledadvocates is influenced by severalfactors. Without better knowledge oftheir rights and better access to advocacyservices, many women on socialassistance are not able to effectivelychallenge the decisions that affect theirlives.

Limited Knowledge

Women face many barriers tochallenging decisions affecting theirwelfare benefits. One of the mostcommon barriers is a lack of knowledgeof their rights, including the right toappeal decisions that deny benefits.Furthermore, some women are not awarethat there are advocates to help them.Even if they are aware that advocatesexist, they do not know where or how tocontact them.

One woman from a rural communitycommented about the difficulty offinding out about advocates in her area:

“It’s one thing to tell me I have the rightto appeal a decision that I disagree with,and that affects me and my kids in a badway, but I have to know what my optionsare. That means that my worker shouldknow who the advocates are where I liveor close by”21

21 Jane Doe #4 Pers. Interview 9/08/2003

Knowledge of welfare rights is furtherlimited by confusing rules and the use ofunclear language. The language used inthe regulations, policy manuals andappeal processes can be unfamiliar andintimidating.22

When a woman makes a request forwelfare benefits, the department issupposed to give her the decision inwriting. A written decision form letternotifies the woman that she has the rightto appeal and to have an advocate withher. However, some departmentalworkers have been notifying people bytelephone without written follow-up.Advocates are now advising women whocome to see them to contact the workersand request the decision in writing.

Limited Access to AdvocacyServices

Although skilled advocacy services doexist, this does not mean that womenknow about or have access to theseservices. Women usually find out aboutadvocates by word of mouth.

In Saskatchewan, the organizations andindividuals that provide advocacyservices do not have the funds topublicly advertise. If they couldadvertise, this would lead to anotherdilemma. They would probably not beable to handle all the additional requestsbecause they do not have enough staff.

22 Frost, Debbie. Pers. Interview. 24/08/2003.


7

As advocacy organizations andindividual advocates become known,their caseloads are increasing.23 Forexample, RAPM had a caseload of 450in 1996 at a time when there were twohalf-time staff. It now has two three-quarter time staff and an annual caseloadover 2000.24 This organization, like theothers, has a difficult time meeting therequests for their services.

Women in urban centres can accessskilled advocacy services more quicklyand easily than women in rural areas andsmaller urban centres. First Nationswomen on reserves also lack access toadvocacy services and often try toadvocate for themselves. In some casesthey may ask the Band Manager to helpthem with an appeal.25

Distance and lack of transportation arefactors that limit women’s access toadvocacy services. These were issues inall communities, even for women livingin larger centres. Women needtransportation to get to advocates forhelp, but welfare does not provideadditional funds for this. InSaskatchewan, the Department willprovide funds to attend the appeal, butonly if people have to travel to adifferent community. The Departmentalso provides some child care money,but only after the appeal has been heard.For First Nations women, rural womenand disabled women, problems withdistance, limited access to transportationand lack of funds to pay fortransportation may prevent them from

23 Smee, Donna. Pers. Interview. 13/05/2003..

24 Gilmer, Peter. Pers. Interview. 11/08/2003.

25 Ibid

seeking help.

Not having access to a telephone alsolimits women=s access to skilledadvocacy services. In Manitoba (unlikeSaskatchewan) telephones are notconsidered a necessary utility covered bywelfare benefits. Many women do nothave the freedom to leave the house insearch of a telephone when they need tospeak to their worker, or to access otherservices. These women have familyresponsibilities that they Acannot justdrop until other issues are fixed.26

The lack of skilled advocates to assistwomen has also been identified as abarrier. Existing advocacy organizationsneed more funds to handle increasedrequests for advocacy services.Organizations that provide advocacyservices with volunteers need funding topay the advocates. For theseorganizations, volunteer turnover ishigh.27 We do not expect welfareworkers to volunteer their time to theprofession of social work. Advocatesand advocacy organizations should notbe expected to provide their services forfree either. One advocate put forward theconcern that advocacy is not oftenviewed as an essential service.28

Sometimes women are unable to appealbecause they miss deadlines or havedifficulty in finding a qualified advocate.In one situation, a woman wanted toappeal a decision to deny fixing theleaky roof of her home. She lived in asmall village. This woman was able tofind an individual who would help her

26 Lumley, Karen. Pers. Interview. 29/08/2003.

27 Frost, Debbie. Pers. Interview. 24/08/2003



8

do the first level of appeal. When shelost this appeal, she chose to appeal tothe Provincial Appeal Board but heradvocate did not feel she could handlethis level. She only had twenty days tolodge the provincial appeal. By the timethe woman found another advocate, thetwenty-day limit had run out and thedepartment would not extend thedeadline.29

Fear of Challenging theDepartment

Women may know about advocacyservices and their right to appeal, butstill choose not to challengedepartmental decisions. It is notuncommon for women to go to advocacyorganizations for help, and then at somepoint in the process choose not to gothrough with the case. There are alsocases where they have withdrawn froman appeal.30

Women on social assistance sometimesfeel threatened and intimidated byworkers or supervisors. This prevents anumber of women from challengingdecisions that negatively affect them andtheir families.

This fear comes from not having otherfinancial options. If they lose theirwelfare benefits, they would not havemoney to provide shelter, clothes, andfood for themselves and theirdependents. In some cases women fearthat the Department would apprehendtheir children because they could not

29 Jane Doe#2. Pers.l Interview. 3/08/2003.

30 Wainright, Maurice. Pers. Interview.16/08/2003.

provide for them.

Although the welfare system wasestablished to help people in need, it canbe a dehumanizing and repressivesystem.31 Women often feel that theirworkers do not believe them and treatthem with disrespect.

A woman who was able to find a skilledadvocate commented on how theadvocate presented the same facts, butwas treated with more respect:

“I also don’t understand why the workerfinally gave me what I needed after theadvocate phoned her. The advocate toldher the same things I did, as to why Ineeded the extra money. I felt that myworker did not believe me without theadvocate , and that she maybe thought Iwas trying to scam her.”32

Women’s distrust of the welfare systemaffects their faith in the appeal processand whether they believe they willreceive a fair hearing.

Negative experiences can deepenwomen’s distrust of the system. In onecase a woman living in a smallcommunity agreed to let a male friendlive in her home while he searched foran apartment of his own. When someonephoned the department to report thatthere was a man living in her house, herwelfare benefits were cut off. Since therewas no Legal Aid office or advocacyservice nearby, she went to a religiousorganization for help. The person whoagreed to help her did not seem tobelieve her story and she lost her case.

31 Lumley, Karen. Pers. Interview. 29/08/2003.

32 Jane Doe #4 Pers. Interview, 09/08/2003.


9

Although she was able to get back onwelfare, the benefits she had receivedwhile her friend had been staying at herhouse were considered an overpaymentthat had to be repaid. Having aninexperienced advocate who did notappear to believe her story left thiswoman distrustful of advocates andappeal processes. While she hasquestioned other decisions, she is nolonger willing to put forward a challengebecause of this devastating experience.33

Racism adds another barrier forAboriginal women and women fromvisible minorities who encounternegative attitudes of workers within thewelfare system. As a result of racism andmisunderstanding of cultural differences,Aboriginal women have beenstereotyped as sneaky, lazy or unable tosolve their own problems.34 The effectsof racism may also discourage peoplefrom seeking the help of an advocate.35

Sometimes women are afraid tojeopardize their relationships withworkers. One woman did not want toappeal the denial of excess shelterallowance because she did not want totake an appeal “against her worker.” She liked her worker, and thought thismight break down the good and trustingrelationship they had built. Once herworker assured her that this would notaffect how they got along, and that theworker did not take the request for anappeal personally, the woman appealedthis decision with the help of anadvocate and eventually won.36 33 Jane Doe #3. Pers. Interview. 05/08/2003.

34 Lumley, Karen. Pers. Interview. 29/08/2003

35 Frost, Debbie. Pers. Interview. 24/08/2003

36 Jane Doe #1. Pers. Interview. 16/08/2003

This woman believed, as many womendo, that she was appealing against herworker rather than departmental policy.

Limits on What Can BeAppealed

The tightening of policy has reduced thedecisions that women can appeal. In thepast, women in Saskatchewan couldlaunch an appeal based on their worker'sbehaviour or attitude.37 This is nolonger an option.

The recovery of overpayments can causehardship by further reducing an alreadyinadequate income. Welfare recipients inSaskatchewan used to be able to appealthe recovery of overpayments,particularly when it could be shown thatthe overpayment was the result ofdepartmental error. Department policynow requires welfare clients to repay alloverpayments, even in cases ofdepartmental error. Clients can stillappeal this issue, but policy is so clearthat the client has no chance of havingan overpayment overturned. Clients andadvocates wonder why this issue is stillan appealable issue given that the appealcommittees do not have the ability tochange the department's decision.



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CONCLUSION

A woman with a disability, who hasbeen on welfare for seventeen years,talked about her circumstances. With thecutbacks that have happened over theyears, she is poorer today than she wasseventeen years ago. This womanexplained that she is feeling Abeatendown." She wonders what it would takefor her to feel that she has rights. If shedid believe that, she questions whethershe would have the energy to fight forwhat few rights she has left. She statedthat Apoverty is not the choice ofwomen." It should not be possible forgovernments to enact policies that keepwomen poor.38

Any denial, delay or reduction in welfarebenefits can cause hardship. Under thesecircumstances, the right to appeal isfundamental to women’s health andeconomic security. Yet for many of thereasons outlined in this paper, womenface numerous barriers that hinder theirability to appeal decisions that causeharm.

Both Saskatchewan and Manitoba haveorganizations that offer some skilledadvocacy services to women on welfare,at least in the larger urban centres.

In Saskatchewan, the self-taughtgrassroots community organizations andindividuals are providing welfareadvocacy services. In Manitoba, it ismainly the Poverty Law Office of LegalAid that provides skilled advocacy

38 Jane Doe # 1. Pers. Interview. August 16,2003

services.39 Other organizations withexperienced advocates also exist. In fact,the Poverty Law Office on occasion hasreferred appropriate cases to theseorganizations.40

Although all the people interviewed forthis paper commended the advocacyservices that existed, they also were veryclear in stating that more advocacyservices should be provided in areaswhere none presently exist. Allcommunity based advocacyorganizations were strugglingfinancially. It was believed that thereshould be more financial resources forthese organizations, so they couldaddress staffing issues to better respondto the growing request for advocacyservices and to better meet the needs ofthe women who seek their help.

There needs to be a major effort toensure that all women, especiallywomen on reserves, in rural areas and insmall communities have access to skilledadvocacy services.

Barriers to accessing skilled advocacyservices were virtually the same in bothprovinces. These barriers included:

• Lack of knowledge of the right toappeal decisions that affect welfarebenefits

• Lack of knowledge about how toaccess skilled advocacy services

39 Bruce, Susan. Pers. Interview. July 31, 2003.

40 Van Schie, Shirley. Pers. Interview. August29, 2003.


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• Limited capacity of organizationsproviding trained advocacy services

• No funds for transportation, and lackof transportation from reserves, ruraland small communities

• No funds to allow women to get tomeetings with advocates

• Lack of child care provisions whenwomen need to meet with theiradvocates

• Little or no access to telephones

• Fear, intimidation, threats, andvindictive actions of workers and/orsupervisors

• Low self-esteem and women’sexpectation that they won’t bebelieved

• Women’s mistrust of the welfaresystem and appeal boards, and beliefthey will not receive a fair hearing.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Women on welfare and their advocatesin both provinces have identified severalchanges to improve women’s access tojustice.

1. Overhaul the welfare system so itbecomes nurturing as opposed tovindictive. If welfare systems weretruly committed to providing for thehealth and well being of women andtheir families there would be noreason to appeal.

2. Give women money fortransportation to visit advocates.

3. Give women childcare money so theycan see their advocates.

4. Ensure there are advocacy services toaccess that are properly funded.

5. Provide front-line welfare workerswith cross-cultural training.

6. Prevent abuse of power by workersand/or supervisors.

7. Provide women with increasedbenefits so they can meet the real costof living in their communities (forshelter, utilities, food, clothing,household expenses andtransportation)

8. Provide funding for court challengesto unjust decisions and policies.

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