The NDP government wasted no time in putting our money where its mouth is. Before John Horgan’s first week in office was over, his government fulfilled a promise to raise welfare rates.
For 10 years, as the price of everything climbed, the former B.C. Liberal government kept its fist wrapped tightly around the money bag. Income assistance was frozen at $610 per month, while disability rates have seen only small increases to $1,033 per month over the decade.
That will change on Sept. 20, when rates will rise to $710 a month for welfare and $1,133 for disability assistance. It’s not a huge figure, and many of us can’t imagine living on even the new amount, but it will make a difference to those living on the edge.
“It was very important for the premier, and important for the whole cabinet, that we make a statement very early,” said Social Development Minister Shane Simpson.
“And that’s why one of the very first initiatives of the government was to get this $100 increase in place, get a few more dollars in people’s pockets and to deliver the message loud and clear that we’re very serious about this.”
Those few more dollars will cost the province $180 million a year. That money will have to come from somewhere, and now is a good time to start tallying the price as Horgan begins turning promises into policy.
Regardless of its effect on the province’s bottom line, however, its effect on people will be significant.
Carla Rempel, who has $114 a month left after paying rent and her B.C. Hydro bill, told the Times Colonist she plans to use the money for food and toilet paper.
She is not alone in making difficult choices. Since Victoria’s Our Place opened 10 years ago, the number of meals it serves has more than doubled, from 300,000 a year to 745,867. The extra money will help some of those people.
Our Place executive director Don Evans said: “It’s a start. It’s not going to meet the needs of people on income assistance, but they’ll be better off than they are today.”
The government is considering linking disability rates to inflation, which seems like a reasonable way to keep people from sliding deeper into a hole as rising prices eat away their purchasing power. The Liberals won’t have an argument against it, as they promised to make the same change themselves.
Beyond just increasing the allowance rates, Simpson said the government wants to restructure his ministry to focus on poverty reduction. That includes increasing the amount of money people can earn from employment without losing their assistance.
Under current rules, those on income assistance can earn $200 and those on disability can earn $800. Simpson said the government is committed to fulfilling its campaign promise raise the exemptions by $200.
Advocates for the poor want to go further than that. They suggest setting the exemption at 100 per cent, so someone who gets $710 a month in assistance could earn another $710 without losing anything.
The longtime philosophy of keeping people in grinding poverty as an incentive to get off welfare doesn’t work. Allowing them to keep more earned income might be a more effective incentive.
As Evans said: “If you’re just worried about surviving, how do you contribute to society?”
