KJIPUKTUK (Halifax) – In this powerful video Nova Scotians who know about welfare first hand are asked to describe Income Assistance in three words. It takes them all of 49 seconds to tell us that social assistance in Nova Scotia is broken.
The video is produced by the wonderful people of Feed Nova Scotia, the organization that coordinates the activities of 147 food banks and meal programs across the province. Here is how you can support them, and no, it’s not just money or food donations it is asking for.
In 2016 food bank use in Nova Scotia spiked 20.9% over the previous year—the highest increase among provinces in the country. It’s also a 40.9% increase over 2008.
The largest primary source of income category among households assisted by food banks in Nova Scotia continues to be Income Assistance, this year at 56.5%.
If you can, please support the Nova Scotia Advocate so that it can continue to cover issues such as poverty, racism, exclusion, workers’ rights and the environment in Nova Scotia. A pay wall is not an option since it would exclude many readers who don’t have any disposable income at all. We rely entirely on one-time donations and a tiny but mighty group of kindhearted monthly sustainers.
I can tell you in three words one of the reasons that Income Assistance remains broken – Minister Joanne Bernard.
It has been broken before she reached puberty.
Now they castigate you if you don’t have a computer or cell phone with data. There is NO housing allowance if you own your own home. There is, by their own admission, not enough allowance to rent anything and sharing living quarters is forbidden.
There is not allowance enough to eat food that maintains health – and then they complain that the poor make disproportionate demands on Health Care and tell them to eat better.
And of course if someone gives you a present, they want to deduct that from your next month’s check. Or they deduct a one-time earning as a monthly amount from then on.
And there is not money enough to go out looking for work even if you are able to. Nor to afford clothing that meets the working world’s idea of dress suitable for their employees.
Only 3 words? Institutional Heartless Arrogance.