Media release: Wellness Within: An Organization for Health and Justice is calling on the Nova Scotia Department of Community Services to follow British Columbia, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Ontario, PEI and most recently, Newfoundland and Labrador, in ending the discriminatory and racist practice of issuing birth alerts for “at risk” parents and their babies.

Kendall Worth meets up with Julie, who is on income assistance and talks about how caseworkers basically control your life. “Julie was even told to keep the receipts of everything she spent so at her income assistance intake interview the intake worker can determine the money she had saved in her bank account was spent reasonably.”

Art Fisher is the executive director of the non-profit Family Service Association of Western Nova Scotia. On Tuesday he appeared in front of a virtual Standing Committee of Community Services to speak about affordable housing and COVID-19. He made some excellent points, which is why we are publishing a transcript of his introductory remarks.