March 13, 2003

Welfare Policy Targets "Heartlands"

Senator Pat Carney was quoted as suggesting Premier Campbell's newly coined term for the BC Interior should be changed to "Heart Attack Lands". Carney pointed to dismal economic prospects in the Interior and criticized BC's progress board for ignoring indicators of social services. Information released pursuant to a freedom of information request reveals that a policy being considered by Minister of Human Resources Murray Coell might help to redefine the "Heartlands" as the "Heart Attack Lands".

In January, news reports quoted Human Resources Minister Murray Coell as saying that "if homeowners collect benefits for six months or more, any additional payments could be considered a loan - a loan that would have to be repaid when the property is sold." Apparently this policy change is being considered for implementation in the fall of 2003. Statistics released as the result of a freedom of information request show that in November 2002, only 2.5% (1,965 cases) of those who receive temporary income assistance have any equity in a home, and only 2.2% have equity in a home and have been on income assistance for at least 6 of the previous 12 months.

The regional distribution of those who have at least some equity in a home is much different than the distribution of all cases. While Vancouver has 19.5% of the caseload, it has only 4.4% of those who have some equity. Okanagan/Kootenays has 8.9% of the caseload, but it has 15.5% of the caseload that has some equity. Central BC has 8.9% of the caseload, but it has 15.2% of those with equity. Prince George/Northern BC has 9.3% of the caseload, but it has 13.4% of those with equity. A person in the "Heart Attack Lands" is more than five times as likely to have some equity in their home when they apply for assistance than a person in Vancouver. Of course, anyone who thinks about it would realize that is one difference between the situation faced by a laid off mill worker and someone in Vancouver.

Murray Coell should find out something about the people who are on assistance and have some equity in a home. Do they also have massive debts and a negative net worth even after they sell their home? Will putting a lien on their home encourage them to declare personal bankruptcy? Will the Ministry's new policy be more than five times as harsh in the Interior? It is a novel idea, but the Minister might consider basing his next policy change on sound research, and he might commit to releasing that research. We can hope that any such research will be more substantive than the propaganda that passes as welfare exit surveys.

[For a copy of the Excel Spreadsheet released following my freedom of information request, right click here.]

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March 11, 2003

Welfare Abuse

It didn't get much notice in the week of the IOC visit, but the Ministry of Human Resources released the welfare caseload statistics for the month of January. The numbers are up in almost all categories! That could be enough to cause panic on the government benches.

Some people abuse welfare, others abuse people on welfare. Since the Campbell Liberals have come to power, the abusers of the needy seem to have the upper hand. No Ministry in government has been cut as severely as the Ministry of Human Resources. In the first fiscal year of the Campbell government, 2001-02, actual spending in the Ministry totaled $1.904 billion. The plan called for reducing it to $1.266 billion by 2005-06. The cut of $638 million does not include other social service cuts for the protection of children ($400 million cut) or cuts to social services within the Ministry of Community, Aboriginal and Women's Services.

The first week of March saw opposition members Joy MacPhail and Jenny Kwan roast Minister Murry Coell over his demand that 18,000 disabled people complete a 23 page review of their eligibility. One suicide related to that "review" has been documented. Government eventually backed off and excused 5,000 mentally ill people from the "review". Minister Coell refused to say how many, if any, people have lost their benefits as a result of the review.

Coell's former colleague, Paul Nettleton, joined MacPhail and Kwan on the third day that they raised concerns in question period. Nettleton said "For three days I've watched the Minister of Human Resources duck questions regarding the conduct of the disability benefits review. His failure to answer the questions gives me no comfort. I do know, having been a government member on the Health Committee until last fall, that the minister did implement this eligibility review because he believed that there were many individuals receiving disability benefits who should not. That was the logic that led to a program that we know cost close to $3 million just for doctors' fees alone."

Approximately 4,000 review forms are outstanding. The Ministry's website says "Clients who do not return the Designation Review form by March 15, 2003, will receive notice that they no longer qualify for the PWD designation. The reduced level of assistance will take effect on the cheque issued at the end of June." A single person eligible for disability benefits receives $461.42 per month for support plus a shelter allowance of up to $325. If that person loses eligibility for disability, the support payment could be cut to $185. That contributed to the suicide.

Rather than answering questions in the legislature, Coell penned (or put his name to) an editorial that was distributed to newspapers throughout the province and posted to the government website. It attacked the former government before going on to admit that the changes made by the Campbell government are "significant". In conclusion it claimed "The results so far are very encouraging: smaller caseloads, less cost to the taxpayer, client success in the job market and a renewed focus on help for those who need it most." It is true that caseloads fell until the increase in January 2003, but there is no evidence to support Coell's claims that the reason for the decline is that more clients are finding jobs. The shoddy research done by the Ministry makes no serious effort to track former clients. A computerized dialing system is used by a polling company to call the last known phone number. They should try and find out where a former client has moved when the caller finds the number not in service. Clients have always left income assistance for work, but the Ministry has published no study that compares success in job finding before and after the policy changes. Political propaganda substitutes for sound social science research.

It is difficult to find the "renewed focus on help for those who need it most" that is claimed by Coell. Increasing the earned income exemption for people who are disabled does little or nothing to help the majority of needy people. If the small increase in welfare caseloads in January 2003 continues, it will show that the Ministry is now dealing with the people who have the fewest alternatives for escaping a dehumanizing system, and yet the Ministry's budget calls for over $100 million in cuts again this year. It looks like some of that money will come from cutting the rate paid to people who were formerly classified as disabled, and some will come from cutting people off if they missed an appointment even if they didn't know they had an appointment. That is a very cruel way to fund tax cuts.