Social Services demand rises as benefits revised

Bid to find savings in system will hurt those in need, advocates say

The number of people accessing social services in Saskatchewan continues to climb, as the Saskatchewan Party government looks to find savings in the way it delivers such services.

Overall, the numbers of those accessing one of the three main income assistance benefits offered by the province — the Saskatchewan Assistance Plan (SAP), Saskatchewan Assured Income for Disability (SAID) and Transitional Employment Allowance (TEA) — peaked again in June.

In June, about 35,750 people accessed one of the three main benefits offered by the province. That number has continued to climb nearly every month for at least the past four years.

Earlier this week, the province officially announced changes it was making to some of the services it offers those on social assistance. Poverty advocates are criticizing the changes, which are expected to result in roughly $2.7 million in savings for the government.

Those changes will affect people who receive money for special diets or are in need of home repairs, as well as those who have been overpaid by the province.

Peter Gilmer of the Regina Anti-Poverty Ministry characterized the changes, which come into effect Oct. 1, as “disastrous.”

Since the 2014-15 fiscal year, the province has overpaid a total of $42.6 million, but only recovered $30.1 million.

Now the province is aiming to close the gap between those two numbers faster, by increasing the amount of money it takes back from clients each month.

Overpayments take place when a person’s situation changes — like taking on more work — or because of clerical errors made by the government. Minister of Social Services Tina Beaudry-Mellor said she tried to find a balance between recovering more of the overpaid money and not causing undue hardship. She said it was “an effort to be reasonable.”

Poverty advocates are quick to point out the province is tinkering with the way it collects overpayments for the first time in decades, at a time when the Sask. Party government is grappling with a stumbling economy and significant budget deficit.

Gilmer says the overpayments are taking place through no fault

of those on social assistance and says the move is “really going to hurt people.”

“When it gets clawed back at a steeper rate, obviously that is going to cause great hardship,” he says.

A home repair program that was accessed nearly 400 times last year for those on social assistance is also being eliminated. The province is increasing the amount of money available for a lesser-used and harder to access home repair program.

The emergency home repair program was used 46 times last year and clients are only able to access it once every 15 months, but it will now be the main avenue for those on social assistance in need of maintenance work.

Gilmer says the eliminated program was usually used for basic health and safety purposes, but now that only an emergency fund is available, people will be under greater financial pressure.

“It is also going to mean that substandard and dilapidated housing circumstances are going to get much worse,” he said.