Social spending includes homeless, welfare funds
Modular housing for the homeless, an earnings exemption for welfare recipients and more funding to fight the fentanyl crisis are among the social investments the B.C. government committed to make in its budget update on Monday.
Social investments are some of the few new funding announcements included in an updated budget that largely built on the former Liberal government’s budget plans already announced in February.
“A government’s budget doesn’t stand alone. A budget that invests in people invests in a strong British Columbia,” Finance Minister Carole James said.
The updated budget includes $291 million over two years to build 2,000 modular housing units for the homeless. It will spend an additional $170 million to operate them, including 24/7 staffing and support services.
That means spending $145,500 to build each unit and $85,000 in operating costs per unit during the two years. The units will be prebuilt and can be stacked together.
The government will also build 1,700 new affordable rental housing units over four years for lowto-moderate income renters, seniors and adults with disabilities and mental health challenges.
Kishone Roy, CEO of the B.C. Non-Profit Housing Association, said the housing investments are a step in the right direction, especially the funding for staffing and support services. “Without them, people tend to move in and out of social housing. But with some wrap-around supports, you can really help that person sort their life out.”
But he said he’d like to see a commitment from the government to a 10-year plan to solve homelessness and the affordable housing crisis that aligns with the federal government.
Finance critic Shirley Bond said the homeless and affordable housing commitments fall short of the NDP’s election promises. “They made a commitment to 114,000 units. Today, they delivered on 3,700 of them,” Bond said. “Today, the question is, can they be paid for and can they be delivered?”
Individuals on income assistance and disability will get a $200 bump in the amount of money they can earn before the government claws backs its assistance.
The government had already announced a $100 boost to disability and income assistance.
Iglika Ivanova, senior economist with the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, said the earnings exemption bump is positive, but it would help more people if there was a greater increase in social assistance rates across the board.
“I think it will help some people, but what the majority of people on welfare and on disability assistance need is a bigger increase in basic rates; $100 is good, it’s definitely better than what we’ve seen in the last 10 years, which is nothing,” Ivanova said.
“But we’re talking about [a total of] $710 per month for a single person on welfare. In B.C., that doesn’t go very far and is thousands of dollars below the poverty line.”
Meanwhile, about half of the $603 million added to the health sector budget will go toward the fentanyl crisis. The Ministry of Health will use $265 million for measures like supervised consumption services, take-home naloxone kits and education for doctors, nurses and pharmacists.
Another $25 million is for increasing policing and $7 million to alleviate pressure on the B.C. Coroners Service.
The budget revealed the role that the newly formed Ministry of Mental Health and Addictions will play. About $25 million will be used to establish the new ministry, which will provide leadership, rather than delivering specific services.
Bev Gutray, of the Canadian Mental Health Association’s B.C. Division, said she’s happy with the formation of the new ministry. “It seems to us the ministry has a clear direction and is going to work with all of the other ministries,” she said. “We look forward to a focus, although this budget is much more focused on the opioid crisis. We’re really looking to the next budget to see the focus on prevention and early intervention.”
Edith MacHattie, co-chair of the B.C. Health Coalition, said she will be looking forward to a stronger focus on seniors in the February budget. “Providing adequate home and community care and more fulsome community supports for our seniors is critical in addressing wait lists in hospitals.”