The cut to the Rental Housing Supplement in the budget shows more of the same from the Sask. Party, whose cuts continually hurt the most vulnerable in Saskatchewan.
“It is simply cruel and heartless to continue to cut programs that support the province’s most vulnerable,” said Social Services Critic Trent Wotherspoon. “The fact that the Sask. Party could cut a fundamental support, like housing, in order to make up for their mismanagement and balance the books speaks to their lack of vision, lack of compassion, and lack of planning.”
The Rental Housing Supplement helped people living with disabilities and low-income families pay their rent. As of July 1, 2018 new applicants will no longer receive this benefit – a cut of $5 million. This cut comes after previous changes to the SAID program have already affected hundreds, and left people living with disabilities with fewer supports.
“We have seen these short-sighted and cruel cuts from the Sask. Party before as well as a cut to the basic food budget, and now more and more people are struggling to make ends meet,” Wotherspoon said. “The Sask. Party continues to throw hundreds of millions of dollars at their pet projects like the GTH, and it is wrong and unfair, that at the same time they continue to cut the most vulnerable and make life harder for so many Saskatchewan families.”