Despite assurances from Minister, pleas for help going unanswered
REGINA - Today, Official Opposition Critic for Social Services Meara Conway was joined at the Legislature by single parents struggling to make ends meet on the SIS program. Together, they called on the government to address the many shortcomings of the program that have only been worsened by the affordability crisis.
“The Sask. Party was warned back in 2019 that their SIS program would result in fewer supports and more homelessness by landlords, social workers and community organizations. They chose to ignore these calls and now families are paying the price,” said Conway. “This lack of support and seeming lack of care is exactly what is keeping families, including children, in the cycle of poverty.”
Members of the Legislative Assembly were joined today by Kelly Anderson and Frank Francoeur, single parents who both saw their incomes decrease as a result of transferring to the SIS program and having to pay utilities out of benefits rather than direct payment. Despite Minister Carr’s earlier assurances that anyone at risk of homelessness due to changes to SIS should contact her office, correspondence from MLA Conway, on behalf of Mr. Francoeur, sent at the end of March went unanswered and he has now been evicted.
“Frank is a single dad with two kids living in Regina. Like so many others, when he transferred to the SIS program his income went down and he struggled to keep a roof over his family’s head and put food on the table,” said Conway. “The SIS program is pushing struggling families out of their homes and the Minister won’t so much as acknowledge their pleas. The Sask. Party’s supports for the most vulnerable are grossly inadequate.”
The Official Opposition calls on the government to scrap their failed SIS program, return to direct payments of utilities and rent and immediately commit to increasing benefits for families struggling to get back on their feet.
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