Late payments and clawed-back benefits, they argue, are only the beginning for Saskatchewan residents relying on the Saskatchewan Assured Income Disability (SAID) program to survive. As well, the program is not properly staffed, leading to long delays for clients in dire need.
Moe’s bad news budget increases Social Services by a meagre 0.4 per cent and cuts the Rental Housing Supplement by over seven million dollars.
“This bad news budget is only going to make things harder for Saskatchewan’s most vulnerable,” said Carla Beck, Saskatchewan NDP Leader. “The Sask. Party continues to prove they either don’t understand or simply don’t care. When your critical income support arrives late and still doesn’t cover the basics, that’s not just inadequate, it’s cruel.”
Individual adults receiving SAID in Saskatchewan’s major centres currently receive $1,159 per month. By comparison, the average rent for a one-bedroom apartment now exceeds that amount, at approximately $1,199 per month — leaving recipients unable to cover even basic housing costs.
“People are going to fall farther and farther into debt just to keep a roof over their head and food on the kitchen table,” said Brittney Senger, Disabilities Shadow Minister. “How a government treats its most vulnerable is a clear reflection of its values. Scott Moe needs to explain why people in our province who need support the most are being forgotten.”
Carla Beck and the Saskatchewan NDP are renewing their calls for Moe and his Minister of Social Services to properly support SAID and improve available programs to reflect the true cost of living in Saskatchewan. Financial anxiety here is higher than anywhere else in Canada and one-in-four residents report borrowing money or piling on debt just to buy food.
“I’m homeless because the SAID rates are so low,” said Wendy McCallum, a SAID recipient. “I had to choose between eating, paying rent, or getting my medication, and the rates are so low, I can’t afford a place to live.”
After nearly two decades on SAID, McCallum is now homeless because of the Sask. Party’s inadequate SAID rates. When women’s shelters are full, she wanders the streets or sits in hospital waiting rooms to stay warm at night.
Erika Ritchie, Social Services Shadow Minister, said the issues in Social Services go well beyond funding — a failure coming as a result of 20 years of underfunding by the Sask. Party.
“There aren’t enough people working on these critical support programs to keep up with demand,” Ritchie said. “We hear from vulnerable people every day who can’t get the answers they need on programs that can mean the difference between eating or going hungry, between sleeping with a roof over your head or out on the streets.
“Scott Moe isn’t just failing to address the challenges people are facing to make ends meet — he’s actively making those problems worse.
“Clearly, it’s time for change.”
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