November 7th, 2022
Premier Tim Houston
Office of the Premier
7th Floor, One Government Place
1700 Granville Street
P.O. Box 726
Halifax, NS
B3J 2T3
RE: OPEN LETTER –GOVERNMENT CLAIM OF “NO CONTROL” WHILE POVERTY WORSENS A RECKLESS APPROACH
Dear Premier Houston,
Last week in the provincial legislature the Premier said “Inflation is certainly putting a lot of pressure on families. There’s no question about that. On this side of the House, we know, and we have a fear – we try to control what we can, but some things we can’t control.”
This was echoed by the Minister of Community Services who said “we are absolutely aware of what is happening in Nova Scotia. Again, I will say that it has been very difficult knowing that a lot of this is out of control.”
We recognize that not everything is within the government’s power to change however, it is irresponsible for the government to ignore the many ways in which poverty is a political choice.
The Nova Scotia Action Coalition For Community Well-Being (NSACCW) is a coalition of community members dedicated to working towards a better quality of life for everyone. In October we launched our new campaign, Poverty is a Political Choice, which aims to build momentum towards the eradication of poverty. There are many choices the government could have made during this legislative sitting that would have made a significant difference for the 41,230 children and their families living in poverty across Nova Scotia.
The government is sitting on a $351 million projected surplus and has ample capacity to ensure the most vulnerable can meet their basic needs in these difficult times. Most of these actions can be taken immediately through an Order in Council and are well within the provincial government’s control.
- Increase Income Assistance rates so that recipients’ total income meets or exceeds a recognized low-income level
- Raise the minimum wage immediately to $15.00 an hour, with a plan to get to a living wage
- Extend the Nova Scotia Child Benefit to include more households
- Extend the Nova Scotia Affordable Living Tax Credit to include more households
These actions would provide meaningful support to the most vulnerable and lessen the strain on our health, justice, and social services.
The Nova Scotia Action Coalition For Community Well-Being is calling on the provincial government to take responsibility and act with the urgency required to eliminate poverty in our communities.
Sincerely,
The Nova Scotia Action Coalition for Community Well-Being
Take Action – Sign the open letter by leaving your name in the comment section below.
Do better. Poverty isn’t necessary.
Professor Emeritus, Saint Mary’s University, Halifax
The government is sitting on a $351 million projected surplus but chooses to do nothing to ease the day-to-day struggle of 41,230 children and their families living in poverty across Nova Scotia. This is an absolute disgrace.
Edson CASTILHO
Inflation is out of control. More can be done to reign it in.
It is necessary to help the province’s most vulnerable people. Now!
Housing (Shelter), Food, Water, Heat – Basic necessities to living should not be a struggle for working class families in our Province. Inflation costs on top of this housing crisis is destroying people in our Communities. Collectively, when we allow one to suffer just because it may not affect us personally, we all suffer in the end. But when we stand strong together and help each other out whenever we can and in whatever way that we can, because that’s what you’re supposed to do in a community, that’s when we begin to thrive as a collective. Nobody in our province should be suffering to survive, especially out those working day and night to make ends meet and still can’t afford to keep a roof over their heads or put food on the table.
Cindy Beaton
Commit to ending poverty now through concrete action.
Stephen White
Fix the poverty issue now
Honourable Premier, please pay attention to this request.
We can afford to make these changes, and in fact, we can’t afford not to.
I live on 1040 a month because I have health issues that I can’t work because of things going so high again I’m looking at living on the street which is appalling especially I am born in raised in Canada it makes me sick how us pure proud Canadians are forced to decide of streets or leave and people coming here are living the life one sick Canadian
Angela Wyllie
Ordinary people of every age are struggling to keep a roof over their heads and food in their stomachs. It has been the political investment choices/priorities that made this mess and only political investment choices/priorities that can make things better. Stop listening to wealthy developers and lobbyists and listen to your, ordinary citizens for a change.
Stop ignoring the suffering
Tax the rich !
Our government has the capacity to do things differently. It should not take much political will to do right by those who are really hurting. Inflation means increased tax revenue for government—share some of this with those who need it. Now.
May I add: the entire Appeal System needs to be upheld, we already have it legislated that appeal hearings are to be heard within 30 days and case workers are using these hearings as punitive measures against recipients, sometimes appeal hearings are not heard for up to 2 years just to withhold medical necessities from a recipient in retaliation which is a blatant and gross violation of the rights of impoverished and disabled people who are also private citizens protected by other rights, there needs to be a complete overhaul of the Department of Community Services in NS because the mentality that believes in punishing the poor people abusing the poor injuring the poor .. is still epidemic …toxic unconstitutional and illegal
Harold Beals
I agree with the four actions stated in the letter to you.
Sheilagh Martin
There’s an urgent problem to be solved. The solution is known. I think you should implement the solution, and publicly explain why this wasn’t done sooner.
Thank you for taking on this initiative to make the government accountable.
There is an undercurrent that arises easily, which sends the message that people that are poor are in that situation because of something they have done wrong- poor decisions, not working hard enough, making the wrong choices. But it has been proven that this is not the case! In fact, people are poor because of political decisions! It is, and always has been, a political choice to not solve this crippling issue. Poverty has been legislated into existence: through social policy approaches, and through refusal to fix social programs that are known to be inadequate. Let’s fix this! Now!
I used to ask myself, “how are people surviving off of this?” when I looked at income assistance rates. Now I know they’re not. The government has published numerous reports on livable wages, yet offers income assistance that meets only a fraction of these values. It just doesn’t make sense.
Erica Siba
People on income assistance are losing their housing because they can’t afford rents. Reinstate rent control! Low income people are doing without essential foods. Do more on food insecurity; people living on income assistance are suffering; increase welfare rates so that no-one on welfare lives below the Market Basket Measure of poverty–Canada’s recognized (absolute) poverty line-which means it’s what people need to live at a basic level.
c
I keep hoping and praying that hearts and heads work together for the sake of those who need large steps to be taken to make life liveable for so many individuals and families residing in Nova Scotia.
This is incredibly important
Basic income and more affordable housing all over NS including our rural communities
We can fix this, we just need political will!
Lots of great comments.. all of the suggestions doable …so it begs the question why is there no political will again in Nova Scotia ?
We have to employ qualified competent people to create implement and enforce competent qualified policies ..we have departments that need to be cleaned out.. we need staff hired that understand how to implement necessary and applicable policies in holistic healthy ways
We know the money is there.. this province prefers to pay on average $200 a day per diem to incarcerate people instead of putting $200 a month extra on somebody’s checque at the end of the month
We need rent caps..
We need residential tenancy boards that honour tenants in the same way they honour landlords
We need people to understand poor people are private citizens with rights.. they are not case file numbers ..we have people in this province with disabilities that are suffering because those in charge of the programming and the funds are quite toxic and unhealthy themselves in different ways… this is not just about fixing poverty with policies… this is about addressing the unconstitutional attitudes towards persons in poverty that has no business employed as public servants in charge of these services and funds ergo in absolute control of access to those funds and services …we have caseworkers that are hand picking who they deem worthy enough to access funds/ services and punishes those who dare speak out against their corruption… Where is the accountability for unethical criminal behaviour from public servants
We we need an Ombudsman Office that actually acts as an Ombudsman Office and not a gatekeeper for cover-ups on the deplorable conditions that poor people endure in their subservient roles as recipients to Department Community Services
We need a Human Rights Commission that recognizes that poor people are violated daily in this province namely by public servants
We need massive radical movement in this province of complacency…
We need legal accountability to protect poor people from the injuries sustained from incompetent and criminal public servants that are attracted to the unmonitored power over positions ..the power they have over the most vulnerable people in this province… Should not be allowed to go unchecked and with impunity
The last time this province seen responsible government is when the words came out of Joseph Howes mouth while he spoke in a Legislation session..
To be still having this conversation 20 years after I resigned from every single Poverty Action group is heartbreaking to me… we know the answers are there.. we know the funds are there ..we know we have people in this province that can actually make this work…
Work being the operative word because there’s been way too much talking.. we need to start seeing action from every level of government every department
In 2006 I presented to the Federal Budget and they accepted three of my five recommendations and those were a1) separate department for disabilities 2) a separate department for housing and 3) separate accountability commission that was run by citizens and not government….
That was in 2006 I’m still waiting but it’s not enough to have policies and it’s not enough to have departments we have to have qualified personnel in these departments that can’t be found on the DSM-5
Poverty is a political choice and unnecessary. Structurally, we are still working on the 19th Century Charity Organization Society’s model of screening out the “undeserving poor” by paying for a social welfare infrastructure that diverts millions of dollars from people living in poverty. An guaranteed income would dispense with much of that bureaucracy, freeing up tax dollars to provide superior support for structurally marginalized individuals and families.
Chose to End Poverty Now
Poverty can be overcome if we put community first and fight the spirit of oppression. We are only as strong as the weakest link. And we have the potential and tools to change our systems so that everybody does benefit.
You can do better.
I agree that the actions and policies suggested in the letter would not only benefit the people they address they would help build a better society.
Jack was a hard working man and still is when his health permits. He grew up in NF in a family of 22 children. He was a builder, carpenter, cabinet maker…jack of many trades and moved about in the Atlantic provinces. Earlier this year, residing in Nova Scotia, he became homeless for the first time. Approaching his senior retirement year, he experiences health challenges. When he was unable to work…he turned to Community Service for a bit of help. His landlord wanted $550 for a room rental. With the standard household rate in place for a single male he would receive $608 a month…leaving him with $58 for a personal amount. Renting a room from a private household owner does not qualify for a rent subsidy. Not able to survive on $58 a month and feeling like he had no other recourse, Jack moved to the woods. Sadly, this is becoming the story similar for many folks as our housing crisis continues, perpetuated by misinformed housing beliefs of our political leadership that reinforces impoverished states of being for too many Nova Scotians!
You have the power to end poverty in our communities, change your detrimental policies.
Poverty continues to increase and the government just stands by while people are starving and homeless and don’t have access to their basic needs and rights as human beings. We, the people, deserve a government that serves us and not the Status Quo that’s been beating the 99% into the ground in the last 50 years.
In addition to being a moral issue- morally right to decrease and banish poverty and such inequality as exists in Canada now- we are well aware of the consequences of poverty in a variety of aspects of life and the economic implications. E,g. Th social determinants of health are well known and have been for decades now. Poverty and inadequate housing are among them. When both of these and other determinants are addressed, there will be a decrease in the monies being spent for health care, and a better quality of life for everyone. Please have the political will to do the right anf fiscally prudent thing.
People are not living they merely exist on IA and minimum wage all energy goes into living day to day. The choice to stay on welfare for some can seem rational if you have to pay child care from these monies even assuming that families are able to obtain subsidized spots… Eating a healthy diet on these monies would be an extraordinary feat. In the end with poor nutritiion it weakens immune systems and leaves families and children vulnerable to a host of health conditions which in turn put an additional strain on health care system. Putting monies into a healthy beginning up front will save millions of dollars…
People are not living they merely exist on IA and minimum wage all energy goes into living day to day. The choice to stay on welfare for some can seem rational if you have to pay child care from these monies even assuming that families are able to obtain subsidized spots… Eating a healthy diet on these monies would be an extraordinary feat. In the end with poor nutritiion it weakens immune systems and leaves families and children vulnerable to a host of health conditions which in turn put an additional strain on health care system. Putting monies into a healthy beginning up front will save millions of dollars…
I am homeless but staying with a friend; have been looking for 2 years for an affordable, safe place to live. There are no affordable places to live in the Halifx Regional Municipality; in a building I used to live the cost of a bachelor apartment has tripled; that should be against the law but greed and gluttony is thriving here. I see no change coming. I have lost hope in our government; this is so very scary.
Poverty is a political choice because:
If you give billions in low to no taxes for corporations & subsidies to do projects, which often times were once run by the government VS no money for low income housing, high prices for food, poor maintenance on highways, no inter provincial or inter national by bus or or plane that is affordable, education poverty where anything over sitting in a desk is subsidized by parents through bake sales, extracurricular activities cost, etc.
If governments think there job is to prop up industry and not the people then you are in the wrong business. We are not in a corporation, we are in a country, built by the sacrifices & racism towards people of colour, indigenous peoples, immigrants, refugees,
The rising cost of basic necessities needs is an escalating crisis for all Nova Scotians, especially as we go into winter, the number of people who cannot meet basic needs rises daily. Immediate and meaningful action is needs by the NS PC Government NOW! please do not delay.
Thank you for recognizing the pressure that inflation is having on families. The impacts on housing and wellbeing are immense. However, life can be made better for all Nova Scotians. Experts with lived and work experience in this field want to help guide solutions. We do have options with in our control. Let’s something new and impactful.
“Every system is perfectly designed to achieve the results it gets.” The results – impacting real people – that we are seeing are not acceptable. The numbers speak for themselves. Change is needed now and is possible.
The Provincial Association of Women Resource Centres in Nova Scotia supports this letter and the call to actions within. Government can fight poverty, by raising the minimum wage. There are steps and strategies to mitigate poverty…just ask those who are fighting against it.
I am signing this petition on behalf of the FACE of Poverty, a faith based group that has been involved in poverty issues since the early 2000’s. This group has lobbied on all those things related to poverty and over the more recent years has been vocal in its concern for the increased lack of adequate and safe housing for our most vulnerable populations. We believe that more must be done to assist those with no voice and no power. Housing is a primary basic need which must be available to all – without it peoples health, including their mental health, will deteriorate, leading to a heavier dependency on other social systems. If this situation were well managed those who are homeless would be able to live a more dignified life and play a role in our communities. Life for them would begin. It is now time to make this happen. 400 homeless grew to 700+ because of a lack of adequate action just like the wait list for primary care physicians has increased. The problem doesn’t go away – it just grows. Halifax is a testament to that. That should not be our legacy.
Poverty is a political choice. Do better.
Karen Patterson
I am signing on behalf of Tri County Women’s Centre who serve many women who live in poverty. We support the recommendations in this letter to improve supports to Nova Scotians who live at or below the poverty line.