大象传媒

The province鈥檚 鈥榣ast resort鈥� welfare system erects barriers that lock in poverty, say experts.

By Ximena Gonzalez in The Tyee

Read the original article .  

As the number of Canadians finding themselves unable to make ends meet , the  for a basic income are intensifying.

Currently, there are two bills, , whose passing could open the door to the creation of a livable basic income program for which any low-income Canadian can qualify. Like the Canada Child Benefit or Old Age Security, a livable basic income should be available to anyone whose earnings fall below the poverty line. No means testing. No questions asked. No shame nor stigma.

鈥淚t鈥檚 just basic justice that people have enough money to survive鈥� and to ensure 鈥渢hat people aren鈥檛 living in poverty in a wealthy country,鈥� says Evelyn Forget, a professor of economics and community health sciences at the University of Manitoba.

Instead, now, Canadians whose yearly gross income falls below the low-income cut-off 鈥� which  between $18,941 and $72,814 depending on location and household size 鈥� are consistently stripped of their agency, autonomy and dignity when they apply for income supports.

Our social support system has veered away from a 鈥渞evolving door鈥� model, where people were expected to access benefits as needed, to one that鈥檚 invasive, punitive and stigmatizing. The reason for this is related to our conception of poverty.

Sorting 鈥榰ndeserving鈥� from 鈥榙eserving鈥�

Once regarded as a temporary affliction caused by external factors, poverty today is often perceived as a moral failure, explains , an associate professor of humanitarian studies at Royal Roads University.

鈥淚t鈥檚 this present pervasive assumption that people must have done something wrong to be in the circumstances they鈥檙e in,鈥� she says, noting that this has led to the categorization of people experiencing poverty in two groups: the deserving, and the undeserving.

To determine who belongs in what group, governments use  such as means testing to evaluate applicants鈥� assets, and ensure they鈥檙e not taking advantage of the system. In other words, that they lack a desire to work.

However, the widespread  has been disproven, Smith-Carrier says. 鈥淭he causes of poverty are volatile labour markets, the lack of good paying jobs, pandemics, housing unaffordability, racism and discrimination in the workplace, cost of living.鈥�

Despite the evidence, outdated notions of worthiness and deservingness are  that regulate access to income supports across the country. As a result, Canada鈥檚 income assistance programs are failing to achieve their goal: keeping people out of poverty.

鈥淪ocial assistance programs don鈥檛 even provide half of what is necessary to meet the poverty line,鈥� Smith-Carrier says. 鈥淭hese programs create poverty, they don鈥檛 address it.鈥�

Alberta鈥檚 last resort welfare system

The influence of these myths on public policy is evident in Alberta, a province  of last-resort welfare, where income supports are not available until all other avenues have been exhausted.

There are two income support programs in Alberta, Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped, or AISH, for those with a permanent disability, and Alberta Works for those expected to work on either a full- or part-time basis.

With a  of $1,787, contingent on income and means testing, AISH provides  in the country.

However AISH remains below the poverty line and the barriers to access this benefit are high. In a recent , Vibrant Communities Calgary, or VCC, a community organization tasked with implementing the city鈥檚 poverty reduction strategy, identified AISH eligibility criteria as one of the program鈥檚 main shortcomings. Others are insufficient benefits, high penalty rates for AISH recipients who engage in paid work, and a punitive cohabitating policy.

鈥淎s long as you can produce medical documentation that you have a barrier to employment, you鈥檙e not going to be hounded quite as much by your caseworker,鈥� says Lee Stevens, a policy and research specialist at VCC, and author of the report.

For able-bodied Albertans deemed capable of working full time, supports are much lower 鈥� and come with significant strings attached.

To  for a baseline monthly allowance of $440, an individual Albertan has to prove they鈥檙e actively and systematically searching for employment (unpaid work, such as volunteering or caring for a family member, doesn鈥檛 count). And any additional income they receive is partially deducted, or clawed back, from their monthly allowance. This makes it impossible to effectively get out of poverty.

鈥淭he system is completely inefficient and ineffective,鈥� Stevens says, pointing at the stability a livable basic income would provide to Albertans. 鈥淭he desire of a basic income is to start combining some of these programs, streamline the system a bit, and create some certainty and security for people.鈥�

Barriers to a livable basic income

Evidence  that implementing a livable basic income would address many of the challenges perpetuated (if not created) by the existing patchwork of income assistance programs in Alberta and across Canada.

According to Forget, social assistance based on income testing alone would allow people to earn money 鈥� and to save it.

鈥淚f you can鈥檛 save money, if you can鈥檛 put money aside, it becomes almost impossible to get yourself out of poverty,鈥� she says, pointing at the expenses folks on income support are unable to afford without savings, such as first- and last-month鈥檚 rent, or acquiring the pricey tools certain occupations require.

Because access to income supports is currently determined by means testing, eligibility is contingent on the maintenance of a certain degree of poverty. The closer one gets to the poverty line, so does the likelihood of losing one鈥檚 benefits altogether. This situation reflects a rampant distrust towards impoverished Canadians.

鈥淲e have a lot of programs put in place to help people,鈥� Forget says. 鈥淏ut those programs are all designed, implemented and delivered by middle-class people.鈥�

Hilary Chapple is one whose life would be far more stable and promising under a basic income approach. Instead, she is caught in the tangled web of Alberta鈥檚 welfare system.

Late in the summer of 2019, Chapple was diagnosed with spinal osteoporosis and osteoarthritis. Because this ailment severely undermined her capacity to work, that fall she applied to receive AISH.

After five months of filling out paperwork for means and income testing, as well as undergoing physical and psychological evaluations to determine her eligibility to the program, in March 2020, Chapple received her first disability deposit.

The stability of a monthly allowance of $1,087 would keep her afloat for the following three years. But things changed last December, when a new case worker found an error in Chapple鈥檚 file.

At the time of her application, Chapple lived in Calgary鈥檚 northwest with her wife, which she told her caseworker helping her fill out her forms. But somehow that fact didn鈥檛 make it into her file.

鈥淭hey reviewed my whole file, found out I was married,鈥� says Chapple, who was told she owed the government $22,000 in overpayments. The shock of that big bill hit Chapple hard because she鈥檇 .

Chapple鈥檚 situation isn鈥檛 uncommon. According to Greg Stead, director of investigations at the Alberta ombudsman鈥檚 office, the complaints his office receives are often related to procedural irregularities, including clerical errors. 鈥淒ecisions about those programs can deeply affect people,鈥� he says. 鈥淪o it鈥檚 natural that when people are affected so significantly, that they will exhaust all available mechanisms of appeal.鈥�

Chapple did appeal to the authorities. And lost. 鈥淭he AISH Act needs to be changed,鈥� she says. 鈥淪o people who are married do not get dinged the same way I am.鈥�

Chapple would have been spared all this if there existed an income-tested benefit to ensure all Canadians have enough money to afford basic expenses, regardless of their marital status, living arrangements or capacity to work.

Proponents believe this model can effectively eradicate poverty, unlike existing social supports. But the road ahead is still lengthy. While critics often  on the administrative hurdles to implementing a basic income, this isn鈥檛 the biggest challenge.

The myths that perpetuate the stigmatization of poverty as an individual failure are also barriers to its eradication.

鈥淚 think the big barrier behind all of it is the general unwillingness of the population to trust one another,鈥� Forget says. 鈥淭o trust people to make their own decisions about their lives.鈥�