By – Kendall Worth!
BRAG Protest Province House Budget 2019
Regular readers may remember my about the Benefit Reform Action (BRAG) Group and the need to get that group, or something similar up and Running.
Let’s take a minute to pretend that the Benefits Reform Action Group is back up and running, now. I need to find some other advocates to protest outside of province house on provincial Budget Day, since BRAG is NOT up and running.
At our monthly BRAG Meeting in January we would be starting to talk about organizing the following:
#1 – Getting BRAG members to volunteer to keep their eyes and ears open on when word gets out to the Public about the day that the Provincial Finance minister will be reading the Budget., which I assume will be sometime this spring.
#2 –Organizing to ensure that on the day that the budget is read, BRAG members and other advocates are there making demands about income assistance rates and protesting outside Province House.
For one major Example for what BRAG has done on Budget Day in the Past see “ https://nsadvocate.org/2019/03/26/on-budget-day-poverty-activists-tell-premier-to-increase-income-assistance-rates-for-real/”
However it is clear that Benefits Reform Action is not going be meeting/Back up and Running by January 11th, 2022. So, for the third year in a row (unless I can find some other Advocates/activists/community members to protest outside Province House on the day the Finance Minister is going to be reading the Budget) then anyone who is advocating for getting the income assistance increased, or advocating for a better system, through Department of Community Services , is NOT going to be Protesting outside the Nova Scotia Legislature.
In 2020, even though the COVID Lock-Downs had not yet started on the day of the Budget Reading, BRAG was unsuccessful in getting much a of a turnout on budget day as we only had 5 days notice!
One question is: In 2020 did the Public only get 5 days notice of the budget timing? Isn’t it usually like 30 days? At least BRAG did not pick up on it until 5 days before. The person who generally notified us of the budget date, happened, at the time, to be “taking a break” from BRAG meetings. So no one was there to give us the head’s up.
Then, in 2021, when were in the middle of COVID Lock-Downs following Public Health Protocols, an effort was made to try and get BRAG back up and Running. E-mails were sent out the BRAG List and unfortunately, only one member responded. So with lack of communication between members, nothing could be organized in 2021.
Luckily, in 2021 the income assistance rates rose by $100, which was a good increase, but still is not enough money to live on. And now we are into 2022, and still BRAG is not yet back up and running.
Before 2020, this budget-watch-Protest was a yearly event that was organized and hosted by BRAG. This year we have to be prepared for the unexpected.
So the BIG question is “where are we going to find anti-poverty activists to protest outside of Province House this year?
This event was, and still is, important to the community because many other first voice people have never been to a BRAG meeting and always depended on BRAG members to raise their voices at this event. The First Voice who depended on this protest, and the other important work of Benefits Reform Action Group, are people who are often scared to come forward about their own situation, because the system wears them down. Fear of being stigmatized, if people know they are welfare recipeints, keeps them from acting in public. You will never, for example ,see a group of people, who only know each other through attending soup kitchens, or standing in line at Food Banks, organizing protest among themselves while sitting down eating the meal. Their health, and the ways they are expected to live day to day, on a limited income, has them discouraged, frustrated and looked down on.
Also a few Sources in my community brought to my attention that, last year in 2021, there were a number of middle and upper class people who came forward and said the income assistance rates were too low. I question weather or not there was any truth to this or if this was just a rumour going around in the Community? If it is true, then maybe there is some hope of me finding some other activists who are advocating for income assistance to increase.
I want to end this article by talking a-bit about the work that went into organization the yearly budget watch protest.
Anywhere from 30 days to 2 months work went into organizing BRAG members to be protesting outside of Province house. The following list explains exactly what work I am talking about:
Even though we did not know the date the Budget reading would be happening, at January’s BRAG meeting, the Organizing Sub Committee would be formed.
The one specific BRAG member who had inside contacts with Government, (who as mentioned above was taking a break from BRAG in 2020) would agree to let us know the minute she finds out the exact date the budget would be read.
Even though we always knew the date of the budget reading would not happen before February's meeting, the protest sings were already made and the subcommittee met twice.
The one member always always able to give us heads up of the exact date of the Budget Reading. Then we would start getting word out to the community about the protest.
So Lets hope for a protest, to demand raising the income assistance rates in 2022!
If you are interested in reactivating BRAG or talking about a protest at the budget for increasing social assistant rates or some other anti-poverty demand, please let me know in the comments, or email me at: advocateX2@gmail.com
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