By – Kendall Worth!
Dear Nova Scotia Liberal and NDP Caucuses
My name is Kendall Worth and I am writing this open letter today, on behalf of the community-of-people-I-advocate-for, through my writing. We have learned that Province House rose on Wednesday November 9th 2022, and the questions we were hoping would be asked … do not seem to have been by any opposition parties.
During the recent sitting of the house, I, and the the community-of-people-I-advocate-for, had high expectations, that questions we wanted asked, would in fact be asked. Here is an article
https://worthmatters.blogspot.com/2022/10/province-house-resumed-on-oct-13th-2013.html about the questions we wished to have asked in this sitting, including:
Is the government still working on transformation of the Employment Support and Income Assistance (ESIA) program? I have asked before.
And if yes, please ask what is the update on this so-called Transformation.
What is the Government doing to address inflation, and for the homeless population?
Starting on Oct. 13th I have been watching videos of question period when I could, and keeping in touch with Gary Burrill's constituency office to try and find out what questions, if any, around Employment Support and Income Assistance, got asked during question period, in this recent sitting. Here is a BLOG https://worthmatters.blogspot.com/2022/08/is-esia-transformation-still-happening.html that further illustrates why the community of people on social assistance, feel it is important, and were counting on an opposition MLA to ask the questions. I want to point out that this questions could have asked by either the Liberal or the NDP MLA’s. It is actually agreed, that, at least some of questions, should be asked by the Liberals. After-all they are the ones who first initiated the ESIA transformation while they were in government. The Liberals asking no questions about ESIA transformation would deem to indicate that they have lost interest since starting the Transformation, while in government.
The big question I wanted asked was: Is the Employment Support and Income Assistance Transformation started by the previous Liberal Government still happening? If yes, can the Minister of Community Services give this house and all Nova Scotians an update today, on where this transformation is currently, and next Steps?
I should point out that after I posted that blog to twitter, the following tweet was posted:
As far as I and informants from my community are concerned, this question did not get asked during the sitting, and this is disappointing and frustrating.
For a major reason the community-of-people-I-advocate-for were counting on a question (e.g. about Doctor's notes) is explained in this article: https://worthmatters.blogspot.com/2022/09/ia-caseworkers-still-want-to-question.html. People are still having issues with Income Assistance caseworkers. This article points out an issue that was supposed to be sorted out during ESIA transformation.
I have another concern, specifically about the NDP caucus and critic roles; and I have heard it expressed by other people in my community. Who is the critic for social services in the NDP Caucus? In the eyes of those for whom I advocate, MLA Kendra Coombs is asking her questions during questions period in a style indicating she is only interested in Cape Breton. We all agree what she is saying and the issues she is bringing forward in the Legislature are important. However, the frustration here is the large majority of people on Income Assistance, in Nova Scotia, live right here in Halifax; at least that is what I and those folks in my community, see. We, on the other hand, do not even know who the Liberal Community Services Critic is!
Of course, we hear about the increasing homeless population from one end of this province to the other. My major point is that, when Susan Leblanc was the Community Services critic for the NDP it was so much easier for my community, to access her to address Community Services related concerns. Members of the community-of-people-I-advocate-for wonder if Kendra Coombs has ever visited the Income Assistance community in Halifax and seen for herself what the issues really are. We can all agree that it is understandable that Kendra knows first hand the issues from her own community. However, she is the critic for all Nova Scotians. Therefore the NS NDP may be better off having a Halifax MLA in that critic role. Another side to this is that income assistance recipients survive on the standard household rate of $950.00 per month and money from other income gets clawed back. Therefore, someone from Halifax making the trip to the Cape Breton Centre constituency, where Kendra is MLA, is completely out of the question.
I will end this open letter by saying that concerns continue with the Standard Household Rate, continuing to be $950.00 a month, the Homeless Population continuing to increase, and now, being left in the dark re: whether further transformation is happening or not. The Community Of People I Advocate For are left in the Dark.
I await a response!
Kendall Worth!
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