By Kendall Worth
I recently had the pleasure of meeting with Lina Hamid, the MLA for Fairview – Clayton Park. This is my third interview with an MLA. Over the past few weeks, I interviewed Krista Gallagher, the current MLA for Halifax Chebucto. and Rod Wilson, the current MLA for Halifax Armdale.
The Rod Wilson interview is primarily a recording, as Dr. Wilson had a lot to say and writing it down would take me weeks! Please Do Listen
It was such a pleasure to have the opportunity to meet with Lina and to get to know her. She is very knowledgeable about Income Assistance and other community related issues, and I strongly believe she will make a great addition to the House of Assembly.
Q#1 – So can
you tell me a bit how you got the opportunity to run for MLA ? Did
you volunteer, get selected by EDA? Now that we
are 6 months into the new government, can you tell me a bit
about your experiences as an MLA so far? What was
it like transitioning from your previous line of work, to
being an elected official.
I have previously thought
about running for office but never really pursued it in a serious
way. I was approached shortly before the election was called asking
me to run for Fairview Clayton park. I figured, it’s now or never,
and so I agreed!
I am beyond honoured to have been elected
by the amazing people of Fairview Clayton Park. It’s definitely a
learning curve but I feel that my time in the social impact sector
has really helped me with the transition. The work definitely
involves a much broader scope than I expected, but we also have an
amazing crew at the constituency office, as well as amazing support
in the cuacus office.
I am excited and honoured to be able to
represent Fairview Clayton Park, not just at the House of Assembly,
but in every space that I am in.
Q#2 - In your
own constituency of Fairview Clayton Park, how do you see, from
your own experience, the issues of poverty, food insecurity,
and mental health? What do you see being done in your
community to address these issues?
Many people in
Fairview Clayton park are struggling to make ends meet. It can be
hard to advocate for change when your focus is on where your next
meal or next month's rent is going to come from. That being said,
folks with lived experience typically are the best people to ask for
ideas and solutions. My conversations with constituents is what fuels
the work that I do to advocate for them.
Additionally, there are lots of
wonderful initiatives in the riding that help support those who need
it most. This includes, but is not limited to, Nova Village (formerly
known as Fairview Resource Centre), the Mobile Food Market, and the
Fairview Food Pantry. In a perfect world, those services would not
need to exist.
Q#3 – Currently
the income assistance rate in Nova Scotia is $1005.00 for the
standard household rate. Some, if not many, income assistance
recipients are getting less than the amount mentioned above depending
on their situation. The question is: considering that income
assistance rates have never been enough to live on even though
there have been recent increases, do you agree that the
current $1005.00 is not enough money for people to live on? Did
you know about the Employment Support and Income Assistance
program before Becoming an MLA? And is there
anything you can say about why it needs to change, from your
experiences from past employment? Do you support
Basic Guaranteed Income as
a solution?
I certainly agree that
income assistance rates are too low and it’s not fair to expect
people to get by on so little.
When discussing this with the
Minister of Opportunities and Social Development, I repeatedly heard
the phrase “the best social support is a job” which is a
problematic statement on several levels. Most common being that folks
living on income assistance are so focused on survival that there can
sometimes be no mental capacity to carry out extensive job searches
or skill development. If the rates matched up with a more livable
rate, people can begin to focus on other aspects in their life, such
as, if they are able to, looking for work.
OSD identified
the market basket measure (MBM) as the measure they use for poverty.
The market basket measure in Nova Scotia is anywhere between $51,800
and $56,000, depending on where you live. Income assistance rates, if
you get the $1005 basic, is just over $12,000 annually. By their own
measure, this government is choosing to keep income assistance rates
at less than a quarter of what someone needs to be at the poverty
line.
New Democrats have called for improvements to income
assistance for years including calling on the province to study what
a basic income program could look like here.
I actually had to learn the ESIA
policie,s almost by heart, to make sure that the refugee claimants
that I used to support received all that they are eligible for. There
are many times I can recall where I had to guide intake or case
workers to their own policy to correct an error made against those
clients.
Q#5 – Is there anything-else
you feel is important to know about you and your work as an MLA, I
should report on, in this BLOG?
To you,Kendall, I want
to say thank you for this opportunity, and for the tireless advocacy
you do.
To Fairview Clayton park, I’m here for and
because of you. I look forward to connecting with more and more of
you over the years!
I wish all the best to Lina
moving forward and I look forward to working with her moving forward.
_______________________________________________________________________________
Kendall Worth is an award-winning anti-poverty activist who lives with disabilities and tries to make ends meet on income assistance.
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