By Kendall Worth
It’s February! And while it does not feel much like Spring these days, the Spring Session of the Nova Scotia Legislature will open on February 23rd. The Spring Session is the all-important Budget Session, when decisions will be made about where and how the Government will be spending money over the coming year.
As my regular readers know, this means that it is time for my usual pre-Session BLOG in which I share my views on what is happening in our community and my suggestions for what the Government should be doing about it. For quick reference, here are a couple of earlier pre-Session BLOGs from 2023 and 2024, respectively.
A Bit of Background
For new readers, perhaps I should clarify that in the context of my journalism, the expression “our community” means those Nova Scotians, and more particularly the residents of HRM, who live in poverty, eking out an existence on government benefits such as Income Assistance. Which - as I pointed out in a recent BLOG - means trying to survive in today’s world on the unrealistic sum of $1,022 a month.
In my journalism, I highlight the impossibility of living in dignity on such an amount. But I also recognize and seek to address the complicated layers of daily life that adversely impact people in my community. These include issues of wellness, disability and mental health, the impact of social stigma, the dangers of social isolation and more. I make an effort in my writings to advocate for innovative policy solutions that address both root causes and multiple dimensions of social marginalization and economic poverty.
I will admit that I have been disappointed more often than I have been encouraged by engaging with Governments on policy issues related to poverty and social benefits. However, I have seen some positive changes over the years that still give me reason for hope and encourage me to continue my advocacy efforts.
Most of these improvements have happened on the margins of social policy … a new initiative here, a revision of program criteria or modest increase in benefits there. But we had seen in past years under previous governments, some willingness to explore more fundamental changes and consider more significant reform. (See my many BLOGs and articles on the ESIA Transformation process launched by the McNeil Government.)
To be fair, some of the First Voices in my community considered the whole ESIA Transformation exercise to have been nothing more than a hoax on poor people, as I documented here. But I was more optimistic, and my on-going journalism continues to advocate for an open space in which it is possible to imagine a more ambitious and potentially transformative agenda. Sadly, the Liberal efforts of the past decade produced more studies than actual change. Then the Government fell and the policy review and reform process was abruptly stopped. Elections really do have consequences.
Another important aspect of my journalism is that I do my best to bring multiple voices from my community, - people living in poverty who I refer to as “First Voices”. Our community is diverse: so, peoples’ situations are often a little different from mine and their opinions on issues can be quite different. But I am committed to hearing and amplifying these voices which are so rarely heard at public tables or in policy debates and discussions, as I have explored here.
On the Coming Legislative Session:
With regards to the upcoming Session, the headline issue that I hear from EVERYONE is that life is getting less and less affordable in Nova Scotia, and more and more precarious for people in our community. The ever-tightening economic pressures related to housing as well as groceries are only serving to increase the levels of stress, anxiety and mental health issues that are so pervasive in our community.
So, if nothing else happens in the upcoming session, - the revision and improvement of benefit rates should be at the top of the list. It is just not possible for people to live lives in dignity at such levels of poverty.
Next on the list is the urgent need to address the lack of affordable housing in our province. Housing is the biggest monthly expense of almost all Nova Scotians and many people living on Income Assistance are hovering right on the edge of homelessness. There are both long-term and short-term steps that need to be taken by the provincial government to address this issue, as I have discussed in a recent BLOG. And while we all see the many cranes and construction sites around HRM, hardly any of these new units will be truly affordable. This issue needs both continued attention and expanded resources.
Beyond those two over-arching issues, there are a number of additional policy asks that need to be advanced. The six I have listed below are relatively modest and incremental, tweaks to existing programs and not at all “transformative”. But one can hope that perhaps they are politically acceptable and operationally feasible in our current circumstances.
• On the Waiting List for Family Doctors: As pointed out here, there continue to be long waiting lists for getting registered with a GP / family doctor. This is true for ALL Nova Scotians, but this situation is particularly problematic for Income Assistance recipients who need not just regular medical attention, - but are also obliged to secure various “medical notes” from a doctor to qualify or retain different benefits. Targeted efforts need to be made to ensure that the most vulnerable people in our society do not fall through the cracks of our health care system.
• On Co-habitation: The ESIA system continues to penalize individuals on benefits who seek to co-habit with others, whether that be in romantic or platonic relationships. This policy only serves to increase social isolation and worsen financial circumstances, as I have written about here and here. Long term readers will recall that this was one of the proposed policy reforms promoted as part of the ESIA Transformation process, and then dropped.
• On Special Diet Allowances: Dietary allowances are a critical resource for those people on IA who live with special dietary or nutritional needs often tied to medical conditions. I have written about this issue extensively (see here and here) but the Government continues to drag its feet with regards to reviewing both the criteria and amounts of such allowances. Indeed, I have been told that Special Diet Allowances have not increased in decades. Seriously??!!
• On Career Seek: If you want to give the impression of change without really changing anything, the easiest way to go is to slap a new name or label on it. What some people refer to as “putting lipstick on a pig”. This must have been the thinking of the Houston Government when the Dept. of Community Services was “transformed” overnight into the Dept. of Opportunity and Social Development. From the perspective of my community, the most significant program providing “opportunities” to people is the Career Seek program. Career Seek provides marginalised people with a pathway to higher education. But as I have written extensively in past BLOGs, the criteria and conditions of the program make that pathway very narrow if not wholly impassable to most interested individuals. If Government wants Career Seek to have REAL impact, much more will have to change than just the Dept’s name.
• On EI Clawbacks: As pointed out in this BLOG from a year ago, the Government seems committed to penalizing those individuals willing and able to go out and secure part-time or seasonal employment to supplement their IA benefits and improve their lives. This happens through the clawing back of Employment Insurance benefits, which seems wholly unfair and vindictive. Simply stated, the clawback needs to stop!
• On Social Isolation: The NS Government seems to have blinders with regards to the epidemic of social isolation that affects our community and contributes greatly to issues of mental health and well-being. Other provinces and jurisdictions across Canada have put in place programs and services that support people to engage with others and rebuild social relations. I have written extensively about this approach – known as social prescription – and the need for local programs if not a dedicated Social Prescription Organization to address these issues. Again, - the Minister holds the key to open this door.
In Conclusion
I have listed above some of the policy changes that I think anti-poverty advocates should be promoting through the upcoming Legislative session, and that Ministers in the Houston Government will hopefully consider when looking at the challenging reality of the daily lives of people in my community.
I say this, knowing full well that the Premier has already warned that Nova Scotians should expect program cutbacks in 2026. We must be braced that the agenda of the Houston Government this session may be focused less on improving lives and more on worsening them through cutbacks of programs and services.
Legislative sessions are a time when many of us want to be creative and constructive with regards to new and improved policies that will improve the lives of ordinary Nova Scotians.
But sometimes the best we can do is just be vigilant, loud and protective.
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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