Dear Minister Susan Corkum-Greek;
Hello,
My name is Kendall Worth, and I am writing to you today because I
became aware that during last week’s Cabinet Shuffle by Premier Tim
Houston, you became the new Minister of the Department of
Opportunities and Social Development in Nova
Scotia.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/cabinet-shuffle-nova-scotia-may-2026-9.7213550
Throughout this open letter, I want to point out several things which, according to my own lived experience and according to others I advocate for through my BLOG, need to be changed within the Department. I also want to help educate you on the lived experiences of many clients of the Employment Support and Income Assistance Program. However, first allow me to introduce myself a bit more.
I have been a Poverty Advocate and Activist here in Halifax, Nova Scotia, where I live, from 2013 until the present day. I would like to ask that you please draw your attention to this BLOG post Here.
This is the specific BLOG post where I first referenced through my journalism the Department’s name change. Before the 2024 Provincial Election, what is now known as the Department of Opportunities and Social Development was formerly known as the Department of Community Services.
If you
look at my past journalism
here:
https://halifax.mediacoop.ca/author/kendall-worth.html
you
will see that from 2012 until 2016 I was a journalist for the Halifax
Media COOP.
Then
from 2016 until 2021 I was a journalist for the Nova Scotia
Advocate:
https://nsadvocate.org/author/kendall-worth/
If you look at this BLOG post Here you will see the history of why and how my current “For What Matters” BLOG got started.
This BLOG post Here reports on part two of the history of my BLOG and why it got started.
I am asking that you please give my journalism your attention by clicking on the above links. I am requesting your attention to my BLOG and my past journalism because, as you review this material, you will learn that for several years I have been one of the main advocates in Nova Scotia calling for change within what was once known as the Department of Community Services, now known as the Department of Opportunities and Social Development.
It is my hope that, as the new Minister of this Department, you will understand that the programs and services offered through your Department are used by Nova Scotians with disabilities, many of whom cannot work full-time because of their disabilities. In many cases, they also require assistance with areas related to independent living needs.
I also hope it will be understood, as pointed out in this BLOG post Here and as I continue to report on in this BLOG post Here that there are persons with disabilities currently moving out of institutions and into the community. Persons with disabilities have just as much right to live in and be part of their communities as anyone else.
In
this BLOG post
here:
https://worthmatters.blogspot.com/2026/05/on-cohabitation-and-romantic-partners.html
I point out another right these same people have, which the current Income Assistance system in Nova Scotia interferes with — the right to live with a spouse or intimate partner without fear of financial punishment or losing support.
Something else I need to bring up in this letter, considering what this letter is specifically about, is that from 2013 until 2021 I was a member of what was then called the Benefits Reform Action Group. For the history of this group, see Here . Then if you see Here the group eventually ceased to exist. This group was also advocating for ending poverty in Nova Scotia, including advocating for changes in the Employment Support and Income Assistance Program, just as I continue to advocate for through my current BLOG. For more on why a BRAG-like group is still needed, see Here. Several BLOG posts included in the 3rd link of this paragraph also point out why I sometimes feel like I am one of the few people continuing the advocacy work BRAG started.
Minister
Susan, with getting into educating you more on what you need to know,
for anyone who depends on Income Assistance in Nova Scotia, as
pointed out in this BLOG post
here:
https://worthmatters.blogspot.com/2026/01/turns-out-2026-starts-off-with-another.html
the current Income Assistance rate is $1022.00 per month. Not all Income Assistance recipients receive this amount. If you click on the above link and look at the chart included there, you will find that some receive even less depending on their individual circumstances.
For many Income Assistance recipients who are clients of your Department, after rent and bills are paid, there is often little or nothing left for groceries, transportation, clothing, social participation, or unexpected expenses. This needs to be fixed.
I also
need to make you aware that many current clients of your Department,
before the Income Assistance rates became what they are today, lived
through years and sometimes decades of deep poverty, financial
instability, social exclusion, and chronic stress. As these BLOG
posts elaborate
on:
https://worthmatters.blogspot.com/2025/04/the-rise-of-introverts-in-halifax-and.html
and
here:
https://worthmatters.blogspot.com/2025/04/inflation-introverts-and-isolation-many.html
many people today are suffering from serious mental health effects connected to the long-term realities of poverty and isolation.
The current system has, in many ways, created emotional exhaustion, anxiety, depression, hopelessness, trauma, and social withdrawal among many recipients. Years of constantly worrying about food, rent, bills, and survival can deeply affect a person’s mental well-being. In many cases, people become isolated because they simply cannot afford to participate in community life, maintain friendships, go out socially, or build healthy relationships. Over time, this isolation itself becomes damaging to mental health.
Many people on Income Assistance are not struggling because they lack value or potential. Many are struggling because the system itself has worn them down emotionally and psychologically over long periods of time.
Other problems and issues with the Employment Support and Income Assistance Program include:
•
There is bureaucratic nonsense and systemic problems involved with
qualifying for Special Diets. See
here:
https://worthmatters.blogspot.com/2024/11/12-years-later-and-still-nothing-has.html
and
here:
https://worthmatters.blogspot.com/2024/11/in-meantime-scars-caused-in-2012-and.html
Additionally, the allowances provided for special diet needs are far too low considering today’s grocery costs.
• As pointed out in several BLOG posts included in this link
here:
https://worthmatters.blogspot.com/search/label/Annual%20review
the current system requires recipients to attend Annual Reviews each year, which many find intrusive, stressful, and degrading. For individuals already dealing with anxiety, trauma, or mental health struggles, these reviews can create additional emotional distress and fear surrounding their financial security.
• The system also does a great deal to normalize loneliness and
social isolation. A lot about how and why it promotes isolation is
pointed out in this BLOG post
here:
https://worthmatters.blogspot.com/2024/10/social-isolation-is-not-ok-esia.html
One of
the biggest reasons for this is that when a romantic couple decides
to live together, the current system punishes them financially. This
issue is reported on in this BLOG post
here:
https://worthmatters.blogspot.com/2022/05/cohabitation-and-social-assistance.html
and here for Part
Two:https://worthmatters.blogspot.com/2022/05/part-ii-cohabitation-and-618-of-esia.html
This creates fear around relationships and discourages people from building stable emotional support systems and households together. Human connection is important to mental health, and policies that interfere with relationships can contribute to loneliness, depression, and emotional hardship.
• Another major issue is that after rent and bills are paid, many recipients are left with next to nothing financially to participate in social activities, recreation, transportation, or community involvement. This often leaves people trapped in cycles of isolation and poor mental health.
Minister Susan, one question I want to raise to you is: why change the name of the Department to the Department of Opportunities and Social Development if opportunity is not going to be real?
This question comes up because I am not only advocating for changes in policy within the Employment Support and Income Assistance Program through my BLOG, but I am also advocating for:
•
Basic Guaranteed Income
• A Social Prescribing Organization
•
Changes in the Career Seek Program
For a summary on why I ask the above question, and why all three
of the above solutions are needed, see this BLOG post
here:
https://worthmatters.blogspot.com/2025/11/sometimes-solution-is-found-in-creative.html
Minister Susan, it is the hope of myself and others whom I advocate for through my BLOG that moving forward in your new role, you will draw your attention to what needs to be changed within the Employment Support and Income Assistance Program. Then, following that attention, meaningful changes will happen.
Yours Truly,
Kendall Worth
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