Fiona Traynor, Jodi Brown and Aron Spidle
Tim Blades of Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, passed away peacefully on June 1, 2026, just a few days before his 48th birthday. Tim spent his life fighting for fairness, respect, and real opportunities for people dealing with poverty, disability, and social isolation.
Tim knew what it was like to struggle with unfair systems because he lived it himself. Tim was unafraid to share his own story of living with health conditions that he fought to get diagnosed and treated, and trying to live as a disabled recipient of social assistance. He used his lived experience to strengthen the work of anti-poverty groups such as the Benefits Reform Action Group (BRAG), and the Community Agenda for Social Assistance Reform (CASAR). Tim spoke tirelessly to government committees and communities throughout Nova Scotia campaigning for inclusive social programs based on dignity and respect.
Tim had a special gift for turning hard times into helpful action. He wrote and spoke honestly about poverty, disability, mental health, and being a caregiver. By writing about the inadequacy and bureaucratic quagmire of Nova Scotia’s social assistance program in the Nova Scotia advocate, Tim brought hidden struggles into the light and made people feel seen and understood. He graduated from the Halifax Humanities Program, which nurtured his lifelong belief in the power of learning and community building.
One of Tim’s biggest achievements was helping to end Nova Scotia’s unfair child support "claw-back." For a long time, the provincial government took child support money away from families who received social assistance. This took vital funds away from children and hurt single mothers the most. Tim spoke against this unfair rule at rallies and at Province House. His hard work helped change the law so families could finally keep 100% of their child support money—a massive win that made life better for thousands of families across Nova Scotia.
Saying goodbye to Tim was not easy and he will be missed, a lot. We will remember Tim for all the important anti-poverty work he contributed to, the conversations he started, and the communities he made stronger. He reminded us that every person deserves respect and a fair chance in life.
Most importantly, we will remember Tim as our friend – the tall, quiet-spoken guy who always thought about other people before himself. Tim wasn’t given enough time to do all the things he wanted to do, and that’s unfair, but we want to honour Tim’s memory in a good way, remembering his genuine and kind heart, his cutting rebukes of government bureaucracy and his stalwart friendship that just made you love him. Rest easy, Tim.
Your Friends,
Fiona Traynor, Jodi Brown, Aron Spidle
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Here in this picture is a Picture of myself, along with Tim Blades in the Back and Aron Spidle and Jodi Brown. This picture was taken when the Benefits Reform Action group once hosted an event in the Lower Sackville Library. |
I Want to Thank the Former membership of BRAG for Contributing all of the above Information in memory of Tim. Now I want to add something of my Own in memory of Tim Blades.
I myself has on Several Occasions when I was member of BRAG form 2016 till 2020 and through my Advocacy work in my community have had the Pleasure of working with and along side of Tim Blades on verouis Anti Poverty Projects. Their was Times during the existence of the Benefits Reform Group and if you see here https://worthmatters.blogspot.com/search/label/Benefits%20Reform%20Action%20Group I do make the efforts of keeping the memory of BRAG alive on my Current BLOG. Anyway the main#1 reason as to why I decided I wanted to Honer Tim's memory on my BLOG is because to me, I saw Tim as the second Leading Activist and Advocate for Social Justice and Resolving poverty. I want to take a moment to offer my Condolences to Family members, friends, and to anyone and everyone who was Acquainted with Tim Baldes. Sorry for your loss. Knowing Tim Blades has been a pleasure.
From I myself as the writer and author of for what matters Journalism.
Now Please see below for something that Got Contributed to me in Tim Blades memory by Jackie Torrance who is one of my BLOG supporters who knew Tim Blades
A very special person and writer passed away on Monday June 1st, 2026. i met Tim Adams ten years ago when i made the film my week on welfare. Tim was a poverty advocate - a passionate fighter for other marginalized people, he enacted real change in this world and how many of us can say that...? for instance, his writing about the child support claw-back faced by single parents (ie, majority: women) and their kids on income assistance was part of the movement that led the provincial government to change this punitive policy in 2018. Tim did so much important work despite many obstacles in his life including poor health and poverty. the hoops the system made him go through were unconscionable but Tim never stopped caring and talking and standing up for himself and others. as tim said, "Speak up. Share your story. I speak from experience that when you speak up, you can open eyes to what is going on and embolden others to speak up as well." other people knew him better than i did, and his close friends and family are grieving the loss of him today, but i just want to express that my heart is sad and i'm grateful to have met him.
below is one of the many many articles he wrote for the Nova Scotia Advocate - this one is called POVERTY HURTS BUT ADVOCACY HELPS
FROM THE ARTICLE:
KJIPUKTUK (Halifax) – I can talk about many subjects. I can sit and listen, while others talk about what is going on in their lives. I am not a very talkative guy, but if I have something to say, and I feel it’s important, I will say it. I am never one to talk just for the sake of talking.
With that in mind, talking about myself presents a conundrum. Talking about myself—I mean what is going on inside me, as well as the things that are going on in my life—is emotionally exhausting, especially when I am revealing something about myself for the first time. To truly talk about oneself is to leave oneself open and vulnerable; to trust others to react in a compassionate way is a leap that some just cannot take.
In my poverty advocacy, I encourage others to speak up on what their lives are like, what has happened or is happening to them. This is daunting to even think about, let alone do. I was scared before I first spoke about my life. I still get scared. I have been nervous while giving speeches on various poverty issues, but I still do it. I listened to other poverty advocates share their stories, and that inspired me to do the same. When I spoke up, others have told me that I have made them want to speak up, also. The result is well worth whatever fear and anxiety I may have felt. Instead of denying that fear and anxiety, I know I can acknowledge it, and take it with me as I live my life, and, maybe, just maybe, do great things. ACT (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy) taught me this. The more we talk about mental health, the more we empower others to talk about mental health. I feel the discussion is well worth the anxiety and fear. Discussing my mental health gives me a feeling of emotional exhaustion; Nonetheless, I still feel it’s important to have real discussions about mental health.
See what I mean? Conundrum.
My name is Tim Blades. I am a 39 year old welfare recipient. I have a variety of illnesses, some of which are rare and/or hard to define. I love creative arts and fine literature, but I am also a fan of The Trailer Park Boys and Family Guy. I used to write short stories and other fiction, but life has taken me down a road where I am more apt to tell stories like the one you are reading right now. I am a poverty advocate. My poverty advocacy started by reading the stories of others. I have met some great people through poverty advocacy, and I consider speaking up on poverty to be one of the greatest choices I have ever made. Poverty advocacy helps my mental health, while poverty hurts my mental health.
I am in a precarious living situation. I don’t know how much longer I will have my transportation expense. I, sometimes, isolate myself. It’s a defence mechanism for when life gets to be too much. It might be a few days or a few week. Many people are isolated due to lack of transportation expense, or their health makes it too difficult to travel. I see a therapist, and I am thankful for that, because there are people who go without the help they need.
I have lived with anxiety and depression all of my life. I don’t think that will come as a surprise to anyone that knows me, since I am pretty open about it. This is where I become emotionally exhausted. This is where I hit new territory, as most people probably would never guess what I am about to type.
I have anger issues. It has taken me a long time to understand and accept that. You see, I am not the “throw things, smash things and yell” type, and I have never struck anyone out of anger. I can’t even think of doing so without feeling bad. There are times where I might raise my voice, and I usually feel terrible immediately afterwards. I can be cranky. For the most part, I keep my anger to myself. There are reasons why I feel so angry (some are mentioned in this post, some are not), but the bottom line is that I feel angry because I am hurting. I have been hurt, and I am still hurting. There are things that happened years or even decades ago; one day I feel at peace with those things, and then it suddenly feels as if those things just happened yesterday. There are days when I wake up angry. There are nights when, even if I had a good day, I must get out of bed because I am suddenly too angry to sleep. I sometimes cry when I feel like this. I often feel like yelling out, not at anyone, but yelling out in frustration. I want things to get better, and I have tried to make things better. It took me a while to acknowledge my anger because people weren’t afraid of me; I don’t break things, and I am not yelling all the time. I am the antithesis of such things. My anger doesn’t fit what I thought I knew about anger. I have learned that anger is anger whether you take it out on yourself or someone else. Anger isn’t a disease; it’s merely a symptom of pain.
Now I want to delete that last paragraph. My heart is racing just from typing that last paragraph. The logical and illogical sides of me are having a conversation, and the emotional side of me is standing in the middle. While I want to be safe and delete that last paragraph, If I let go of that secret, it’s just one less thing for me to hold onto.
We need to be more open with each other, and that openness can be fostered with compassion.
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