The February edition of the Diocesan Times (DT) quoted the 2025 Report of the National Advisory Council on Poverty that programs supporting people and families experiencing poverty should be “reform[ed] and expand[ed] ... to more effectively meet the needs, based on regional realities, of those made most marginal.” This was an alternative recommendation to establishing a global basic income (GBI).
Many persons interviewed by the Council “noted that some people made most marginal aren’t accessing the benefits or financial assistance they’re entitled to because the process is too complicated.”
What benefits are a person or family eligible for? Eligibility criteria can be different or confusing. For example, in Nova Scotia, there are two province-wide programs assisting families with heating their homes. The Heating Assistance Rebate Program (HARP) is administered by the province. The HEAT Fund is administered by the Salvation Army ($400 only available every second year for an emergency heating situation). In addition, some communities have their own emergency heating programs e.g., Antigonish County. Other support programs can be equally or more complicated or confusing for persons and families with limited resources. Support programs are often spread across several government jurisdictions and departments, including the Canada Revenue Agency, Service Canada, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, Service Nova Scotia, Opportunities and Social Development, Seniors and Long-term Care, Addictions and Mental Health, Growth and Development, Education and Early Childhood Development, and more. Often there is little communication between organizations providing services. In addition, many supports are provided by not-for-profit organizations, often with limited-term contracts and inadequate financial support from governments. For example, the Affordable Housing Association of Nova Scotia administers the federal Reaching Home program directed at reducing homelessness for Employment and Social Development Canada in HRM and rural Nova Scotia.
More and more programs are using online and phone methods to apply. If the applicant doesn’t have easy access to a computer and internet service, it is a barrier to accessing support and requires some digital ability. Even if you have access to the internet and a computer, navigating online applications can be challenging, especially if the applications are poorly designed. Online application is also impersonal and inflexible.
There are several initiatives that are improving access. Automatic tax filing and enrollment help ensure persons experiencing poverty receive the support they are eligible for. Coordinated access, required by federal homelessness reduction programs, enables not-for-profit organizations to more easily cooperate on providing services with no wrong door for access.
The council recommends:
- making eligibility criteria more flexible so people who don’t fully qualify can still get partial support instead of nothing at all,
- expanding automatic tax filing and auto-enrolment initiatives for people experiencing poverty, to help ensure they receive all the federal benefits available to them,
- exploring new ways to simplify and streamline applications, making it faster, fairer, and easier to use,
- increasing and diversifying access points for in-person services while continuing to improve phone, mail, and online service options, and
- partnering with other levels of government, community organizations, and the non-profit sector to raise awareness of benefits and supports and implement community-based pathways for easier access to benefits and services.
Is there a role for our faith communities to increase our knowledge and become part of the community-based pathways for easier access to benefits and services?
If you have read and pondered the message from the February issue of DT, have you considered how adequate the benefits and services that are being provided are? For the most part, the present availability of supports and services keeps recipients below the poverty threshold. Even the notable amount of support a single-parent family receives in P.E.I. is still only 86% of the poverty line.
Is there a role for our faith communities to increase our knowledge and become part of the community-based pathways for easier access to benefits and services? If there is a role, how do we support our communities in this endeavour? We could collaborate with anti-poverty advocacy groups to call for governments to provide easier access to benefits and supports. We could also take steps to improve our knowledge of available supports and benefits to provide more knowledgeable pastoral care in our communities.
The Council heard:
“I have to prove, over and over again, that I am poor enough to get help. There is no dignity.”
“There are a lot of groups offering support, but you don’t know which one to go to, who to call, or what door to walk through.”
“Not enough time is spent with people; time must be spent to get to know the person, to really help people. This is essential to make a life plan, not just a survival plan.”
Photo © Mago Brown on Unsplash