BC government slashed access to welfare while claiming to enhance
services, complaint filed today alleges
Dramatically reduced office hours, complicated website and under-resourced call
centres create insurmountable barriers, complaint alleges
(May 12, 2015)
VANCOUVER (Coast Salish Territories) – In a 40 page complaint filed this morning,
nine social service agencies from across the province have asked the
Ombudsperson of BC to launch a systemic investigation into service reductions at
the Ministry of Social Development and Social Innovation that shut out many
eligible people from accessing income assistance. The complaint, filed by the BC
Public Interest Advocacy Centre (BCPIAC), a law office in Vancouver, alleges that
the government has created insurmountable barriers that deprive people of
critical income support to which they are legally entitled.
The alleged barriers include office closures and significant reductions in office
hours, making it difficult for people to speak to Ministry staff in person,
channelling calls to under-resourced centralized call centres that serve the whole
province and have lengthy wait times, and the creation of a complicated, 90screen online application process that many vulnerable people have difficulty
navigating. The complaint also points out that most income assistance recipients
do not have phones or internet access, and many are not computer literate, so
the Ministry’s changes do not make sense for the users of its services.
“The government claims that it has expanded access to income assistance
services, when it has done just the opposite,” said Lobat Sadrehashemi, staff
lawyer at the BC Public Interest Advocacy Centre (BCPIAC). “Requiring people to
use a difficult online form and a backlogged call centre while slashing in-person
services has made accessing help a nightmare for many vulnerable people. When
you put all these changes together, the result is that people are shut out of
services that they have a legal right to access.”
The complaint was necessary, the groups said, because the government has failed
to respond to numerous direct complaints about the barriers to accessing
services.
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“We have tried to get the government’s attention, but they haven’t taken our
concerns seriously,” said Stephen Portman, of Together Against Poverty Society.
“If people can’t access these basic supports, we know that they will end up on the
street. That’s why we have no choice but to ask for an independent investigation
of the Ministry’s practices. How can the government fix the problem when it
claims that it has actually made things better?”
The complaint alleges that since all calls to the Ministry have been centralized in
provincial call centres, it has become impossible for many people to contact the
Ministry for help. According to the government, average wait times on the phone
have increased to more than half an hour.
Amber Prince, an advocate at Atira Women’s Resource Society said: “Many
women with whom I work have to wait at least 45 minutes just to talk to
somebody. And then many of them are told there is a time limit for their call, and
if the call goes over, they are disconnected and have to call back all over again,
this time with a different Ministry staff person. Nobody should have to accept this
kind of treatment by their government.”
In 2005, BCPIAC filed an Ombudsperson complaint about a range of Ministry
practices that limited access to welfare services. After a thorough investigation,
the Ombudsperson found that the government had created unfair barriers to
access and made 25 recommendations to improve “fairness and accountability” in
income assistance. While a recent update from the Ombudsperson reports that
the Ministry has made some progress on those recommendations, BCPIAC’s new
complaint alleges that the government’s ”technological enhancements” have
created new, unfair obstacles.
Access a copy of the complaint here: LINK
Access a copy of appendices to the complaint here: LINK
Read the backgrounder here: LINK
-30Contact:
Lobat Sadrehashemi, Staff Lawyer, BC Public Interest Advocacy Centre, 604-3744860, [email protected]
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Stephen Portman, Together Against Poverty Society (Victoria), 250-361-6083,
[email protected]
Amber Prince, Atira Women’s Resource Society (Vancouver),
[email protected]
Kris Sutherland, The Kettle Society (Vancouver), 604-253-7922,
[email protected]
Didi Dufresnse, First United Chuch (Vancouver), 604-681-8365 ext. 105,
[email protected]
Ilena Candiani, Abbotsford Community Services (Abbotsford), 604-859-7681 ext.
207,
[email protected]
Amy Taylor, The Advocacy Centre (Nelson), 250-352-5777,
[email protected]
David Dickinson, Upper Skeena Counselling and Legal Assistance Society
(Hazelton), 250-842-5218
[email protected]
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