Province’s Building Independence Program forces the poor into “low wage” trap
October 14, 2005 |
Saskatchewan Office
Monday, October 17th has been declared International Day for the
Eradication of Poverty by the United Nations. However, anti-poverty
groups and researchers at the University of Regina say Saskatchewan has
lost a significant opportunity to eradicate poverty. Rather than using
larger than expected budget surpluses from oil and gas royalties to
deal with poverty, the province has extensively reduced social
assistance (welfare) benefits.
“The government claims there has
been a 41% reduction in welfare caseloads in Saskatchewan since they