The number of P.E.I. social assistance recipients dropped in the first year of the pandemic. But this is not good news.
CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. — The primary 12 months of the COVID-19 pandemic noticed a major drop within the variety of low-income Prince Edward Islanders who have been drawing social help, however a poverty analysis group says this discovering might masks elevated hardship skilled following the tip of the federal CERB program.
A report launched on July 14 by Maytree, an anti-poverty group, discovered that the variety of beneficiaries of social help, together with claimants, their companions and their kids, dropped by 11 per cent between April 1, 2020, and March 31, 2021. This represented a lower of 643 individuals.
Related traits have been reported nationally, though the report famous that social help eligibility diversified throughout the nation. The report attributed the drop in recipients to people who drew COVID-19 pandemic reduction helps, notably the Canada Emergency Response Profit (CERB).
However Markus Stadelmann-Elder, director of communications for Maytree, mentioned this implies many low-income Islanders probably misplaced entry to social help during the last 12 months, even after CERB funds have been discontinued by the federal authorities. Most provinces, together with P.E.I., included CERB of their calculation of earnings for social help.
“While you apply for social help, they take a look at final 12 months’s earnings. And if there’s lots of advantages to it, chances are you’ll not qualify for all the pieces now, though you now not have these COVID helps,” Stadelmann-Elder mentioned, including he believes the variety of social help recipients subsequent 12 months will likely be “scary.”
“Subsequent 12 months we’ll see the numbers, however the individuals are already residing it proper now.”
The report famous B.C., Yukon and the Northwest Territories exempted CERB earnings for social help recipients whereas Manitoba, Ontario, Alberta and Quebec partially exempted these advantages.
Anti-poverty advocate Mary Boyd criticized the P.E.I. authorities for the province’s coverage of penalizing social help recipients for drawing CERB in final fall’s 2021 child poverty report card.
“Whereas decreases within the variety of social help recipients could also be regarded as a constructive development, they’re hiding the quiet impacts of destructive interactions between social help and the receipt of emergency pandemic helps,” the Maytree report mentioned. “Many individuals could have turn into ineligible for social help, though they’re in want of earnings help.”
Incapacity helps elevated
However a number of the drop in social help recipients could possibly be attributed to development in recipients in one other earnings assist program referred to as AccessAbility Supports, Stadelmann-Elder mentioned.
In P.E.I., individuals with disabilities can entry a special program, AccessAbility Helps, which is distinct from social help. The variety of recipients of this program has been rising since 2018 when this system changed the Incapacity Helps Program with expanded helps and expanded eligibility.
In 2021, virtually 1,900 Islanders acquired helps by means of AccessAbility, up from 1,495 in 2019.
The Incapacity Helps Program was revamped following a P.E.I. Court docket of Enchantment ruling that discovered this system had discriminated in opposition to individuals coping with psychological well being points.
Total, 5.3 per cent of Islanders beneath the age of 65 drew earnings from both AccessAbility Helps or social help in 2021.
Stu Neatby is a political reporter with the SaltWire Community in Prince Edward Island. He will be reached by e mail at [email protected] and adopted on Twitter @stu_neatby.
