The Saskatchewan government has been overhauling the social services provided by the province..Saskatchewan Income Support (SIS) program is the new program replacing the Saskatchewan Assistance Program (SAP)..People on SIS complained that it pays them less than the old SAP program..Meara Conway, NDP critic for Social Services and Housing, brought up in the legislature that the government was warned the changes to SIS would lead to more homelessness..“The Saskatchewan Party was warned back in 2019 that their SIS program would result in fewer supports and more homelessness by landlords, social workers, and community organizations. They chose to ignore these calls and now families are paying the price. This lack of support and seeming lack of care is exactly what's keeping families, including children, in the cycle of poverty,” said Conway..Lori Carr, minister of Social Services, said she wants to get 25% of people using SIS off the program in the next year..The “25% goal (is) more of a cyclical number, as people come on the program, we expect it will be short term because it is a program of last resort. Hopefully, they will move onto a job or other opportunities,” said Carr..The Western Standard asked Carr what she meant by other opportunities..“Depending on individual circumstances, someone might get in a relationship, get married, move to a different province, spend time with family. Several different reasons a person may get off the program.”.Conway asked Carr where the 25% number came from..“In committee, the minister told me there is a target of getting 25% of SIS clients off the program this year. One out of every four no longer receiving support. When I asked where this number came from, no explanation, no idea what will happen to these people…(The) ministry does not track why people fall off their program,” said Conway..On March 24, 2022, Carr responded in the legislature to the NDP that anyone with housing issues connected to SIS should contact her office..“Please, bring that to my attention. Bring that to my office and we will ensure that person is taken care of,” said Carr..On March 25, 2022, Conway sent a letter on behalf of Frank Francoeur to Carr about his situation because of changes to SIS, with no response as of May 12, 2022..Conway ended her letter with, “I trust this case will receive your immediate attention, particularly because children are involved.” .Francoeur is a single father of two children, about to be evicted from Regina Housing Authority (RHA), where he owed $1200 in back rent..The outstanding rent came as a surprise to Francoeur, who paid his rent on time every month then RHA raised his rent retroactively, which caused him to owe $1200..Francoeur made a $440 payment and paid his rent this month, but RHA took his May rent and applied it to his outstanding rent so he is being evicted at the end of May..The Western Standard spoke with Kelly Anderson, a single mother of an 18-month-old child, who will have her power cut off at the end of May because she does not have enough money in the SIS program to pay her utilities. .SaskPower told Anderson that if she does not pay the full outstanding amount, her power will be turned off and she will be evicted..Don Morgan, minister responsible for SaskPower, was asked about what Anderson should do..“SaskPower through the pandemic and even now, will sit down and work to set up payment plans or defer. So, I’d urge them to contact SaskPower,” said Morgan..Anderson’s SaskPower situation clearly shows that SaskPower will not work with low-income individuals to work out a payment plan..“I phoned SaskPower and because I’ve been working out a payment plan since this started in 2021. They don’t want to give me payment options anymore because I still have arrears from back then,” Anderson told the Western Standard..Describing his life dealing with SIS about housing, Francoeur told to the Western Standard that “I had not slept for two weeks, now I slept very well the last two days after the decision … I know I have to move out June 1. Can you imagine? I’m relieved that I know that I’m going to be evicted.”.Francoeur has two children under the age of 10 and there are no men’s shelters that allow kids..“Basically, what social services were telling me at that point was, get rid of my children and I’m the primary caregiver,” said Francoeur..Anderson was told that SIS would “help her after she was evicted.”.Conway said, “why wait until folks are evicted to step in?”.Anderson said to the Western Standard that she would go to Carr’s office “every single day with her daughter running around screaming her head off and you guys still aren’t going to care.”.“At least I’m not out in the rain, but where am I supposed to sleep every night?”.The women’s shelters that allow children in Regina are full and have waiting lists to get in..Conway described to the Western Standard how arrears were taken care of in the old SAP system..“Both under the previous SAP program, Frank’s (Francoeur) rental arrears could be paid off … and clawed back over time … Kelly’s (Anderson) utilities could be paid down and taken a small portion could be taken off her cheque, month to month,” said Conway to the Western Standard..Anderson and Francoeur do not know where they will live after May unless they receive some help.
