Saskatchewan |  Saskatchewan |
Page révisée le 9 Juillet 2010
[ Go to Canadian Social Research Links Home Page ]
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Saskatchewan | Saskatchewan |
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NOTE: I missed this new Saskatchewan program when
it was launched in the fall of 2009.
Sorry. I need to check provincial govt. websites more often...
Don't be shy --- if you know of an initiative or program in your jurisdiction
that I've overlooked on this website,
please send me an email alert with the URL of the new program so that I can
add it to the site and newsletter.
[My email address appears at the bottom of each page on my site.]
Merci.
Gilles
_____
Income
Program Opens to People with Long-Term Disabilities
November 3, 2009
People with significant, long-term disabilities no longer have to rely on
social assistance following the launch of the province's new Saskatchewan
Assured Income for Disability program (SAID). More than 3,000 people who are
eligible for the new program have been invited to enroll by the Ministry of
Social Services, as part of the program's implementation, with the first benefits
to be paid for the month of December.
Source:
Government of Saskatchewan News Service
----------
Province
launches new
program for people with disabilities
News Release
May 13, 2009
Beginning this fall (2009), thousands of Saskatchewan people will no longer
need to depend on social assistance for their basic living costs, following
the announcement today of a new income support program for people with disabilities.
(...) The new program will begin on October 1, 2009, when the first group of
recipients - an estimated 3,000 Saskatchewan people with disabilities - will
be enrolled and begin to receive benefits. The initial group will be individuals
currently on social assistance with long-standing and well-documented disabilities.
Over time, enrollment in the new program is expected to reach between 8,000
and 10,000 people.
(...)
Over the winter, the joint community/government Disability Income Task Team
met with more than 400 stakeholders. They recently provided Minister Harpauer
with recommendations based on these consultations. The new program, which will
be separate from the existing Saskatchewan Assistance Program, will be based
on the goals and principles recommended by the task team, including:
* To assure a socially acceptable income for people with disabilities - recognizing
the range of additional costs associated with disability; and
* To encourage and empower people with disabilities to participate as fully
as possible in community life.
Related links:
Saskatchewan
Assured Income for Disability (SAID)
The SAID program, designed in collaboration with members of the disability
community, will provide an income for persons with significant and long-term
disabilities separate from the Saskatchewan Assistance Program (SAP).
SAID Policy Manual (PDF - 59K, 19 pages)
SAID Questions and Answers (PDF - 262K, 4 pages)
----------------------------------------
Final
Recommendations
of the Task Team on Income Support for People with Disabilities
(PDF - 217K, 18 pages)
May 13, 2009
Appendices
(PDF - 815K, 133 pages)
Appendix A: Task Team Terms of Reference
Appendix B: Task Team Membership
Appendix C: Materials Used in Community Discussions
Appendix D: Defining the Target Population and Eligibility Criteria
Appendix E: Estimates of the Size of Target Population
Appendix F: Recommended Benefit Structure and Employment Support
Appendix G – Summaries of the Community Discussions
Appendix H – Responses to Community Discussion Wrap-up Question
Appendix I – Responses to the question: “If you had five minutes with
the Minister, what would you tell her?”
More information about the new income support program will be available as work
continues.
Clients may contact their local Social Services office if they have any questions.
Source:
Saskatchewan Social Services
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Government
Telephone Directory
Departments,
Agencies, Crown Corporations
Saskatchewan
News Release Archive
Saskatchewan
Pension Plan
Documents
& Publications
Saskatchewan's Queen's Printer
Freelaw
"Freelaw® is free, unlimited access to up-to-date electronic
versions of all Government of Saskatchewan Public and Private Acts, Regulations,
The Saskatchewan Gazette, Forms, Rules of Court and Historical legislation
- all fully downloadable and searchable in Portable Document Format (PDF)"
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Legislative
Assembly
Assembly
Publications - Hansard, Journals Papers, Bills
Members,
including links to Liberal and NDP Caucus pages
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Department
of Social Services
(name changed Nov/07, formerly
Community
Resources)
- incl. links to : * Services for Children
and Families /* Services for People with Disabilities * Services for Low-income
People * About Saskatchewan * About Government * About Social Services * Archived
News Releases * Common Questions * Ministry Overview * Forms & Publications
* Legislation * Office of Disability Issues * Programs & Services * Saskatchewan
Housing * much more...
Social Services is the Department responsible for welfare in Saskatchewan.
Name
of the welfare program
Saskatchewan
Assistance Program
Transitional
Employment Allowance (TEA)
Legislation
Saskatchewan
Assistance Act
NOTE: the links below take you to the front page
for each reg - from that page, just click the "Open Document" button
to open a PDF file with the regulation
- Saskatchewan
Assistance Regulations ===>
main welfare regulations
- Employment
Supplement Regulations
- Benefit
Adjustment Regulations
- Transitional
Employment Allowance Regulations
- Rental
Housing Supplement Regulations
- Disability
Housing Supplement Regulations
- Saskatchewan
Assistance Plan Supplementary Health Benefits Regulations
Policy
Manual
Saskatchewan Assistance Program Policy Manual Online (PDF file)
Transitional
Employment Allowance Policy Manual (PDF file)
Welfare
statistics
No statistics available on the Social
Services website
- See Number
of People on Welfare, March 1995 to March 2005 (PDF file - 133K, 1 page)
Source:
National Council of Welfare
Welfare rates (benefits)
Current
Social Assistance Rates (PDF file)
See also section 25 of the Saskatchewan
Assistance Regulations
Chapter 15 of the SAP Policy Manual Online
(see link above) offers information on individual items of need and special needs,
but no rate tables
Transitional
Employment Allowance Rate Schedule (PDF file)
Latest
search results on Google.ca for
"welfare,
-child, -animal, Saskatchewan"
- Web
search results
- News
search results
- Blog
search results
Related Links
2006-2007
Annual Report (PDF file - 816K, 33 pages)
Saskatchewan Income Plan
(for seniors)
Provincial
Training Allowance
Family
Health Benefits (PDF - 925K, 2 pages) Family
Health Benefits are intended to assist lower income families with the costs
of raising healthy children (Source: Saskatchewan
Health)
Current
Issues Surrounding Poverty and
Welfare Programming in Canada : Two Reviews (PDF file - 371K, 43
pages) - August 2003
- interesting comparison of recent welfare reforms in Saskatchewan, Canada,
the U.S. and Britain
- includes a bonus ten-page article entitled Low Income Cut-Offs (LICO)
and Poverty Measurement (LICO, Market Basket Measure, etc.)
TIP===> See the appendix to this report (pp 27-31) for a detailed comparison
of the main features of the "old" Saskatchewan Assistance Plan
(welfare) and the new Transitional Employment Allowance.
Source: Social Policy Research Unit
(SPR) [ School of Social Work
- University of Regina ]
Saskatchewan
Community Resources
2006-2007 Annual Report (PDF file - 816K, 33 pages)
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Selected news releases:
New
exemption will benefit people with disabilities and parents of children with disabilities
News
Release
September 4, 2008
Individuals with disabilities and parents of
children with disabilities in Saskatchewan will be able to better plan for the
future, following the exemption of Registered Disability Savings Plans (RDSPs)
from social assistance calculations. The exemption means that RDSP assets and
income - including funds withdrawn for payment to a beneficiary - will not be
included when determining eligibility for the Saskatchewan Assistance Program.
Source:
Saskatchewan
Social Services
[ Government of Saskatchewan
]
Context:
In the determination
of financial eligibility for needs-tested welfare or disability benefits,
each
province and territory decides how it will treat assets and income from various
sources, both at the point of application and on an ongoing basis.
Related link:
Saskatchewan
Exempts the RDSP
September 4, 2008
Exciting news! Yet another
province has decided to exempt the RDSP from affecting Disability Benefits. Saskatchewan
put out a news release earlier today from the Ministry of Social Services indicating
that the RDSP will not affect the calculations for those receiving social assistance,
exempting both the RDSP as an asset and income. (...) This a a very exciting development
for people in Saskatchewan as it now means they, along with BC, Newfoundland,
and Yukon, can fully utilize the benefits that the RDSP provides.
Source:
Registered
Disability Savings Plan Blog --- everything you wanted to know about the
RDSP....
The RDSP Blog is a product
of the
Planned Lifetime Advocacy
Network (PLAN)
PLAN is a non-profit organization, established in 1989
by and for families committed to future planning and securing a good life for
their relative with a disability.
Recent posting on the RDSP Blog:
TOP
10 Reasons Provinces/Territories Should Exempt
the Registered Disability Savings
Plan (RDSP) as an Asset and Income
August 14, 2008
Province
Boosts Support for Vulnerable Children and Families
Foster families will be
getting more financial support
August 31, 2007
Foster families
will be getting more financial support, Community Resources Minister Kevin Yates
announced today. The funding is part of an $18 million package to increase support
for vulnerable children and families in the province.
Also from Community Resources:
Government
provides support for
housing costs and launches information line
News
Release
August 29, 2007
The provincial government is providing immediate
help to address rising housing costs through increased shelter allowances. (...)
The
changes include:
• increasing the shelter rate for most Social Assistance
Program and Transitional Employment Allowance recipients by $5 to $75 per month;
•
increasing the Saskatchewan Rental Housing Supplement by $6 to $21 per month.
The supplement is available to lower-income families and people with disabilities,
including those who are working in lower paying jobs; and
• increasing
the Provincial Training Allowance by $20 to $35 per month. The allowance is available
to people enrolled in adult basic education and quick skills programs.
[Backgrounder
- small PDF file, one-page overview of Saskatchewan income supports for housing
--- the Social Assistance Program, the Transitional Employment Allowance, the
Provincial Training Allowance, and the Saskatchewan Rental Housing Supplement.]
Related links:
Saskatchewan
shelter allowance hike inadequate, say critics
August 30, 2007
The
province is giving low-income people more money to cover their rent, but some
say with a housing crisis underway, it's not nearly enough. Combined allowances
and supplements are going up by amounts ranging from $11 to $96 a month, the Saskatchewan
government announced this week.
Source:
CBC
News
Sask.
residents to receive boost in welfare benefits
Lori Coolican,
August 30, 2007
Depending on their situation and where they live, some of Saskatchewan's
poorest residents will receive up to $96 more in monthly welfare benefits
starting Oct. 1. But others will get far less.
Source:
The Saskatoon StarPhoenix
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Moving
Forward: Google.ca News Search Results : "Canada,
Saskatchewan, child care agreement" For related links, go to the Government Early Learning and Child Care Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/ecd.htm |
Office
of Disability Issues
- incl. links to : Information Materials - Employability
Assistance for People with Disabilities - Enablelink - Housing programs - Saskatchewan
Council on Disability Issues
Canada
and Saskatchewan Sign an Agreement to Assist People with Disabilities This agreement
was signed under the Multilateral
Framework for Labour Market Agreements for Persons with Disabilities, which
replaced the Employability Assistance for People with Disabilities initiative
in April 2004. |
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Budget
Information - current and previous year
Public
Accounts - current and previous year
---------------------------------
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Saskatchewan
Budget 2010-11 Budget Address (HTML) Budget
highlights (PDF - 151K, 2 pages) Budget summary (PDF - 1.3MB, 95 pages) Estimates (PDF - 27MB, 198 pages) Government
delivers balanced budget by reducing spending (PDF - 53K,
3 pages) Other
news releases Source: Related links: From Saskatchewan
cuts jobs, spending --- From Highlights
of Saskatchewan's 2010-11 budget Saskatchewan
Party government slams on the brakes with 2010-11 provincial budget --- From the
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Advanced Education, Employment and Labbour
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Minimum
Wage Increase Announced
News Release
October 3, 2007
"(...)The
increase will take place in three stages that will see the minimum wage move to
$8.25 per hour on January 1, 2008, to $8.60 on May 1, 2008 and to $9.25 per hour
on May 1, 2009. The minimum call out pay, which is three times the level of the
minimum wage, will also increase accordingly. An adjustment will also be made
to minimum wage in 2010 to bring the minimum wage to the Low Income Cut-off (LICO).
Along with this increase, legislation will be introduced that permits the minimum
wage to be indexed in future years annually on May 1, to the consumer price index.
Indexing the minimum wage beginning in 2010 will ensure that minimum wage workers
are able to maintain a standard of living equivalent to the LICO. ...) There are
approximately 12,400 minimum wage earners in Saskatchewan."
Source:
Saskatchewan
Labour
[ Government of Saskatchewan
]
Related links:
Saskatchewan's
minimum wage earners get a boost
October 3, 2007
Source:
CBC
Saskatchewan
Minimum
wage raises mega reactions
October 4, 2007
Source:
Saskatoon
StarPhoenix
Current
and forthcoming minimum wage levels for adult workers in Canada
Source:
Labour
Program (Human Resources and Social Development Canada
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Saskatchewan Consumer Price Index Summary
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Intergovernmental and Aboriginal Affairs
Aboriginal
Topic Index
Saskatchewan
takes action for children and Aboriginal youth in conjunction with the Social
Union Framework Agreement (December 17, 1999)
Results
of Indian Affairs Study Encouraging
Saskatchewan
Social Services
September 1, 2000
Saskatchewan
First Nations Less Dependent on Social Assistance
August
31, 2000
Indian and Northern Affairs Canada
BACKGROUNDER
- Reduction of Social Assistance Dependency in Saskatchewan
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Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission
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Other Saskatchewan Sites - Autres sites de la Saskatchewan
(Mostly in reverse chronological order with the most recent addition at
the top)
---
Saskatchewan
Report Card on Child and Family Poverty
(PDF - 239K, 8 pages)
November 2009
* 35,000 Children in Poverty in Saskatchewan
* No Consistent Improvement Over Time
* Comparing Three Measures of Poverty
* Third Highest Provincial Child Poverty Rate
* 45% of Aboriginal Children in Low-Income Families
* More than One in Three Immigrant Children Poor
* 40% of Children in Female Lone-parent Families in Poverty
* Families Deeply in Poverty
* Saskatchewan Child Poverty Often Long Term
* One in Three Poor Children in Families with Full Employment
* Government Transfers Benefit Children
* Growing Gap Between Rich and Poor
* Child Poverty Rate High by International Standards
* Poverty Measures
Source:
Social Policy Research Unit
[ Faculty of Social Work
]
[ University of Regina ]
Related link:
---
Boom and Bust: The Growing Income Gap
in Saskatchewan
September 2009
Complete
report (PDF - 4.7MB, 59 pages)
Summary
(PDF - 130K, 19 pages)
For the past thirty years, the richest in the province have secured
the lion’s share of Saskatchewan’s economic growth, while those
at the lower end of the income spectrum have made few or no gains over the
same period. That is the conclusion of the Saskatchewan CCPA’s new
report: Boom and Bust: The Growing Income Gap in Saskatchewan.The report’s
author - Paul Gingrich retired professor of Sociology and Social Studies
at the University of Regina - finds that the gap between the richest and
poorest families in Saskatchewan has increased dramatically over the past
generation and has mushroomed since 2000 – during the best of economic
times.
Source:
Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives
Related link:
Wage
disparity widens in Saskatchewan
By Jason Warick
December 4, 2009
---
May 25, 2009
New resource from the Canadian Council
on Social Development:
Poverty
Reduction Policies and Programs in Saskatchewan (PDF - 461K, 33 pages)
By Bill Holden, Nicola Chapin, Carmen Dyck and Nich Frasier
Community-University
Institute for Social Research
Source:
Poverty
Reduction Policies and Programs
Social Development Report Series, 2009
[
Canadian Council on Social Development ]
Also from CCSD :
Poverty
Reduction Policies and Programs in Canada (PDF - 341K, 29 pages)
By
David I. Hay, Information Partnership
Related links ===> Go to the Anti-poverty Strategies and Campaigns page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/antipoverty.htm
---
2008
Child and Family Poverty Profile (PDF - 103K, 9 pages)
November
2008
"(...)Despite government resolve, little has changed for poor children.
Nearly one in every five Saskatchewan children lives in a family with an income
below the LICO."
Source:
University
of Regina Social Policy Research Unit
Related links from Campaign 2000:
Family
Security in Insecure Times:
The Case for a Poverty Reduction Strategy for Canada
-
2008 Report Card on Child and Family Poverty in Canada (PDF
- 167K, 6 pages)
[ version française:
Rapport
2008 sur la pauvreté des enfants et des familles au Canada
(PDF - 565K, 8pages) ]
Poverty
Reduction a Strategic Move in Downturn--Campaign 2000 Released New Report Card
Press
Release
21 November 2008
OTTAWA – The federal government would make
a timely strategic move if it invested now to reduce stubborn poverty rates in
Canada, says a new report by Campaign 2000. The 2008 Report Card on Child and
Family Poverty in Canada, available at www.campaign2000.ca, shows the nation’s
child poverty rate is almost what it was in 1989 when Parliament unanimously resolved
to end child poverty by the year 2000.
Provincial
report cards
- includes links to the latest report and earlier years
for : * British Columbia * Alberta * Saskatchewan * Manitoba * Ontario * New Brunswick
* Nova Scotia
Campaign
2000
Campaign 2000 is a cross-Canada public education movement to build
Canadian awareness and support for the 1989 all-party House of Commons resolution
to end child poverty in Canada by the year 2000.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Health
Disparity in Saskatoon: Analysis to Intervention
o
Full
report (PDF - 10.3MB, 365 pages)
o Executive
Summary (PDF - 208K, 4 pages)
o 20-Page
Summary (PDF - 584K, 20 pages)
o Background/Context
and Letters of Support (PDF - 5.2MB,
79 pages)
o Chapter
1: Introduction (PDF - 639K, 18 pages)
o Chapter
2: Socioeconomic Status and Health Status in Saskatoon (PDF - 4MB,
141 pages)
o Chapter
3: Evidence Based Policy Options (PDF - 852K, 119 pages)
Source:
Saskatoon
Health Region
Saskatoon Health Region is one of the most complex and integrated
health delivery agencies in Canada, responsible for providing services ranging
from hospital and long term care to home care, public health and other community-based
programs.
Related media coverage
from the Saskatoon Star
Phoenix:
Report
tackles poverty
Health region study to propose solutions to reduce rich, poor
gap
By Janet French
November 14, 2008
A
massive report to be unveiled by the Saskatoon Health Region on Monday offers
dozens of potential solutions to alleviate poverty in Saskatchewan and reduce
the yawning gap between the health of the rich and the poor. In addition to drawing
a detailed picture of the health differences between Saskatoon's richest and poorest
residents, the 361-page document borrows successful social policies from around
the globe -- Ireland, Sweden, Britain, Seattle and even other Canadian provinces
-- and suggests how they could be applied here.
[ NOTE: the above article contains the notation : "FIRST IN A SIX-PART SERIES", but there are no links on the Star Phoenix home page to a page with links to all six articles in the series. I found the following links to related articles by doing a search of the Star Phoenix using the search string "Health Disparity" (click the link for more results). ]
Province
takes steps to help poor, minister says
November 15, 2008
Income
reform: first step to improving health of Sask. poor, says report
November
15, 2008
Education
initiatives could help our health
November 17, 2008
Housing
the homeless could save millions of dollars
November 18, 2008
Health
report laudable, yet grandiose
November 18, 2008
Clinics
in poor areas won't solve problem alone
November 20, 2008
Source:
Saskatoon
Star Phoenix
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Social
Policy Research Unit (SPR) (University of Regina)
Established in
1972, the unit receives funding from the University and through various research
contracts and grants. SPR conducts critical analytic research to promote social
justice and enhance individual, family and community development.
- incl.
links to: About SPR - What's New - Research Associates - Research Projects - Research
Resources - Events - Publications
Source:
School
of Social Work - University of Regina
Here are a few sample reports:
WINNING
AND LOSING AT WELFARE:
SASKATCHEWAN AND CANADA, 1981-1989 (PDF
- 13.5MB, 57 pages)
By Graham Riches and Gordon Ternowetsky
September 1989
-
includes three complete papers:
* Child Hunger and Family Poverty in Saskatchewan
: Broadening the Debate
* Who are the Real Welfare Bums?
* Welfare Reform
in Saskatchewan : Implications for the Poor, Labour and Social Work
Source:
Working
paper series (browse 21 reports by title)
Social
Policy Research Unit (formerly Social Administration Research Unit)
* 19
links to occasional papers
* Child
poverty report cards for Saskatchewan - 2000 to 2006
[ Faculty
of Social Work ]
[ University
of Regina ]
Saskatchewan
child poverty report card 2006 [pdf, 8pp, 127KB]
November
24, 2006
Other
provincial report cards
Click on this link to access child poverty
report cards for BC, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, New Brunswick and
Nova Scotia.
Related Links from Campaign 2000:
Canada’s
Child Poverty Levels not Budging -
New report shows child poverty “entrenched”
in Canada over 25 Years
Campaign 2000
23
November 2006
The rate of child and family poverty in Canada has been stalled
at 17-18% over the past 5 years despite strong economic growth and low unemployment,
according to a new report by Campaign 2000.
Oh
Canada! Too Many Children in Poverty for Too Long [pdf, 6pp, 311KB]
2006
report card on child poverty in Canada
Earlier
editions of the
report card on child poverty in Canada
- reports in English and French going back to 2002
TIP: if you scroll
to the bottom of the earlier editions page, you'll also find links to a 2002 report
to the UN Special Session on Children entitled A report on a decade of child
and family poverty in Canada and a November 2001 Campaign 2000 Bulletin entitled
Family Security in Insecure Times: Tackling Canada's Social Deficit.
Transitional
Employment Allowance, Flat Rate Utilities,
Rental Housing Supplements and
Poverty in Saskatchewan (PDF file - 609K, 36
pages)
October 2005
"This paper examines (...) recent program changes
in Saskatchewan as part of the neo-liberal response to the new global economy
and its search for cheaper, more flexible labour. The province is failing to support
the interests of the poor and is continuing down the path of compelling them to
undertake low wage employment."
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Report
Card on Child Poverty in Saskatchewan, 2005 [pdf, 12pp, 422KB]
November
2005
Related Link (national child poverty report):
New from Campaign 2000:
First
Ministers told to take action to lower shameful poverty rates
News
alert - Campaign 2000
Kelowna, BC, 23 Nov 05
"Activists took their
annual child poverty report directly to the First Ministers meeting here today.
The findings are discouraging. For almost 30 years the poverty rate has been stuck
at one-in-six children. Whether families are mother-led, have two parents, are
working full time or on social assistance the numbers are static. A particularly
disturbing finding is that child poverty rates for Aboriginal, immigrant, and
visible minority children are twice the national rate. Campaign 2000 National
Coordinator Laurel Rothman, whose organization prepares the annual update, was
joined by Peter Dinsdale of the National Association of Friendship Centres. They
are clearly frustrated by misplaced government priorities and jurisdictional wrangling."
Complete report:
Decision
Time for Canada: Let’s Make Poverty History
2005 Report Card on Child
Poverty in Canada [pdf, 12pp, 500KB]
Saskatchewan
2004 Child Poverty Report [pdf, 12pp, 388KB]
November 2004
Source:
Social Policy Research Unit
(University of Regina)
Related Links: Child
poverty: setting new goals Complete report: One
million too many: Implementing solutions to child poverty in Canada Source: Source: |
Current
Issues Surrounding Poverty and Welfare Programming in Canada : Two Reviews
(PDF file - 371K, 43 pages)
("Race to the Bottom: Welfare to Work Programming
in Saskatchewan and its Similarities to Programming in the United States and Britain")
By
Garson Hunter, Ph.D & Dionne Miazdyck, Research Assistant
August 2003
-
interesting comparison of recent welfare reforms in Saskatchewan, Canada, the
U.S. and Britain
- includes a bonus ten-page article entitled Low Income
Cut-Offs (LICO) and Poverty Measurement (LICO, Market Basket Measure, etc.)
TIP===>
the appendix to this report (pp 27-31) presents a detailed comparison of the main
features of the Saskatchewan Assistance Plan (the old Saskatchewan welfare program)
and the new Transitional Employment Allowance.
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Welfare in Saskatchewan: A Critical Evaluation Even though I disagree fundamentally with the Fraser Institute's view on the "success" of welfare reforms in Saskatchewan, I feel it's important to share this information about how one faction of Canadian society feels about welfare reforms and social programs in general. The authors state that
"[S]askatchewan politicians have chosen not to more fundamentally reform
the welfare system, as other Canadian jurisdictions have", referring specifically
to the deep welfare cuts in Alberta (1993), Ontario (1995) and BC (2002), provinces
that they offer as models for Canadian welfare reform. Ironically, the National
Council of Welfare (NCW) applauded the Saskatchewan government back in 1997 for
exactly the same reason in Another Look at Welfare Reform : "Compared with
some other provinces, Saskatchewan had done better for its welfare recipients
by doing nothing." I wrote those words myself, in my role as as principal
researcher for the NCW's welfare reform report, and I'm sure that even the harshest
social critics of the government of Saskatchewan wouldn't argue that point about
welfare in their province in the mid-to-late 1990s. I
suspect that the difference in perspective is that the NCW represents the interests
of disadvantaged Canadians while the Fraser Institute speaks for the rich and
the corporations National
Council of Welfare ("...advises the Minister [of Human Resources Development
Canada] on the needs and problems of low-income Canadians and on social and related
programs and policies which affect their welfare...") About
the Fraser Institute - "Founded in 1974 at a time when many Canadians
believed that government should be the principal source of growth and development
in the economy, the Institute has helped bring about a considerable shift in public
opinion in recognition of the importance of market competition." |
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Service
Canada Regional Information:
Saskatchewan
This page provides
information on region-specific services for Individuals, Business and Organizations.
Services
include: Jobs * Financial Benefits * Employment Insurance * Taxes * Training and
Careers * Identification Cards * Travel and Passports * Health * Consumer Information
* Canada and the World * Environment and Resources * Economy * Public Safety *
Culture and Recreation * Science and Technology.
Source:
Service
Canada
Human Resources and Social Development
Canada
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Saskatchewan
Institute of Public Policy
The Saskatchewan Institute of Public Policy
(SIPP) is a non-profit, independent, non-partisan institute at the University
of Regina committed to stimulating public policy debate and providing expertise,
research and analysis on social, economic, fiscal, environmental, and administrative
issues related to public policy.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Saskatchewan
Office - Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives
-
Publications
Poor
in Saskatchewan need more than Transitional Employment Allowance: Complete report: Poor
need more than T.E.A.: Saskatchewan’s Building Independence Source: Saskatchewan
Office - Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives |
Current
Issues Surrounding Poverty and Welfare Programming in Canada: Two Reviews
(PDF file - 338K, 49 pages) NOTE:
recommended reading - detailed info on welfare reforms in Canada and more specifically
in Saskatchewan, includes analysis of the National Child Benefit and Saskatchewan
NCB programs! |
Related Link:
Canadian
Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA) - National
Office
"The Canadian
Centre for Policy Alternatives is an independent, non-partisan research institute
concerned with issues of social and economic justice. Founded in 1980, the CCPA
is one of Canada’s leading progressive voices in public policy debates. By
combining solid research with extensive outreach, we work to enrich democratic
dialogue and ensure Canadians know there are workable solutions to the issues
we face. "
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Community-University
Institute for Social Research
[ University
of Saskatchewan ]
"Off
Welfare … Now What?": A Literature Review on the Impact of Provincial
Welfare to
Work Training Programs in Saskatchewan
(PDF file - 449K, 37 pages)
by Carmen Dyck
October 2004
Community-University
Institute for Social Research
University of Saskatchewan
"This research
project seeks to understand the effects of Saskatchewan's government job training
programs, such as Jobs First, not only on poverty in Saskatchewan, but also on
participants in these programs. The provincial government claims that job training
programs have decreased the number of people living on social assistance, and
while this may be true, it does not capture the realities of people who have been
moved from assistance into job training programs or minimum wage full time jobs,
neither of which provide an adequate sustainable income. This report gathers and
evaluates the literature on welfare to work programs for both Saskatchewan and
Canada. It seeks to understand the difficulty of living on assistance rates, regardless
of whether they are called training benefits, transitional employment allowances,
or supplementary employment benefits, as well as the reality of living on minimum
wage, the differences for people in rural areas, and the disparities of these
programs for women and men."
Source:
Publications
===>links to over three dozen reports in CUISR's three focused research modules:
1.
Community Health Determinants and Health Policy
2. Community Economic Development,
and
3. Quality of Life Indicators.
[ Community-University
Institute for Social Research ]
- incl. links to : About CUISR - Research
Modules - Research Series - Publications - Resource Library - Other Resources
- Conferences & Seminars - Funding & Training - Employment - Search -
Contact Us
[ University of Saskatchewan
]
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Prairie
Women’s Health Centre of Excellence
"The Prairie Women’s
Health Centre of Excellence is one of the Centres of Excellence for Women’s
Health supported by the Women’s Health Bureau of Health Canada. The Centres
are dedicated to improving the health status of Canadian women by supporting policy-oriented,
and community-based research and analysis on the social determinants of women’s
health."
Women
and Social Assistance Policy in Saskatchewan and Manitoba
May
2005
By Josephine Savarese, Department of Justice Studies, University of Regina
and
Bonnie Morton, Regina Anti-Poverty Ministry
"The Prairie Women's
Health Centre of Excellence (PWHCE) Research Program on Poverty and Women's Health
has supported several studies that examine the links between public policy, women's
poverty and women's health. In 2003, PWHCE initiated three research projects designed
to examine income assistance policies in Saskatchewan and Manitoba and their effects
on women's health. Reports from two of these projects were published in 2004:
Don't We Count As People: Saskatchewan Social Welfare Policy and Women's
Health and Surviving on Hope is Not Enough: Women's Health, Poverty,
Justice and Income Support in Manitoba. These two studies were based on
several focus groups held in each province and were designed to bring forward
the voices and perspectives of those most directly affected by income assistance
policies. As Wharf and MacKenzie have noted, 'the knowledge and experience gap
between those who make policy and those who must live with the consequences is
enormous.' The research helps bridge that gap by providing an important critique
of income assistance policies from the perspectives of women living on welfare.
The women's descriptions of their experiences reveal the inadequacy of income
assistance benefits and the harmful effects on their physical and emotional health."
Complete
report (PDF file - 927K, 62 pages)
NOTE: the complete report includes
both studies noted above.
Don't
We Count as People? Saskatchewan Social Welfare Policy and Women's Health
By
M. Kerr, D. Frost, D. Bignell and Equal Justice for All.
February 2004
"(...)
This project was part of a larger initiative sponsored by the Prairie Women's
Health Centre of Excellence to examine social assistance policies in Manitoba
and Saskatchewan, their impact on women's health, and women's access to justice
as recipients of social assistance. Seven focus groups
were held with 43 women living on social assistance in five of the eleven administrative
regions of Saskatchewan in April 2003. In focus group discussions, these women
described the daily reality of their lives and the impact of social assistance
policies on their physical and emotional health."
Executive
Summary
Complete
report (PDF file - 871K, 58 pages)
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SaskNetWork
The
SaskNetWork web site is about helping the people of Saskatchewan connect to the
resources they need in the areas of jobs, work, education and training, career
planning, self-employment, labour market information, financial help and the workplace.
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WORKink
Saskatchewan - "The Virtual Employment Resource Centre" (for people
with disabilities)
Career and Employment Resources for Persons with Disabilities
- Links to a wide range of information for people with disabilities and those
who support them.
Source:
Canadian
Council on Rehabilitation and Work
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| Another
Look at Welfare Reform (Autumn 1997) - an in-depth analysis by the National Council of Welfare of changes in Canadian welfare programs in the 1990s. The report focuses on the provincial and territorial reforms that preceded the repeal of the Canada Assistance Plan and those that followed the implementation of the Canada Health and Social Transfer. - large file (275K+) but well worth the wait for detailed information on welfare reforms in the 1990s in each Canadian jurisdiction, as well as a national overview of the broad issues of welfare reform and the setting for welfare reform in Canada Source : National Council of Welfare |
List
of issues to be taken up in connection with the consideration of the third periodic
report of Canada : United Nations Committee on Economic, Social
and Cultural Rights - Implementation of the International Covenant on Economic,
Social and Cultural Rights (June 10, 1998)
Saskatchewan
Government Response to the U.N. List of Issues
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Regina
Leader-Post
Saskatoon
Star-Phoenix
University
of Regina
Saskatchewan
News
(comprehensive list of daily, weekly and regional newspapers in Saskatchewan)
Public Legal Education Association
of Saskatchewan (PLEA)
| TIP:
How to Search for a Word or Expression on a Single Web Page Open any web page in your browser, then hold down the Control ("Ctrl") key on your keyboard and type the letter F to open a "Find" window. Type or paste in a key word or expression and hit Enter - your browser will go directly to the first occurrence of that word (or those exact words, as the case may be). To continue searching using the same keyword(s) throughout the rest of the page, keep clicking on the FIND NEXT button. Try it. It's a great time-saver! |
Site
created and maintained by:
Gilles Séguin
(This link takes you to my personal page)
