The provincial government is streamlining benefit categories, promising modest increases for those on the Saskatchewan Assured Income for Disability Program (SAID). However, some recipients feel it still won’t be enough. Charmaine Hartt says being on SAID is a struggle. “I feel I am being treated unfairly, disrespected, put down, medically, emotionally and financially abused,” she told CTV News. Hartt says errors are made and it is not always possible to get through to social services for help. “I have to fight for basic necessities, I can never reach my workers and when I call, no one picks up and you leave a message but they never get back to you,” Hartt added. Earlier this summer, the government promised to streamline the program, modestly increase benefits for 40 per cent of clients and answer the phone. “Complexity of the application process, the sheer number of benefits that were available and some of the inconsistencies,” Social Services Minister Terry Jenson said on July 9 – while elaborating on the issues. The Saskatchewan NDP questions the plan. “This is extreme poverty that people are being asked to live in constant duress from a program that is not supporting them,” NDP MLA Erika Ritchie said. Advocacy groups, such as the Regina Anti-Poverty Ministry, say SAID benefits have fallen too far behind. “The depth of poverty is a big problem,” spokesperson Peter Gilmer explained. “That’s very much directly connected to having very low SAID rates and SIS rates which fall thousands of dollars a year not only below the poverty line but even thousands of dollars below the deep poverty measure.” Some Saskatchewan residents are struggling to make ends meet, and perhaps no one more so than those living on disability and social assistance benefits. Modest increases in the rates will provide some assistance, although concerns remain that many will continue to live in poverty.
