Without a Safety Net: What kind of country do Canadians want?

IdRatherBeSkiing

Satelitte Radio Addict
May 28, 2007
15,310
2,918
113
Toronto, ON
I tried my damndest to stay off it after the accident. WCB heard what the employer had to say - all seven excuses - and made it obvious I was going to be played forever. Sort of made me wish I had a Union to back me then. A few attempts to get back in the cab didn't work out, but then the option for school came up with Vocational Rehabilitation.

In retrospect, I should have dumped my stubborn streak and took the Disability because when school didn't work out I wound up frozen into Voc Rehab instead of the rollover into Disability. The only doctor close up here and still taking patients was also on Ontario's watch list - for putting able-bodied people on Disability. Voc Rehab ended and I was dumped onto General Welfare and made to requalify under newer, meaner and leaner conditions.

Cheats? They're out here alright. Nobody checks up on them. The one time I did get pissed off enough to call the Welfare Fraud Hotline, I spoke with someone whose accent was thick enough to be walked on. He told me they'd need the person's date of birth and account number before they could do anything about it. The fraud used four different names of which I was aware. How could anyone know the truth?

It seems to me it is diffucult to get what you need if you truly need the help.
 

Walter

Hall of Fame Member
Jan 28, 2007
34,892
129
63
Used to be if yer kids were skipping school yer welfare was cut back.
 

Twila

Nanah Potato
Mar 26, 2003
14,698
73
48
I know in the old days if a recipient was able to earn a buck on the side and they knew about it, it was confiscated! Is that still the case?

Yes, dollar for dollar in BC. BC Welfare also claws back dollar for dollar any child support paid. They also require that single parents sign over authorization to the ministry to go after the other parent. Which sounds good if the other parent is an absolute dead beat, however it does created animosity between the parents and of course the children suffer in the end for it.
 

petros

The Central Scrutinizer
Nov 21, 2008
118,676
14,575
113
Low Earth Orbit
Yes, dollar for dollar in BC. BC Welfare also claws back dollar for dollar any child support paid. They also require that single parents sign over authorization to the ministry to go after the other parent. Which sounds good if the other parent is an absolute dead beat, however it does created animosity between the parents and of course the children suffer in the end for it.

It also creates impoverished men.
 

Twila

Nanah Potato
Mar 26, 2003
14,698
73
48
Truant officers are being considered in these parts.

Nothing like threatening an already fully impoverished person with cut backs...I can imagine how many parents will take that out physically on their children.

One thing that is not considered is the effects of poor nutrition on the brain. We expect people who rely on hand outs, food banks and soup kitchens to be fully up to the task. We expect they'll make all the proper choices every time. We undercut their abilities and then we punish them for it.

I can only imagine what it must be like for a child who's from parents who've been in the system and what havoc that must have on their abilities.

I guess without being fully conscious of it or advertising it, society does seek out ways of reducing the population. Those who live in poverty do not live as long as others.
 
Last edited:

JLM

Hall of Fame Member
Nov 27, 2008
75,301
548
113
Vernon, B.C.
Yes, dollar for dollar in BC. BC Welfare also claws back dollar for dollar any child support paid. They also require that single parents sign over authorization to the ministry to go after the other parent. Which sounds good if the other parent is an absolute dead beat, however it does created animosity between the parents and of course the children suffer in the end for it.




That sure doesn't encourage any incentive. I think if they were allowed to keep half that would be fair on both sides.
 

Sal

Hall of Fame Member
Sep 29, 2007
17,135
33
48
The kids might not have eaten but you can bet the crack dealer got paid.
When BC suffered it's first bout of dipper mismanagement in the early 70s welfare paid extra for each dog you had. I believe it was $20/month so all the hippies had 4 or five dogs that mostly lived off of deer and rabbits.
yes absolutely the drug comes before anything else because that's all they know is the drug

Best thing for the kid is to be adopted by a family that can afford to look after it, not to be subjected to living in squalor with a loser mom who will go out and have another one to bump up her gubmint cheque.
sometimes yes, sometimes no...poverty does not have to mean a lack of love or a lack of an excellent raising environment...that's what kids need, if they feel loved and supported by just one individual, they can make it despite their circumstances... gene pool counts though too

on the other hand lots of people can afford their kids, they just shouldn't have them

Punish them for having sex?... Really, that's your take on things?

Wow
the way some people in here speak of single mums ...yeah that's my take
 

Sal

Hall of Fame Member
Sep 29, 2007
17,135
33
48
Now, there's a dog f**king job if there ever was one!:)
how so?

I think it would be a terrible job to have...truant kids are truant for a reason, usually a spectacularly bad home environment...abused, neglected, raped, runners, drug users, etc.

the truant officer is a social worker, not particularly well paid with a heavy heavy case load...the one school I was in last year had visits from him two to three times a week...if I had to listen to what he had to listen to I would never sleep again

he managed to help some of our kids but their stories would curl your hair