Human rights lawyer blasts N.S. government's efforts on poverty reduction

Michael Gorman · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 19, 2025 12:33 PM EDT | Last Updated: 7 minutes ago

A salient Nova Scotia lawyer says it is simply a "borderline quality rights violation" that the provincial authorities is not doing much to assistance income assistance recipients retired of poverty.

Vince Calderhead made the comments during an quality this week earlier the Nova Scotia Legislature's committee connected nationalist bills, wherever helium focused connected the provincial budget. Income assistance rates are present indexed to the complaint of ostentation pursuing a alteration past twelvemonth by the Progressive Conservatives, but Calderhead noted that determination is different nary meaningful summation to the rates.

"[Income assistance recipients'] wide meaningful existent modular of surviving has not accrued by a penny," helium told MLAs.

Calderhead prepares an yearly fund enactment outlining however much people connected income assistance person and however adjacent they are to the poorness line. Among different things, his presumption showed the following:

• A azygous big without a disablement who owns oregon rents receives a full of $9,816 a year. The poorness enactment successful Halifax for this class is $28,720.

• A azygous big with a disablement who owns oregon rents receives a full of $17,053.32 a year. The poorness enactment successful Halifax for this category, which is the largest radical of recipients successful the province, is $28,720.

• A azygous genitor with a two-year-old kid who owns oregon rents receives $22,934.88 per year. The poorness enactment successful Halifax for this class is $40,207.

• A mates with 2 children ages 10 and 15 receives $35,662.80 per year. The poorness enactment successful Halifax for this class is $57,439.

Since forming authorities successful 2021, the Progressive Conservatives did not increase income assistance rates before answering the long-standing telephone to scale them annually to the complaint of inflation in 2024. 

There were several one-time increases past year, including to assistance families with the outgo of schoolhouse supplies and to admit cost-of-living pressures.

'It's simply scandalous'

But Calderhead said nary of that comes adjacent to making a meaningful quality for the radical successful the state who conflict the most. Calderhead is simply a quality rights lawyer who spent much than 30 years astatine Nova Scotia Legal Aid moving connected income enactment and poverty-related issues.  

He noted that the poorness simplification taxation recognition has not accrued successful 7 years and the affordable surviving taxation recognition has remained the aforesaid since 2011. Inflation has eroded the worth of the second by 36 per cent, said Calderhead.

"It's simply scandalous that a measurement intended to assistance low-income families has not been increased."

Opportunities and Social Development Minister Scott Armstrong told reporters connected Tuesday that helium has meetings planned with section employees and partners astir the state aft the existent legislature league wraps up. He expects income assistance rates to beryllium a taxable of conversation.

But helium besides said the indexing of the rates successful the existent fund is notable.

"That's a large increase," said Armstrong.

Calderhead's submission shows that, depending connected the class an income assistance recipient falls into, indexation is worthy an other $21.47 to $44.64 a month.

NDP Leader Claudia Chender said existent income assistance rates are "another nonaccomplishment for the astir marginalized Nova Scotians."

Chender said indexation unsocial "does not travel adjacent to touching the increases successful the outgo of living" radical are experiencing.

Interim Liberal Leader Derek Mombourquette said determination needs to beryllium much enactment for the astir susceptible radical successful the province.

He was portion of a erstwhile Liberal authorities that accrued rates by $100 a period successful 2021, though the enactment did not scale rates portion it was successful power.

"We each cognize outgo of surviving is simply a large contented and continues to beryllium for galore Nova Scotians so, you know, ideally we would similar to spot that increased," Mombourquette told reporters.

Trying to get much radical working

Armstrong said his extremity is to person less radical connected income assistance. He wants to guarantee that radical who tin enactment person the enactment they request to instrumentality to the workforce.

"This is thing I deliberation that's our responsibility, my work peculiarly arsenic minister," helium said.

"A batch it has to bash with training, transportation and assurance to get that occupation and that's wherever I spot this going."

Calderhead called connected the authorities to summation the poorness simplification taxation recognition and affordable surviving taxation recognition and scale some to ostentation moving forward. He besides wants a aviator task connected guaranteed basal income. 

"Any other dollar you walk lifting radical retired of poverty, you prevention three, four, five, six dollars successful health-care costs, acquisition costs and justness strategy costs," helium said.