Recommendations to guarantee economic security for Indigenous women in the DTES

Recommendation 58: Increase the federal Old Age Security (OAS), the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS), Canadian Pension Plan (CPP), and BC Seniors Supplement.

Recommendations to guarantee economic security for Indigenous women in the DTES

Recommendation 59: Provide all residential school survivors with a guaranteed livable income for the rest of their lives.

Recommendations to guarantee economic security for Indigenous women in the DTES

Recommendation 60: Implementing existing recommendations from the BC Poverty Reduction Coalition for a whole-of-government poverty reduction strategy.

Recommendations to guarantee economic security for Indigenous women in the DTES

Provincial income assistance

Recommendation 61: Increase income and disability rates to the Market Basket Measure to reflect the cost of an adequate standard of living, and index them to inflation.

Recommendations to guarantee economic security for Indigenous women in the DTES

Provincial income assistance

Recommendation 62: Provide grandparents raising grandchildren, and all kinship care providers, with incomes and benefits comparable to foster parents. This includes a living wage and full access to child care and respite support.

Recommendations to guarantee economic security for Indigenous women in the DTES

Provincial income assistance

Recommendation 63: Eliminate barriers to accessing income and disability assistance by reducing unnecessary eligibility criteria and simplifying the application processes. This includes:

1. Removing the two-year financial independence requirement for income assistance.
2. Basing income assistance eligibility on current income only.
3. Removing the penalty clawback for failure to work search requirements for income assistance.
4. Removing the work search requirement for mothers with children over the age of three years old.

Recommendations to guarantee economic security for Indigenous women in the DTES

Provincial income assistance

Recommendation 64: Restructure the Ministry of Social Development and Poverty Reduction, including:

1. Bringing back individual caseworkers and timely individualized assistance.
2. Ensuring there are computers and Ministry support staff at every Ministry office for the purpose of helping applicants.
3. Modifying the online application for income assistance so that it is not mandatory to create an email address and BCelD.

Recommendations to guarantee economic security for Indigenous women in the DTES

Provincial income assistance

Recommendation 65: End clawbacks of income and disability assistance including clawbacks of Canada Pension Plan Disability Benefits and penalties for cohabitation.

Recommendations to guarantee economic security for Indigenous women in the DTES

Provincial income assistance

Recommendation 66: Increase earnings exemptions for those on provincial income and disability assistance program, and any clawbacks must be incrementally tied to income.

Recommendations to guarantee economic security for Indigenous women in the DTES

Provincial income assistance

Recommendation 67: Raise all asset limitations for those on income assistance to bring them in line with asset limitations for those on disability benefits.