NDP Criticized For Record On Poverty Issues

NDP Criticized For Record On Poverty Issues

Friday, March 10, 2006 at 14:09

A former NDP cabinet minister who’s now with the Saskatoon Food Bank says provincial government policies continue to hurt the poorest of the poor.

During his time in office, Bob Pringle helped develop the province’s Building Independence strategy — which is designed to get people off welfare.

However, Pringle feels the current version of that program only loosely resembles what was originally proposed, and it’s not helping reduce poverty.

Pringle wants the government to increase the food allowance for those on welfare, stop clawing back the national child benefit from welfare cheques, allow the working poor to keep more of their earnings, improve the training allowance and assist welfare recipients with their transportation costs.

If the province doesn’t come through, Pringle says Saskatchewan citizens need to hold the government accountable at election time.

Of the roughly 12,000 people who used food banks in Saskatchewan last month, 47 per cent of them were children — the highest percentage in the country.

Pringle notes there are eight gangs in Saskatoon alone, and impoverished youth are turning to them when they find their basic needs are not being met.