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Falling through the cracks
Income support formula squeezes man onto street by Richard Gleeson
NNSL (Jan 23/98) - A loophole in the welfare system has left a Yellowknife man without enough money to get by, even though he's on employment insurance.
The problem, he said, is the territorial government refuses to recognize a financial obligation to his family. It's a lesson the four-year city resident said he found out the hard way.
The man, who did not want to be named, gets an employment insurance cheque for $668 every two weeks. Child support of $335 is deducted from each cheque.
That leaves him with $666 to cover the cost of food clothing and shelter for an entire month.
"All we asked them for is this month's rent," said the man of his visit Monday to the local income-support office. "We'll probably be able to get by next month. I think I might be able to get back to work by then."
The man is currently with a woman who is going to school. His unemployment payments are being garnished because he recently fell behind on his payments for a child of his in Ontario.
He was informed by an income-support worker that he was not eligible for support because the system does not take into account any money being deducted from his unemployment payments for child support.
"They told me to go to the Salvation Army and for her to go to the women's shelter," he said.
When he offered to repay the money, he was told the income-support office is not a bank, he said.
The director of the income-support program confirmed that child-support payments are not considered when calculating a person's income.
"We don't take them into account because if we did that would mean we'd be making child support payments," said Dana Heide, director of the income-support program.
In effect, said the man, if your kids are with you, the government will help support them through lean periods. If, however, your kids are not living with you but you are still responsible for them, the government won't help out and assumes the money being lost to child support is still available for your own use.
The denial of assistance can be appealed.
"Support payments are based on income, and if the income is reduced, an application can be made to have it varied," said Heide.
The man became aware of the appeal process shortly after his Monday visit to the income-support office.
But appeals processes -- there's also one for income support itself -- don't do anything to remedy his immediate problem.
"We're on the street as of tonight," he said earlier this week.
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