First paragraph (Teaser):

B.C. declares war on the poor, the disabled, the elderly, tenants, students, workers and Legal Aid services for the poor.
The Poverty and Human Rights Project of B.C. writes the following letter to the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights regarding B.C's violations of UN International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.

Rest of the text:

B.C. declares war on the poor, the disabled, the elderly, tenants, students,
workers and Legal Aid services for the poor.
The Poverty and Human Rights Project of B.C. writes the following letter
to the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
regarding B.C's violations of UN International Covenant on Economic,
Social and Cultural Rights.

Date: Sun, 17 Feb 2002 16:40:57 -0800
From: Suzanne Gregory
Subject: Campbell violations of UN International Covenant on Economic,
Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR)

PovNet http://www.povnet.org/ICESCR.htm

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POVERTY AND HUMAN RIGHTS SUBMISSION
TO THE UNITED NATIONS ICESCR COMMITTEE

The Poverty and Human Rights Project
307 West 18th Avenue
Vancouver, B.C.
V5Y 2A8

February 11, 2002

Professor Virginia Dandan
Chairperson
Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
c/o Alexandre Tikhonov, Secretary to the Committee
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights,
Office 1-025, United Nations Office at Geneva,
8-14 avenue de la Paix,
1211 Genève, Switzerland

Dear Professor Dandan,

We are writing as advisors to a coalition of non-governmental organizations
that deal with social rights issues, and issues of poverty, in the province
of British Columbia in Canada. These organizations have recognized expertise
as front-line service providers, legal advocates, community advocates, and
social policy analysts.

Our organizations are writing to you urgently to bring to your attention a
massive assault on the social and economic rights of the poorest people by
the Government of British Columbia. On January 17, 2002, the Government of
British Columbia announced that it will cut rates for social assistance
recipients, thereby deepening the poverty of people who already live well
below the poverty line. The Government will also narrow the rules governing
eligibility for social assistance. This will result in many people who are
currently eligible for social assistance being disentitled.

The announced changes to social assistance and social services clearly do
not comply with the Government of British Columbia's obligations to respect,
protect and fulfill the rights set out in the International Covenant on
Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR). The Government of British
Columbia has also ignored the Committee's concerns regarding Canada's
compliance with the ICESCR, which were expressed in the Committee's 1998
Concluding Observations on Canada's 3rd periodic report (E/C.12/1/Add.31, 10
December 1998).

In light of Canada's recent record of adopting retrogressive measures, and
as a follow-up to the Committee's 1998 recommendations, the undersigned
non-governmental organizations request that the Committee on Economic,
Social and Cultural Rights give urgent attention to the actions of the
Government of British Columbia.

The changes to social assistance and to social services announced on January
17, 2002 by the Government of British Columbia will have a drastic effect on
the groups in British Columbia who are the most vulnerable to poverty and
social exclusion. These groups include Aboriginal people, women, single
mothers, people of colour, recent immigrants, refugee claimants, people with
disabilities, older people, youth, and children.

The Committee expressed particular concerns about these groups in its 1998
Observations. It noted that there is a gross disparity between Aboriginal
people and the majority of Canadians with respect to the enjoyment of
Covenant rights. It also noted that cuts to social assistance and social
services are having a particularly harsh impact on women in Canada, and that
reductions in provincial social assistance programmes, combined with the
unavailability of affordable housing, create obstacles to women escaping
domestic violence. The Committee expressed concern that homelessness among
youth and young families is at a crisis level. The Committee also observed
that cuts to home care, attendant care and special needs transportation, as
well as tightened eligibility rules for social assistance, are increasing
the social and economic vulnerability of persons with disabilities (paras.
17, 18, 23, 28, 35, 36).

The Committee recommended that Canada consider re-establishing a legally
enforceable right to adequate assistance for all persons in need, a right to
freely chosen work, a right to appeal and a right to move freely from one
job to another (para. 40). The Committee also recommended that a greater
proportion of federal, provincial and territorial budgets be directed
specifically to measures to address women's poverty and the poverty of their
children (para. 54). Further, the Committee recommended that the federal,
provincial and territorial governments, address homelessness and inadequate
housing as a national emergency by increasing social housing programmes for
those in need, increasing shelter allowances and social assistance rates to
realistic levels, and improving protection of security of tenure for tenants
(para. 46). The Committee also expressed its concerns about workfare
programmes which violate the right to freely chosen work and other labour
standards, including minimum wage (paras. 30 and 55).

Income Assistance

Without regard for the Committee's concerns and recommendations, the
Government of British Columbia has announced a new B.C. Employment and
Assistance regime, with the following planned changes:

Shelter allowances for families with two or more children will be reduced.

Shelter allowances will be eliminated for adult recipients living with an
adult relative. This will increase the risk of homelessness for vulnerable
individuals whose lives are improved through sharing accommodation with a
relative.

Support allowances for "employable" welfare recipients between age 55 and 64
will drop by between $47 and $98 per month. This amounts to a 20 – 35% cut
in the non- shelter portion of social assistance for elderly recipients.

Low-income seniors (those over 65) will also see cuts in their small incomes
because subsidized transit passes will be taken away, and their medical
prescription subsidies will be reduced due to cuts to the Pharmacare program.

Welfare benefits for employable single parents will be cut by $70 a month.
This 18% reduction in the support portion of social assistance will affect
families in which approximately 60,000 children live. The overwhelming
majority of the members of this group are single women with children.

The Family Maintenance Exemption will be eliminated. All child support paid
will be deducted dollar for dollar from income assistance benefits. Until
now, if a single parent on social assistance was receiving child support
payments from a spouse, they were entitled to keep up to $100 per month of
these payments.

The Earnings Exemption will be eliminated for "employable" recipients. This
exemption allowed people on welfare to work and keep $100 if they were
single, or $200 if they had children or a partner.

In total, these measures mean that some single mothers could see a drop of
as much as $370 per month. In the income of a single mother with one child,
this would represent a 46% cut to the support allowance available to her.

The Social Planning and Research Council in its December 2001 report on
living costs and income assistance in British Columbia concluded that,
before the cuts announced January 17, 2002, social assistance met only 45 –
65% of the minimum monthly costs of single parent families and single adults
for food, clothing, household supplies, personal care, transportation, child
care, shelter, and other basic costs.

Single parents will now be considered "employable" after their youngest
child reaches 3 years of age (down from 7). Advocacy organizations for
children and youth report that this change will affect the care of
approximately 15,000 young children. This change comes just after the
Government of British Columbia repealed legislation whose goal was
universal access to affordable, safe child care.

The government will introduce welfare time-limits. "Employable" people
without children will only be allowed to receive welfare for two years
during any five year period. After two years they will simply be cut off.

Similarly, "employable" parents (with children older than 3 years), will
only receive full benefits for two out of five years, after which time they
will see their support allowance cut by 25%.

To our knowledge, no government in Canada has ever before imposed flat time
limits on eligibility for social assistance. This will mean that some
British Columbians will simply be refused social assistance, regardless of
need.

Full-time post-secondary students will no longer be eligible for welfare.
They will have to turn exclusively to student loans, which are not adequate
to support full time study.

In addition to the criminal penalty for fraud, those found guilty of welfare
"fraud" (which may include failure to report a gift) will be banned from
receiving welfare.

Before even being able to apply for assistance individuals will have to
undertake a "three-week self-directed job search." This will apply to
everyone, including families with children. Most people exhaust all other
avenues of survival before turning to welfare and appear at welfare offices
having no income, assets or other means of support. Many are on the verge of
losing their housing. The three-week rule increases the risk of
homelessness, illness, and extreme psychological stress.

The Government intends to start the welfare application process with an
assessment of whether or not an applicant is "expected to work." An
individual's entitlement and treatment by the Ministry will depend on this
assessment. Experts are concerned about the quality of these assessments and
concerned for the "hidden unemployable" who will fall through the cracks,
for example, survivors of abuse or trauma in residential schools, refugees,
and adults who have undiagnosed mental illness, intellectual impairment,
fetal alcohol syndrome and learning disabilities.

Young adults (19 and over) will have to demonstrate that they have lived
independent of their parents for two years before being eligible for
welfare. This means that youth escaping from abusive family homes will be
without support.

Individuals who have left jobs "voluntarily" will be ineligible for any
assistance. Experts are concerned that individuals may be considered
ineligible for welfare even if they have left jobs because of sexual
harassment, unsafe working conditions, or labour standards violations.

Refugee claimants, who are not currently allowed to work without special
authorization, will no longer be eligible for assistance. Refugee claimants,
whose status has not been determined, are a particularly vulnerable group –
poor, and socially isolated.

The Disability Benefits Program Act will be repealed. This legislation has
provided a separate benefit scheme for people with disabilities, which
recognized some of the unique needs of this group. People with disabilities
will now be included within the general welfare system, and they fear that
when new eligibility rules are applied they will be defined as "employable",
even though they are unable to work on a regular basis. The Government of
British Columbia has stated its view that too many recipients are classified
as "disabled" and that in order to meet its fiscal target those numbers must
be reduced.

On February 19, 2002, when it brings down the next budget, the Government of
British Columbia, may identify other categories of individuals who will be
ineligible for assistance.

Reduced shelter allowances for families with two or more children, combined
with reduced support allowances, and time limits on eligibility for social
assistance will predictably result in increased numbers of homeless people
in British Columbia, and increased numbers of people living in overcrowded,
inappropriate and desperate conditions.

The Government's approach rests on the assumptions that the majority of
social assistance recipients are employable people who choose not to work,
and that work is available for them. However, British Columbia is currently
experiencing a downturn in its economy, due to various factors. The official
unemployment rate is at 9.7 % and expected to go higher. At the same time,
training programs across government, including some designed for young
low-income people, are scheduled for termination. Many "employable" social
assistance recipients may not be able to find training or work
opportunities, for reasons that are not in their control.

Access to Justice and Remedies for Social and Economic Rights Violations

In its 1998 Concluding Observations, the Committee expressed serious
concerns about the ability of people in Canada to seek and obtain effective
remedies under domestic law for violations of their social and economic
rights. It noted that provincial governments have urged upon their courts an
interpretation of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms which would deny any
protection of ICESCR rights and would leave the complainants without the
basic necessities of life and without any legal remedy (para. 14, 15). The
Committee also repeatedly expressed its concern about access to civil legal
aid because of its importance to vulnerable groups seeking remedies for
social and economic rights violations (paras. 16, 42, 51, 54).

Despite this central concern of the Committee, the Government of British
Columbia has announced a number of cuts to the Attorney General's Ministry
which will directly affect the capacity of low-income people to seek
remedies when they are denied social benefits and protections. The budget
for legal aid will be cut by 38.8% over the next three years. Coverage will
provided only for criminal law matters, Young Offender Act matters, mental
health reviews, restraining orders, and child apprehensions. No services
will be provided for family maintenance or custody disputes. Direct services
for poverty law matters, that is for landlord/tenant, employment insurance,
employment standards, welfare, disability pension claims or appeals,
foreclosures, and disability trusts, will eliminated.

Many Native and Community Law Offices are expected to be closed. Until now
these Offices have provided legal assistance for "a legal problem or
situation that threatens the individual's family's physical or mental safety
or health, the individual's ability to feed, clothe and provide shelter for
himself or herself and the individual's dependents, or the individual's
livelihood" (s. 3(2)(d) of the Legal Services Society Act). Under this
mandate, a legal aid lawyer would provide assistance in a case like this:

a woman and her children are locked out of their apartment because of a
small amount of arrears in rent, due to a delay in the receipt of an
Employment Insurance cheque. The landlord has removed all of her
belongings and refuses to return them unless she pays the arrears.
She has nowhere to go.

Until now an advocate from a Native or Community Law Office would help this
woman to obtain the benefits to which she is entitled and to find immediate
shelter for herself and her children. These services will no longer be
available. The closure of Native Law Offices will also deprive Aboriginal
people of services designed specifically to meet their needs.

There may also be a complete cut to legal aid services for those who file
human rights complaints contesting discrimination in employment, tenancy and
the delivery of services. The budget of the British Columbia Human Rights
Commission will be cut by 32%, severely diminishing its capacity to provide
protection from discrimination to vulnerable individuals and groups.
Further, funding to all women's centres in the province, and to tenants'
rights organizations, will be cut by 2004.

These changes to income assistance and to legal aid violate ICESCR rights,
including:

- the general right to non-discrimination (Article 2(2)), and the right to
equality between women and men (Article 3), with respect to the enjoyment of
economic and social rights.

The new measures will have a disproportionately severe effect on women and
other disadvantaged groups because they will exacerbate their pre-existing
social and economic inequality. In addition, some reductions in rates and
some disentitlements are targeted, directly or indirectly at specific groups
of welfare recipients defined by age, sex, disability, and refugee status.

- the right to work that is freely chosen (Article 6) and to just and
favourable conditions of work (Article 7).

The new regime is likely to have the effect of coercing individuals in need
into accepting work and staying in jobs without regard for whether the
conditions are non- discriminatory, safe and healthy, and without regard for
whether the work provides a decent living. Individuals may be denied social
assistance if they do not accept available work, no matter what the
conditions of that work are, and they may be denied social assistance if
they leave their employment "voluntarily", even if the reason for their
leaving is unsafe or intolerable conditions.

- the right to special measures of protection and assistance to children and
young persons without discrimination based on parentage or other conditions
(Article 10(3)). The new regime will be particularly punitive for children
of social assistance recipients, denying them supports that they need
precisely because of the poverty of their parents.

- the right to an adequate standard of living, including food, clothing and
housing (Article 11).

The new scheme will deepen the poverty of people who are already living well
below the poverty line. The ability of social assistance recipients in
British Columbia to provide adequate food, clothing and housing for
themselves and their children is at serious risk.

- the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of
physical and mental health (Article 12).

Ample data is available to show that increased poverty means increased
health risks. The new measures will make access to adequate financial
assistance and supports uncertain for persons with serious physical and
mental health problems, and will have damaging effects on the health of
individuals who already at risk because of inadequate nutrition and housing.

In addition, the targeted elimination of legal aid for most family law
matters and for poverty law, as well as the elimination of funding to
community advocates for women and low-income people, and the cut to the
budget of the B.C. Human Rights Commission, deprives members of the most
disadvantaged groups of the means to seek remedies for social rights
violations. This contravenes a central Covenant obligation. The Committee's
General Comment No. 9, The domestic application of the Covenant, (4 December
1998 E/C.12/1998/24), points out that it is the obligation of States parties
to use all means at their disposal to give effect to the rights recognized
in the Covenant, to provide appropriate means of redress for Covenant rights
violations within their domestic legal schemes, and to ensure that remedies
are available to any aggrieved individual or group. If members of the most
socially and economically disadvantaged groups cannot effectively exercise
their rights before human rights, tenancy, welfare, and other tribunals
because they have no access to legal or community advocates, and if they
have, in effect, no access to the courts to challenge rights violations
because there is no legal representation available to them, the central
obligation to give effect to the rights is contravened.

Conclusion

The changes that the Government of British Columbia has announced are only
possible in a post-Canada Assistance Plan Act (CAP) era where there are no
national standards for social assistance and social services that bind
provinces and territories. In light of the Committee's concern that the
repeal of CAP accorded "virtually unfettered discretion to provincial
governments in relation to social rights" the Committee urged the Government
of Canada in its 1998 Concluding Observations "to take concrete steps to
ensure that the provinces and territories are made aware of their legal
obligations under the Covenant and that the Covenant rights are enforceable
within the provinces and territories through legislation or policy measures
and the establishment of independent and appropriate monitoring and
adjudication mechanisms" (emphasis added) (para. 52). To our knowledge, no
steps have been taken to implement this recommendation, the importance of
which is now painfully evident to the most vulnerable groups in British
Columbia.

The Government of British Columbia seeks to justify its new welfare scheme
on the grounds that it will face a "structural" deficit unless it makes deep
cuts to its budget. However, cutting a deficit by introducing measures that
imperil the rights of the most disadvantaged people to food, shelter,
clothing, and access to justice is not defensible. The Committee noted in
its 1998 Concluding Observations (paragraph 11) that by slashing social
expenditure to address budget deficits, Canada "has not paid sufficient
attention to the adverse consequences for the enjoyment of economic, social
and cultural rights by the Canadian population as a whole, and by vulnerable
groups in particular." The Government of British Columbia has chosen to
ignore this observation.

In closing, the undersigned non-governmental organizations ask again that
the Committee give urgent attention to the introduction by the Government of
British Columbia of retrogressive measures, contrary to its treaty
commitments to the residents of this province. We appreciate your
consideration of this request.

Sincerely,
Shelagh Day and Gwen Brodsky
on behalf of:

federated anti-poverty groups of B.C.
End Legislated Poverty
United Native Nations
B.C. Human Rights Coalition
B.C. Coalition of Persons with Disabilities
Seniors Network B.C.
Alliance for the Rights of Children
Justice for Girls
B.C. Coalition of Women's Centres
Social Planning and Research Council of B.C.
Working Group on Poverty
West Coast LEAF Association

Non-Governmental Organizations

federated anti-poverty groups of British Columbia. Founded in 1971, fapg is
an umbrella organization of 150 B.C. anti-poverty groups, which advocate
for, and provide services to, people living in poverty. Contact: Jacquie
Ackerly. 250-361-3521.

End Legislated Poverty. ELP is a coalition of 50 B.C. anti-poverty
organizations and unions. ELP advocates for law reform that will eliminate
poverty. Contact: Lesley Moore. 604-879-1209.

United Native Nations. Founded in 1969, UNN represents the interests of
90,000 status and non-status, on and off-reserve Aboriginal people in the
Province of British Columbia. It has a membership base of 28,000, and
provides advocacy, education and training to promote the interests of
Aboriginal people. Contact: Scott Clark. 604-688-1821, or 604- 219-7190.

B.C. Coalition of People with Disabilities. BCCPD is a provincial
cross-disability coalition that advocates for people with disabilities.
Contact: Tom McGregor. 604-875- 0188.

Justice for Girls. JFG is an organization that promotes justice and equality
for street- involved and low-income girls. Contact: Carman Sandiego.
604-689-7887.

B.C. Human Rights Coalition. Founded in 1982, the BCHR is a community-based
organization that provides advocacy, education, and research to advance the
promotion and protection of human rights throughout B.C. and Canada.
Contact: Susan O'Donnell. 604-689-8474

B.C. Coalition of Women's Centres. The BC Coalition of Women's Centres seeks
to end the violence, poverty and other human rights abuses experienced by
women in British Columbia, by supporting and promoting action for social
change by women's centres and others. Contact: Naomi North. 604-255-3998.

Working Group on Poverty. Working Group on Poverty is a multi-sectoral
umbrella group of 90 immigrant and refugee-serving organizations that
advocate for the elimination of poverty by working with federal, provincial
and local governments, as well as business and labour. Contact: Eyob
Naizghi. 604-254-9626.

Alliance for the Rights of Children. ARC is a multi-sector network of
organizations and individuals committed to ending the commercial sexual
exploitation of children and youth, and to realizing the commitments to
children set out in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the
Child, through research, public education, and law reform. Contact: Renata
Aebi. (604) 685-5437 ext. 15.

Seniors Network B.C. SNBC is a coalition of seniors' organizations that
advocates for positive solutions to problems that affect seniors. Contact:
Phil Lyons. 604-929-1921 or 604-430-6373.

Social Planning and Research Council of B.C. SPARC is a non-profit
organization that was formed in 1966. The Council has over 12,000 members
from all parts of BC. The mission of the Council is to work with communities
in building a just and healthy society for all. The Council undertakes
public education, research and policy analysis, and provides training and
education in community development. Contact: Michael Goldberg. 604-718-7733.

West Coast Legal Education and Action Fund Association. West Coast LEAF is
dedicated to advancing the rights of women through litigation, research and
education. LEAF has represented litigants in a number of leading equality
rights cases. Contact: Audrey Johnson. 604-684-8772.

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