EIA Rates in Manitoba Lowest in Canada for most recipients
We have renewed our work to improve the Manitoba Employment and Income Assistance Program with a push to raise EIA Rates.
As you may know the Manitoba Government released the EIA Rate Review in fall 2013.
Unfortunately, the rate review recommended little to address the inadequacy of EIA in this province. This coincided with a Caledon Institute Report showing Manitoba has the lowest EIA incomes in the country for single and disabled individuals.
A new fact sheet explains the details of the four actions to improve EIA:
- Raise the rates to reach the market basket measure in three years
- Create a pension like support program for people with long term disabilities
- Increase the earnings exemption to $500.00 per month,
- Establish an EIA ALL Aboard Working Group on rate setting with the community partners.
A new petition calls for the same actions: petition
Our goal is to help the Manitoba Government understand the value to our community of increasing EIA rates, as we have been saying in regard to increasing rent supplements.
Sign up and Show up to Raise the Rates!
1. FACT Sheet: Get people reading and sharing the fact sheet.
2. Petition: Get as many people as possible signing the petition, paper version or online version , and sharing the petition via email and Facebook.
Lend us your voice and sign the EIA Raise the Rates Petition!
3. City wide church sign messages: From February 24 – March 7, 2014. Many church street signs will read: “Love Thy Neighbor Raise EIA Rates”
4. 10 Days of Action Wake up for MLA’s: Between February 24-28 and March 3-7 between 8 and 9 a.m. MPHM supporters and coalition groups will meet at the legislature to raise awareness for this campaign. Bring your banners, noise makers, speaking voices and maybe a little hot chocolate!
150 organizations supported our effort last year to raise EIA rates for rent. It is time to sign up and show up again. Broad support of the community sends a strong message of how important improving EIA is to us all!
Help Increase Housing Affordability in Manitoba
Last year MPHM urged the Province of Manitoba to increase the Rental Allowance received by Manitobans who rely on Employment and Income Assistance (EIA).
EIA recipients are provided a rental allowance that has increased only marginally since 1992 when compared to market rents, which have increased by about 60% during the same time.
We asked the Province to increase the rental allowance to 75% of median market rent. In the 2013 budget, the government announced a $20 increase in rent aide for those who qualify. While this was a partial increase in the rent allowance, it did not reach all families receiving EIA nor raise supports to the level being called for.
At the 2014 NDP Convention, Theresa Oswald, Minister of Jobs and the Economy said “We agree that 75 percent as a target is the right goal”.
Now that the government agrees, the question is how soon can we reach this goal? People struggling with poverty have been waiting too long and are caught in a system mired in bureaucracy. There is still time to increase the EIA rental allowance. Manitobans need to repeat the call for change.
Please contact us at manitoba@makepovertyhistory.ca to indicate your support. The bigger and broader our list of supporters, the better.
Click http://www.ccednet-rcdec.ca/sites/ccednet-rcdec.ca/files/ccednet/eia_rental_allowance.docx.pdf to access a document providing more information on this proposal which you can share with others to help us gain broader support.
