Amendments to the Employment and Assistance Act and the Employment and Assistance for Persons with Disabilities Act
Proposed amendments to the Employment and Assistance Act and the Employment and Assistance for Persons with Disabilities Act address commitments in TogetherBC: British Columbia’s Poverty Reduction Strategy. They would remove harmful and mean-spirited policies that created barriers for the most vulnerable people in B.C. Changes include:
- ending the need for people to pursue early Canada Pension Plan retirement benefits before age 65;
- protecting vulnerable youth by eliminating the two-year independence rule as a barrier to receiving income assistance;
- better support changing relationships by increasing the amount of time people can live together before being considered common law, and providing the singles assistance rate to two married but separated people living in the same residence;
- eliminating the practice of cutting people off from assistance who are homeless or at risk of homelessness if they are unable to provide documentation for eligibility, and replacing it with a modest monetary penalty; and
- ensuring that repayments of amounts owing to the ministry is consistent by creating a more fair and flexible monthly deduction for clients.