Welfare stats are important!!

September 21, 2010

On behalf of welfare researchers
in Canada and elsewhere:

THREE CHEERS for the departments responsible for welfare
in Newfoundland and Labrador, New Brunswick, Québec, Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia!

Those provinces are currently posting up-to-date social assistance statistics on their website on a monthly basis.

Why three cheers?

Because current and timely welfare stats are an important tool for monitoring the impacts of economic downturns and changes in federal and provincial social policies. And all provincial/territorial governments have been producing regular welfare statistical reports, some quite detailed, since long before I started working in the field of provincial welfare program information in the federal government in 1975.

Because, as at September , 2010, the latest national, public government statistics on welfare dependency in Canada's provinces and territories are for the year ending March 2005. That's over five years ago, and that's unacceptable.

And because those six provincial governments evidently have the political will and the technology to post their welfare statistics to their websites in a timely and comprehensive fashion, for the most part*.
[ * Ontario's welfare stats appear to go back only two years ---- a larger archive would be greatly appreciated, if that's the case... ]

Below, you'll find links to the latest welfare statistics for each of those six provinces.

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If you work in the welfare department of one of the other jurisdictions that don't yet post their welfare statistics to their own website, please take some time to examine the regular statistical reports that are available online in other provinces, and consider posting a similar report, regularly updated, on your own government's website.
Thanks in advance, eh!

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Latest provincial welfare statistics:

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Newfoundland and Labrador

* Income Support Cases and Recipients, 1992 to date (small PDF file)
http://www.stats.gov.nl.ca/Statistics/Social/PDF/Income_Support.pdf

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New Brunswick

* Social Assistance Trends and Statistics
http://www2.gnb.ca/content/gnb/en/departments/social_development/statistics/social_assistance_caseload_and_recipients.html

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Quebec

* Recipients under social assistance programs
http://www.mess.gouv.qc.ca/statistiques/prestataires-assistance-emploi/index_en.asp
* Youth and social assistance programs
http://www.mess.gouv.qc.ca/statistiques/jeunes/index_en.asp
* Previous statistics
http://www.mess.gouv.qc.ca/statistiques/prestataires-assistance-emploi/archives_en.asp

Ontario

* Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) Statistical Report
http://www.mcss.gov.on.ca/en/mcss/programs/social/reports/odsp_quarterly.aspx
* Ontario Works (OW) Statistical Report
http://www.mcss.gov.on.ca/en/mcss/programs/social/reports/ow_quarterly.aspx
NOTE: The ODSP and OW reports cover over two years and they're updated monthly, but the older stats disappear --- needs an archive, please!!

Alberta

Alberta Income Support Caseload - monthly welfare statistics
Income Support (IS) provides financial benefits to individuals and families in Alberta who do not have the resources to meet their basic needs, including food, clothing, and shelter.
The number of cases in August 2010 was 39,633, a decrease of 0.45% from July 2010, which had 39,814 cases. The August IS caseload is up 46.6% from what was observed in August 2008.
Source:
Alberta Office of Statistics

British Columbia

* BC Employment and Assistance Latest Month Caseload Statistics
http://www.eia.gov.bc.ca/research/index.htm