The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
The Manitoba government has begun administering all social assistance across the province, having absorbed municipal welfare programs in a move welcomed by the City of Flin Flon. The new single-tier welfare system took effect Tuesday, partially funded by the municipalities that no longer operate their own assistance programs. "We've always felt within the City of Flin Flon that we really weren't set up properly to receive people who were applying for social assistance," said Larry Fancy, municipal administrator, in a previous interview. "My problem was the issue of privacy for the individuals. City Hall was not set up to meet those needs, and that was always a concern." Through the new setup, the City of Flin Flon will contribute $60,000 each year to a provincial welfare fund. That figure is based on the City's average social assistance expenditures over the past seven years. While $60,000 is slightly above what the City had paid for welfare, future social assistance cost increases will be digested by the province. The previous, two-tier system saw municipalities administer social assistance for non-disabled single people, childless couples and two-parent families, while the province worked with all other applicants, such as single parents and disabled people. At one time, individual municipalities determined how much they would pay welfare recipients. Later, however, provincial legislation was enacted governing the amount municipal welfare would pay. "It doesn't make sense to have a two-tier system," said Fancy. Fancy and others within government believe the new system will make the welfare system more efficient. "I think it's less prone to abuse when you have a system that's tied together in one database," said Fancy.3/6/04
