Aid agencies feel brunt of
latest welfare changes

By JOANNA WONG
GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS say a recent drop
in people receiving welfare here means resi-
dents are finding work, but employment stats
and local aid agencies disagree.

In June 2001, a total of 1,443 people were
receiving welfare in greater Terrace, Stewart,
Meziadin, and off-reserve Kitwanga and the
Nass Valley.

By June 2002, 97 less people were on the
welfare rolls here. That's a seven per cent
drop, bringing the total for the area to 1,346.

“The reduced caseload is an indication that
the changes made to income assistance are
working and people are seeking and obtaining
employment,” says Mike Long, an official for
the provincial human resources ministry.

Long maintains ‘the numbers show the suc-
cess of programs aimed at training and finding
jobs for people on welfare.

Long says his ministry has already placed
5,200 people in jobs this year across the pro-
vince,

But according to Patrick McIntyre, a local
labour market information analyst with the
federal Human Resources Development Cana-
da office here, that doesn’t mean Terrace resi-
dents are finding employment.

“T haven't seen any employment statistics
that would suggest these people have found

work,” he said, “The number of people in the
labour force is really constant, There’s been no
change.”
McIntyre says the drop in people receiving
welfare here is more likely due to migration.
“There’s a significant movement of people
out of the community,” he said. “They have

either left town or they're not collecting any

money.”

The liberal government brought in a number
of changes in April to make it more difficult to
obtain and stay on welfare, and reduced a

“| haven't seen any employment
statistics that would suggest
these people have found work.”

number of benefits.

The changes are part of a three year plan to
cut the number of people on welfare by 38,000
and reduce the $1.9 billion budget for the
human resources ministry by $580 million,

In the first twelve months since the Liberals
took office, 29,000 people have fallen off the
welfare rolls. Of that number, 12,000 were in
April and May of this year.

“For people on incame assistance things
have gotten progressively worse,” said Darlene

ONCE MACHINES and workers begin to move around at Skeena Cellulose once again, the rest of the economy will pick up steam as

Westerman, executive director of the Family
Place,

Westerman says changes to the welfare
system are an additional stress on low income
farnilies already affected by a series of provin-
cial cuts.

One major change that went into effect in
April is that people applying for welfare have
to take part in a three-week job search before
they can gel. benefits.

“It gives people an opportunity to try some-
thing else and to see what other opportunities
are out there,” said Tanya Gauvin, executive
director of Terrace Anti-Poverty.

“But for a lot of people they just can’t wait
that long. You're already in the holé — welfare
is a last resort.”

Some agencies say the new three-week

. search has corresponded with a rise in the

number of people seeking last ditch assistance.

“This year is very different comparatively
speaking. There’s no comparison at all,” said
Roy Atrill, director of the Terrace Emergency
Shelter.

Atrill reports that drop-ins at the shelter
have increased dramatically. _

From May 2000 to May 2001, 1,500 people
used the shelter, This year there’s been an in- ©
crease of 700 people, with 2,200 people drop- .
ping in from May 200! to May 2002. —

well, says a labour market analyst. Many workers and businesses are waiting for some sign of what will happen next.

Region’s unemployment dip»
is likely just a summer blip

Businesses, workers hanging on in hopes Skeena Cellulose restarts

A DECLINE in the region’s unem-

change

if Skeena Cellulose

turnaround,

ployment rate is likely just a tem-
porary phenomenon that won’t last
long, predicts a labour market
analyst.

Patrick McIntyre was respond-
ing to new Statistics Canada la-
bour force survey results that show
unemployment has dropped more
than three points to 12.9 per cent
in July from a peak of just over 16
per cent in May.

The Human Resources Deve-
lopment Canada analyst says all
indications are that the increase
in jobs in those months has been
concentrated in the service sec-
tors, reflecting an increase in
tourism and other seasonal sum-
mer jobs.

_ “It's a summer blip,” McIntryre
says. “I don’t see it being main-
tained past the summer. This is
just a summer employment thing.”

‘That would be in fine with the
experience a year ago, when un-
employment dropped about three
points going into the summer of

2001, only to rise sharply once

‘seasonal jobs ended and Skeena

. Cellulose shut down.

~~ But more loggers are at work

_.. now 'in'the area thanks to Skeena
* selling timber rights to various

contractors.’
~..“There’s been quite a bit of in-

view,” said local forest district
manager Brian Downie.
‘Contractors are also being per-
ited to export up to 35 per cent
of the wood they harvest.

4

terest from the salvage point of .

‘Export logging may. be .criti- .
| sedzed-politically but the point is
that people are back at work, says ~

Skeena Liberal MLA Roger Har-
ris.
The Nechako/ North Coast re-
gion spans a broad area — fram the
Queen Charlotte Islands to Van-
derhoof.

It therefore reflects the econo-
mic uncertainty connected to
Skeena Cellulose, the coastal
fishing industry, plus the interior
concerns over the softwood Jum-
ber dispute and the spread of the
mountain pine. beetle.

McIntyre says despite the pain,
the survey results don’t indicate
any substantial drop in population
in recent months.

“That's what we're waiting for
but haven't seen yet - 4 popula-
tion drop.” But he says that could

doesn’t reopen.

“There are a lot of people
hanging around waiting,” he said.

Also waiting are many retail
store owners.

“T've heard a lot of people say-
ing if SCI doesn’t open by Christ-
mas they'll reconsider whether
they'll stay open,” McIntyre said.

He said some businesses have
already consolidated to adapt to
the shrunken markets.

“They'll do fine,” he said.
“Those that have not or who are a
specialty business, they’re just
hanging on.”

Businesses that supply the for-
est industry are another example
of a group that’s waiting for the

%

Om HOALAINSOTSG

[Northwest unemployment

March 2001 to July 2002

Government job cuts aimed at
balancing the province’s budget
are just starting to translate into
reduced jobs in the region, he
said.

That’s likely to increase as
some of the deeper cuts in some
ministry’s aren't slated to kick in
until the second or third year of
Victoria’s restraint program.

If SCI solves its fabour disputes
and cranks up its mills, McIntyre
sees a significant economic im-
provement,

“Then it should be pretty excit-
ing to watch the numbers,” Mcln-
tyre said. “Having them back run-
ning, even in a limited capacity,
will help stabilize the region and

‘allow other growth initiatives to”

get the area growing again.”

Those other initiatives include
hopes for an increase in mineral
exploration, plus Prince Rupert-
based efforts to attract cruise ship
tourists, and a drive to put a con-
tainer port in Prince Rupert.

Another element of the unem-
ployment numbers is what statisti-
cians call the participation rale,

That’s the percentage of the
population who are in fact either
looking for work or are working, It
excludes people such as early re-'
tirees, stay-at-home parents and _
others who choose not to look for ..
work. mo

Melntyre says it also takes in
people who were trying to find
work but have become demorat-
lized and have given up.

So far the participation rate has
been growing, suggesting more .

people are seeking work.

-in the Belly of a-suitcase!’-*:-

=

The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, September 4, 2002 - AS

t

BORN AND raised in Ontario, Rob Bedard earned
first a ministerial diploma and then a Bachelor of
Theology degree. Specializing in youth work for
seven years, Rev. Bedard sought to branch out into
general church ministry. That brought about a
period of unemployment for one year, doing odd jobs
and camping out in the basements of Iris in-laws and
his parents. Rev. Bedard, his wife, Lorinda, and two
sons, Cameron and Stephen, moved to Terrace in
February where he is assistant pastor at the Terrace
Pentecostal Assembly.

Jobless pastor’s
faith is tested

By Rev. Rob Bedard
IN AN era when church ministers are aging, and
younger ministers are in demand, I never dreamt in
my worst nightmares P'd be unemployed for a whole
year.

Having ministered for eight years in reputable
churches, alongside
stellar ministers,
thought, would have
painted my future bright. &
T was wrong. 7

At the time, it
seemed, the Employment
Insurance personnel
jeered, while my
colleagues sneered. All
the while, my family and
I feared. What was
happening to us? Was I 9
not a faithful worker? [|
Such doubts plagued me,
even spiritual doubts.
Why was God letting this
happening to me?
Where was God when |]
needed Him most?

I felt like Job, the man
of suffering in the Bible. He lost his business, his
kids, and his health, but not his faith.

I wish I could say spiritual doubts never crossed
my mind, but that would be a lie. Feeling akin with
Job, ] was comforted by reading of his life and losses.
I too prayed for a happy ending, as I had found in
Job's account. .

Having no choice, we had to sell our beloved first
house. Our furniture and most belongings were locked
in a storage unit, until the door to our future swung
open. -

My wife and I, and our oldest son, lived out of a
suitcase at the homes of our parents and friends. The
stress and upset intensified as I battled bouts of doubt
and depression.

Meanwhile, my wife became pregnant with our
second child. Now, under normal circumstances, this
would be cause to rejoice, but at that juncture of our
lives, it caused concern and worry.

It certainly was not because we did not want
another child, This baby, as any, was a divine gift
from God. It’s just that we did not want our baby born

Rev. Rob Bedard |

cate te ae AVENE

We: prayed, and cried, for God's ‘provision, ‘but shy
wife’s morning sickness only turned to mourning after
she miscarried. Some of our friends and family meant
well, we know, but their clichés and pat-answers still
stung our hearts.

Again, we.found solace in Job, as he dodged the
darts flung by his so-called comforters. And like Job, I
prayed for the strength to face tomorrow, and the
grace to forgive today.

Eventually 1 concluded, 1 must trust God
completely. Ironic, isn’t it? L, a preacher, who often
preached on trusting in God, had nat yet mastered this
spiritdal discipline. I confess though that ministers,
without exception, struggle with the same issues of
faith and trust, as those in our churches and ,
community.

Through reading about the literal deadline of the
Hebrews, as they were being cornered in by the
raging sea to the east, and the raping Egyptian army
to the west, I too needed to look to God (Exodus 14),
After all, where can we turn in times of trouble, but to
God?

Like the Hebrews, | too was running out of hope, -
that is, until that God-ordained evening in Ottawa.

After sitting dormant, seemingly mocking us for six
months, the telephone finally rang. A church was
calling, Well, let me tell you, my. heart skipped a few
beats!

That call was evidence that my prayers had indeed
been heard in Heaven after all. Though that door did
eventually shut, our hearis were now open wide with
renewed hope. Within six months we accepted a
senior pastorate in Selkirk, Manitoba, where we
stayed for five years before moving to Terrace.

I have learned through that experience, sometimes
God leaves His provision right to the last possible
moment, Some skeptics call it coincidental, but 1 call
it the Providence of God: My last employment
insurance cheque arrived the first week I went back ‘to
work} Se

While not.in a hurry, God was indeed faithful.
Truth be told, over the past five years, in prayer and
quiet reflection on my walk with God, I still wonder
why.

. While fio two situations are identical, after talking
“to many unemployed: Terrace workers, I see we share

some common experiences. Being unemployed has
taught me, albeit the hard way, to trust in God, and
te-evaluate What is most iniportant in fife. It has also
proven to me, no mattér what | go through, God loves
and cares for me. ,

Allow me to open wide the door to my prayer
closet, for all who are unemployed to peer in for a
moment. At times,. my prayers of desperation were
unintentionally laced with ultimatums, yet in spite of
that, Gad still loves me. -

Sometimes my cries for help were filled with
frustration and flashes of anger, yet God never took it

' personally. He knew [ loved Him more than life itself.

And more often than I care to admit, my mind was
cluttered with doubts and plots, of how, and when,
and why, but not once did f ever feet God had stopped
lovirig me. a

You see, for me, having a close friendship with