Al 4 - The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, March 27, 2002 Tough times forecast from cuts to welfare By JENNIFER LANG SWEEPING changes to B.C,’s welfare system that come into effect Monday will have a devastating ef- fect on many of Terrace’s poor, # local poverty advo- cate says. . “This is not even human,” Skeena Anti Pov- erty’s Gerry King said of the tough new rules, ; Welfare recipients: will be hit with a wide-ranging set of new rules thal come into effect April 1, After thal, some reci- pients will notice a reduc- tion in their benefits from $50 to $100 per month, de- pending an the type of re- cipient. “It’s a reduction from an already ‘sub-human amount,” he said; as he stood outside ‘the welfare office last.. Wednesday, handing out leaflets outlin- ing the changes.” He feared many were unaware of how'the new rules will affect them. One of the new rules says people deemed em- ployable will only be able to claim welfare for two years oul of every five. After that, theyll be cut off. King calls the changes mean spirited. And he pre- dicts they will create addi- tional hardship for many people in Terrace. That’s why he’s think- ing about starling up a soup kitchen here that would be open seven days a week. He’s considering three potential locations right now. It’s not a new idea; a soup kitchen operated here during the 1980s, The B.C. government is planning to reduce the number of people on the welfare by 38,000 over the next three years, Currently, ‘about 240,000 receive assis- tance, Fewer people will be eligible for welfare be- cause the asset level is being lowered from $5,500 to $2,500 for families. Owning a vehicle worth more than $5,000 will also impact on eligibility. Other rules will make it harder for people iiving on welfare. For instance, crisis grants for food, clothing and hydro will be capped. 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King is worried about the safety of front-line welfare workers when reci- © - pients realize how they'll be affected. en “Take it easy with the front line workers — they’re scared.” , A second round of changes go into effec May 1. Those include reducing benefits for people aged 55 to 64. As of last week, welfare recipients hadn't been affi- cially informed about the changes by the Ministry of Human Resources. But the changes are posted on its website. — holder of SCI. SCI and its afliliates own a Submitted comments will a Baiistt 3B) COLUMBIA Proposed Change Of Control Of Skeena Cellulose Inc. Take notice that under Section 54 of tha Forest Act, the Honourable Michael de Jong, Minister at Forests is in receipt of a request for his consent lo a proposed change of control of Skeena Cellulose Inc, (SGI), whereby NWBG Timber & Pulp Ltd. (NWBC) will become the sole share- facilities and hold Crown tenures In the Prince Rupert Forest Region. The tota! allowable annual cut (AAC) of all replaceable tenures held by SCI is approximately 2.0 mil- lion m?. Under Section 54 of the Forest Act, the propo- nents must obtain the prior written consent from the Minister of Forests la the proposed change of control. The Honorable Michaei de Jong, Minister of Forests requests your written input regarding the proposed change of control of SCI. Written comments on the pro- posed transaction must be received prior to 5:00 p.m. an April 12, 2002, and should be torwarded to: Proposed Change of Control of Skeena Cellulose Inc. c/o Nick Crisp, Sterling Wood Group Inc. 301-1001 Cloverdale Ave. Victoria, British Columbia, V8Xx 4C9 Facsimile (250) 382-8997 Alternately, you may provide comments via the Ministry of Forests web site at! htlo://www.for.gov.bc.ca/pab/pe/sci/ record and may be released upon request. number of timber processing Extra Large Navel Oranges California Grown, 1.21/kg 4474-0 become part of the public SOQ MUCH mone IN STORE Prices effective Wednesday to Saturday, March 27 to 30, 2002. ©2002 Volkywogen. 1-800 DRIVE VW or ¥W.COM Sure you can find a better deal. If you’ve got a time machine to 1987. But heck, even if you could travel in time, you'd still need & new cor when you returned here to the future. So save yourself the hassle af having to set your walch and transport yourself down to the dealership today. 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