Edmonton Social Planning Council

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  • Media Release: New provincial rental assistance programs brings much-needed relief to Edmonton renters

    Media Release: New provincial rental assistance programs brings much-needed relief to Edmonton renters

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    EDMONTON – The Edmonton Social Planning Council is encouraged by the Government of Alberta’s announcement of two new rental assistance programs, the Rent Assistance Benefit and the Temporary Rent Assistance Benefit, which will be open for applications on April 1st and May 1st, respectively.

    Our agency has identified the challenges facing renters in Edmonton as an intractable problem for more than a decade. Our 2020 report, The High Cost of Waiting: Tenant-Focused Solutions to Enhance Housing Affordability, summarizes many of these challenges through a literature review, interviews with key informants, and most crucially of all the lived experiences of renters forced to wait on the bottom of a years long wait list to receive support through rental assistance programs.

    The COVID-19 pandemic has posed a lot of challenges, especially for those living in poverty and low-income and facing precarious housing. As of February 2020, nearly 10,000 people alone were on the Capital Region Housing wait list to receive rent assistance. These benefits have the potential to greatly reduce that wait list, especially the Temporary Rent Assistance Benefit.

    This particular benefit is only expected to last two years, but it still has the potential to help renters improve their situation, especially as we work towards recovering from this unprecedented pandemic. In addition, both benefits will go directly to the tenant instead of the landlord (which is how the Private Landlord Rent Supplement program, now closed for new applications, is designed). This was identified as a key ask from focus group participants who contributed to our High Cost of Waiting report.

    While more permanent and sustainable solutions will need to be implemented—namely a federal-provincial agreement as outlined in the proposed Canada Housing Benefit—this measure will bring about some much-needed relief for renters in Alberta.

    For media inquiries, please contact:

    Brett Lambert, Community Engagement Coordinator
    E-mail: BrettL@edmontonsocialplanning.ca[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_4″ _builder_version=”4.7.4″ custom_padding=”0px|20px|0px|20px|false|false” border_color_left=”#a6c942″ custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_testimonial author=”Posted by:” job_title=”@ET-DC@eyJkeW5hbWljIjp0cnVlLCJjb250ZW50IjoicG9zdF9hdXRob3IiLCJzZXR0aW5ncyI6eyJiZWZvcmUiOiIiLCJhZnRlciI6IiIsIm5hbWVfZm9ybWF0IjoiZGlzcGxheV9uYW1lIiwibGluayI6Im9uIiwibGlua19kZXN0aW5hdGlvbiI6ImF1dGhvcl93ZWJzaXRlIn19@” portrait_url=”@ET-DC@eyJkeW5hbWljIjp0cnVlLCJjb250ZW50IjoicG9zdF9hdXRob3JfcHJvZmlsZV9waWN0dXJlIiwic2V0dGluZ3MiOnt9fQ==@” quote_icon=”off” portrait_width=”125px” portrait_height=”125px” disabled_on=”on|off|off” _builder_version=”4.7.7″ _dynamic_attributes=”job_title,portrait_url” _module_preset=”default” body_text_color=”#000000″ author_font=”||||||||” author_text_align=”center” author_text_color=”#008ac1″ position_font=”||||||||” position_text_color=”#000000″ company_text_color=”#000000″ background_color=”#ffffff” text_orientation=”center” module_alignment=”center” custom_margin=”0px|0px|4px|0px|false|false” custom_padding=”32px|0px|0px|0px|false|false”][/et_pb_testimonial][et_pb_text disabled_on=”on|off|off” _builder_version=”4.7.7″ _dynamic_attributes=”content” _module_preset=”default” text_text_color=”#000000″ header_text_align=”left” header_text_color=”rgba(0,0,0,0.65)” header_font_size=”20px” text_orientation=”center” custom_margin=”||50px|||” custom_padding=”48px|||||”]@ET-DC@eyJkeW5hbWljIjp0cnVlLCJjb250ZW50IjoicG9zdF9jYXRlZ29yaWVzIiwic2V0dGluZ3MiOnsiYmVmb3JlIjoiUmVsYXRlZCBjYXRlZ29yaWVzOiAgIiwiYWZ0ZXIiOiIiLCJsaW5rX3RvX3Rlcm1fcGFnZSI6Im9uIiwic2VwYXJhdG9yIjoiIHwgIiwiY2F0ZWdvcnlfdHlwZSI6ImNhdGVnb3J5In19@[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section]

  • Research Update: End-of-Life Decision Making—Progress Since 2011

    Research Update: End-of-Life Decision Making—Progress Since 2011

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    Note: this is excerpted from the March 2021 edition of our “Research Update” publication. The Edmonton Social Planning Council, in collaboration with our volunteers, strives to provide stakeholders and community members with up-to-date reviews, prepared by our volunteers, on recently published social research reports and publications.

    A review by Shawna Ladouceur

    In 2011, the Royal Society of Canada (RSC) published End-of-Life Decision Making. This timely report framed the findings and recommendations of an expert panel convened by the RSC in response to questions of public policy around the legalization of medical assistance in dying (MAiD). A decade on, the RSC assembled a Policy Briefing Committee to assess the impact of the 2011 report to track policy and statutory progress and to identify ongoing challenges. Summarized here, the policy brief lauds success, but also looks ahead to next steps and work still to be done.

    Recognizing the impossibility of addressing MAiD in isolation, in preparing the 2011 report the RSC conducted an extensive review of literature exploring the full continuum of end-of-life care, which includes:

    • withholding and withdrawal of potentially life-sustaining treatment,
    • advance directives,
    • palliative care,
    • potentially life-shortening symptom relief,
    • terminal sedation, and
    • assisted suicide and voluntary euthanasia (i.e., MAiD).

    This in-depth examination of social attitudes, ethical issues, and legal statutes led the RSC to conclude that Canada should move forward with provisions for MAiD—for which they provided 30 recommendations to guide the process.

    Proving fortuitous, the 2011 report coincided with arguments heard in the groundbreaking case, Carter v. Canada (2015). Heard by the British Columbia Supreme Court, the case challenged Criminal Code statutes forbidding euthanasia and physician assisted suicide. Admitted into evidence on the grounds of providing expert opinion on the matter, the report was quoted and later echoed in the judge’s decision to declare the statutes in violation of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms (the Charter). Insisting that inherent risks of legalization “could be very substantially mitigated through a carefully-designed system imposing stringent limits that are scrupulously monitored and enforced,” the Supreme Court of Canada affirmed findings in this case (p. 11). Given 12 months to amend the Criminal Code, the judgement required Parliament to move forward with legislation allowing legal access to MAiD in Canada. The resulting Bill C-14, however, departed from both the report and from recommendations of Parliament’s own commissioned experts on some key provisions.

    This divergence left work to be done at all six points along the continuum of end-of-life care and the door open to ongoing policy and statutory challenges. Although the policy brief shows there has been good progress in facilitating advanced care planning and moderate progress in expanding access to palliative care, the remaining areas have yet to be addressed—that is, clarifying legal status of withholding and withdrawal of potentially life-sustaining treatment, terminal sedation, and potentially life-shortening symptom relief. The policy brief outlines 31 remedial recommendations to address these deficiencies as well as those of current MAiD legislation. Ongoing challenges also hold promise in remedying several enduring expert concerns with current MAiD legislation. These concerns include the exclusion of persons not at the end of life or whose natural death is not reasonably foreseeable; lack of provision for advance requests; exclusion of mature minors; and a 10-day waiting period.

    One challenge resulted in the important 2019 Truchon and Gladu v. Canada and Québec decision, in which the Québec Superior Court found MAiD eligibility criterion, including the requirement for death to be reasonably foreseeable, too restrictive and thus in violation the Charter. This provision therefore ceased to have any effect in Québec as of March 2020. The federal government chose not to appeal the decision. Québec has, however, “indicated its intention to address the issue of eligibility for MAiD where mental disorder is the sole underlying medical condition” (p. 29).

    Currently before the House of Commons, the federal government’s own Bill C-7 would mitigate other outstanding expert concerns. This Bill would allow advanced requests for MAiD in cases of reasonably foreseeable death and would eliminate the associated waiting period. Bill C-7 also appears to concede some ground to Truchon and Gladu (2019), adding language regarding natural death that has not become reasonably foreseeable. The federal government has also agreed to further study the issues of advance requests and mature minors during the five-year review required by the 2016 MAiD law.

    The retrospective provided by the policy brief indicates the 2011 report has been cited many times since its publication—most significantly in the landmark case heralding the advent of MAiD, but also in scholarly literature, policy documents, and the media—certainly exerting an effect on public opinion and events in intervening years. However, despite progress, concerns remain. The brief provides recommendations to redress deficiencies along the continuum of end-of-life care—including prevailing concerns with existing MAiD legislation—and leading options to address the issues that most certainly lie ahead.

    Publication Source:

    Sumner, L. W., Downie, J., Gupta, M., & Wales, J. (2020). End-of-life decision making: Policy and statutory progress (2011-2020). Royal Society of Canada https://rsc-src.ca/sites/default/files/EOL%20PB_EN.pdf 

    Get to know our volunteer:

    Shawna Ladouceur is a Registered Nurse who sees the impacts of the social determinants of health in ways that demand action. She has extensive experience working directly with vulnerable populations in the inner city. Her personal interests include skiing, hiking, biking, running, reading, and travelling.

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    Click the image to view the document online.

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  • fACT Sheet — Zoning Bylaws and Affordable Housing

    fACT Sheet — Zoning Bylaws and Affordable Housing

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    Introduction

    Ending chronic homelessness has been a priority for Edmonton’s City Council in recent years. In 2009, the city committed to ending chronic homelessness within 10 years. Although a lot of progress has been made, they have fallen short of this original goal. Nevertheless, City Council remains committed to finding solutions. Though the state of homelessness observed in the city fluctuates, there has been an increase since the COVID-19 pandemic. As of February 2021, there are 2,038 people experiencing homelessness in Edmonton. This makes the original goal all the more critical to address, through the lens of public health and human rights.

    As part of its goal to end chronic homelessness, the Affordable Housing Investment Plan (2019-2022) aims to create 2,500 new or renovated affordable housing units across Edmonton, which includes a target of more than 916 permanent supportive housing units. Among the challenges and opportunities to better facilitate these affordable housing developments are zoning bylaws. Zoning provides a guide for municipalities in what structures are permitted to be built and where they can be built.

    In this fACT Sheet, we’ll summarize recent changes to zoning bylaws that better facilitate these affordable housing units and outline some of the remaining issues and challenges.

    Types of Non-Market Housing Developments

    When talking about affordable housing developments, it is important to understand that there are different types and designs to meet a variety of needs. The following describe some of the most common examples of affordable housing (specifically non-market housing) units that operate outside of the private market.

    Supportive housing: permanent housing for people who need assistance to live independently. Supportive housing may house people who are elderly or have disabilities, addictions, or mental health issues.

    Emergency housing: short-term shelter or accommodation that serves people who are experiencing homelessness, who are displaced, or who are fleeing violence or abuse.

    Non-profit housing: rental housing for low- and moderate-income individuals and families built by the province, municipality, or by a community group. Most tenants pay rent relative to their income; others pay rent at the low end of private market rent.

    Transitional housing: a bridge between emergency and permanent housing, often for a specified time. Transitional housing may serve people transitioning out of homelessness, those leaving the corrections system, or families receiving specialized supports.

    Co-operative housing: housing for people with low- and moderate-incomes. Residents contribute to the upkeep of the building and governance of the co-op. It can serve both lower-income households and market housing (some people with higher incomes choose housing co-ops for non-financial reasons). Some tenants pay rent relative to their income while the rest pay market rent. Some units may be modified for seniors or people with disabilities.

    Most of the recent zoning bylaw changes within Edmonton city limits affect supportive housing initiatives.

    Recent Bylaw Changes That Impact Affordable Housing Developments

    In 2019, non-profit housing providers participated in a workshop with City of Edmonton staff from the Affordable Housing and Homelessness and the Zoning Bylaw Implementation team. Valuable input was shared about the challenges and opportunities to better facilitate affordable housing developments in Edmonton.

    Since then, Edmonton City Council has passed a number of new bylaws to address many of these issues (in chronological order):

    July 15, 2019: City Council passed “Charter Bylaw 18941 Text Amendment to Zoning Bylaw 12800 to reduce barriers to Collective and Permanent Supportive Housing.” This bylaw removed regulations such as restrictions on group homes (a residence model of medical care for those with complex health needs) that placed limits on occupancy as well as removing limits on the number of individuals that can live in a lodging house (referring to a house in which rooms are rented). Restrictions were also removed on the type of building design for both group homes and lodging houses.

    August 25, 2019: City Council passed “Charter Bylaw 18967- Text Amendment to Zoning Bylaw 12800 to Enable Missing Middle Housing.” This bylaw amended medium-scale zones in order to create more opportunities for the development of various medium-scale housing options in Edmonton. The amendment introduced Use Multi-Unit Housing, defined based on the number of dwelling units on-site rather than by the form of the building or how the units were arranged. It also removed maximum densities from a number of zones, along with minimum site area and width requirements, and increased maximum floor area ratios in some zones. These changes increased the area of a site that can be developed for affordable housing.

    June 30, 2020: City Council passed “Charter Bylaw 19725 Text Amendments to Zoning Bylaw 12800 for Open Option Parking.” This bylaw removed minimum vehicle parking requirements, in addition to changes such as parking lot design and access, landscaping, stall size, loading requirements, and calculation methods to address accessibility and bicycle parking requirements. The number of on-site parking spots for new developments will now be determined by the landowner or business. This change will allow affordable housing developments to offer parking based on the unique needs of the development, thereby potentially increasing the proportion of land available for housing, on-site supports, or other complementary uses.

    November 3, 2020: City Council passed “Charter Bylaw 19490 Text Amendments to Zoning Bylaw 12800 to enable Supportive Housing developments.” The bylaw created two new use definitions for supportive housing and limited supportive housing, replacing the previous terms temporary shelter, group home, and limited group home uses. Supportive housing now describes development for residential use with on-site or off-site supports to ensure the residents’ day-to-day needs are met. This does not, however, include extended medical treatment services. Limited supportive housing specifically describes a supportive housing development with no more than six residents. Using these new definitions, a limited supportive housing developments can reasonably expect fewer visits by emergency services per month and are located in freestanding structures that are purpose-built or wholly converted for that purpose. These new definitions also provide flexibility for organizations to adapt to different forms of, and duration of, supportive housing needs.

    In addition, these amendments also add supportive housing as a listed use in a number of zones, such as commercial and urban service zones. This change will increase opportunities to develop more supportive housing—including seniors’ housing, hospice care, and temporary shelters—widely across the city and allows more flexibility in the location of new affordable housing units.

    These changes align with Policy C601 Affordable Housing Investment Guidelines. The policy seeks to ensure more opportunities for non-market developments are available across the city. It also provides direction to streamline access to affordable housing in all neighbourhoods through regulatory and procedural review and improvement, as well as other city policies such as Age Friendly Edmonton.

    Reflections and Other Concerns

    These bylaw changes that took place over the last couple of years have the potential to encourage the construction of more affordable housing developments. They can help move the city closer towards achieving its goal of ending chronic homelessness by building an adequate supply of supportive housing units. Approval process timelines for development previously posed a challenge for those wanting to get these developments off the ground; these changes and barrier reductions are an important breakthrough.

    Nevertheless, strong bylaws that create an environment more conducive to affordable housing must continue to emphasize a human-rights approach to housing. There are also challenges with a shortage of non-market housing with units that are universally accessible and barrier-free despite one in two households in Edmonton having at least one family member with at least one activity limitation. Moreover, stable funding from municipal, provincial, and federal governments is also indispensable toward building political will to see these projects through to completion.

     

    These bylaw changes have the potential to encourage more affordable housing developments and help move the city closer towards achieving their goal of ending chronic homelessness by building an adequate supply of supportive housing units.

     

     

    The Edmonton Social Planning Council is an independent, non-profit, charitable organization focused on social research.

    This fACT Sheet, prepared by the Edmonton Social Planning Council, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

    Edmonton Social Planning Council

    #200, 10544 – 106 Street, Edmonton, Alberta, T5K 1C5

    www.edmontonsocialplanning.ca

    @edmontonspc

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  • Vital Topic — COVID-19 in Edmonton

    Vital Topic — COVID-19 in Edmonton

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    Edmonton Vital Signs is an annual checkup conducted by Edmonton Community Foundation, in partnership with Edmonton Social Planning Council, to measure how the community is doing. Vital Topics ar a quick but comprehensive look at issues that are timely and important to Edmonton.

    For this edition, we take a look at the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. This includes information and data related to food security, the economy, race and ethnicity, mental health, domestic violence, quality of life, and others.

    [/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_4″ _builder_version=”4.7.4″ custom_padding=”0px|20px|0px|20px|false|false” border_color_left=”#a6c942″ custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_testimonial author=”Posted by:” job_title=”@ET-DC@eyJkeW5hbWljIjp0cnVlLCJjb250ZW50IjoicG9zdF9hdXRob3IiLCJzZXR0aW5ncyI6eyJiZWZvcmUiOiIiLCJhZnRlciI6IiIsIm5hbWVfZm9ybWF0IjoiZGlzcGxheV9uYW1lIiwibGluayI6Im9uIiwibGlua19kZXN0aW5hdGlvbiI6ImF1dGhvcl93ZWJzaXRlIn19@” portrait_url=”@ET-DC@eyJkeW5hbWljIjp0cnVlLCJjb250ZW50IjoicG9zdF9hdXRob3JfcHJvZmlsZV9waWN0dXJlIiwic2V0dGluZ3MiOnt9fQ==@” quote_icon=”off” portrait_width=”125px” portrait_height=”125px” disabled_on=”on|off|off” _builder_version=”4.7.7″ _dynamic_attributes=”job_title,portrait_url” _module_preset=”default” body_text_color=”#000000″ author_font=”||||||||” author_text_align=”center” author_text_color=”#008ac1″ position_font=”||||||||” position_text_color=”#000000″ company_text_color=”#000000″ background_color=”#ffffff” text_orientation=”center” module_alignment=”center” custom_margin=”0px|0px|4px|0px|false|false” custom_padding=”32px|0px|0px|0px|false|false”][/et_pb_testimonial][et_pb_text disabled_on=”on|off|off” _builder_version=”4.7.7″ _dynamic_attributes=”content” _module_preset=”default” text_text_color=”#000000″ header_text_align=”left” header_text_color=”rgba(0,0,0,0.65)” header_font_size=”20px” text_orientation=”center” custom_margin=”||50px|||” custom_padding=”48px|||||”]@ET-DC@eyJkeW5hbWljIjp0cnVlLCJjb250ZW50IjoicG9zdF9jYXRlZ29yaWVzIiwic2V0dGluZ3MiOnsiYmVmb3JlIjoiUmVsYXRlZCBjYXRlZ29yaWVzOiAgIiwiYWZ0ZXIiOiIiLCJsaW5rX3RvX3Rlcm1fcGFnZSI6Im9uIiwic2VwYXJhdG9yIjoiIHwgIiwiY2F0ZWdvcnlfdHlwZSI6ImNhdGVnb3J5In19@[/et_pb_text][et_pb_code _builder_version=”4.9.3″ _module_preset=”default” text_orientation=”center” hover_enabled=”0″ sticky_enabled=”0″][3d-flip-book mode=”thumbnail-lightbox” id=”126027″ title=”true”][/3d-flip-book]

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  • fACT Sheet — 2021 Alberta Provincial Budget

    fACT Sheet — 2021 Alberta Provincial Budget

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    Introduction

    The 2021–22 Budget, titled Protecting Lives and Livelihoods, covers the time period April 1, 2021 until March 31, 2022. This is the third budget of the governing United Conservative Party (UCP) as they enter the halfway point of their term. It is also the first budget that addresses the COVID-19 pandemic, which has upended the lives and livelihoods of Albertans as a result of the economic fallout and health impacts related to the virus.

    The focus of the budget is supporting Albertans to get through the pandemic and working towards a long-term economic recovery. Targets include investments in health care, infrastructure, and economic diversification. 

    That said, Budget 2021 still advertises low taxation as an advantage and announces no new tax increases. If Alberta had the same tax structure as the next lowest taxed provinces (Ontario and Saskatchewan), we would generate an additional $13.3 billion in revenue (2021–22).* Under-spending as a result of less revenue collected means fewer investments in public services that support Albertans.

    This fACT Sheet will focus on developments related to social programs that impact those living in low-income and poverty.

    Revenue Measures

    The previous budget, released in February 2020 before the COVID-19 pandemic reached Alberta, projected $50 billion in revenue for 2020–21. However, revenue has now been projected to $42.3 billion—$7.7 billion lower than the previous estimate. This is due to a decrease in income and other taxes as well as a drop in non-renewable resource revenue. This is related to the significant economic impacts of COVID-19 and the collapse in oil demand, prices, and production. Cuts to the corporate tax rate, which decreased from 10% in January 2020 to 8% in July 2020 (a year-and-a-half sooner than originally planned) is also a factor. Notably, federal transfers from the Government of Canada are up as a source of revenue while almost all other sources are down.

    Due to these conditions and the fact that no new taxes will be introduced with Budget 2021, there will be a projected $18.2 billion deficit.

    Alberta Seniors Benefit

    The Alberta Seniors Benefit provides low-income Albertans aged 65 years or older financial assistance to help with monthly living expenses. Previously, there were plans to adjust benefit phase-out rates and eligibility thresholds for new applicants. This plan has been paused in order to maintain the same level of support for seniors through the COVID-19 pandemic. Currently, the maximum monthly benefit for a single adult is $285.92 and $428.83 for a couple.

    Child Benefits

    In the 2020–21 budget, the Alberta Child Benefit and the Alberta Family Employment Tax Credit were replaced by the Alberta Child and Family Benefit, which took effect in July 2020.
    Though not in the budget document itself, shortly before its release the province announced a Working Parents Benefit. Starting March 1, parents can apply for a one-time payment of $561 per child to help with child care while they continue to work.

    Child Care

    Funding for Children’s Services is expected to remain flat over the next four years, with an operating expense of $1.7 billion in 2021–22. The child care sector has faced many challenges due to COVID-19 with closure of facilities in March 2020, then their subsequent re-opening with new public health measures to protect staff and children. As a result, funding (including some federal supports) has been reallocated to facilitate the safe re-opening of these centres. This includes $23 million in a Critical Worker Benefit for child intervention and child care programming, as well as $28 million to assist child care centres in their re-opening efforts.

    The final phase of the Early Learning and Child Care pilot (also known as the $25 a day child care program) will end on March 31, 2021. Rather than continuing the program or making it universal, child care subsidies have been revamped so that low-income families will receive higher subsidies as part of a new funding deal between the province and the federal government.

    Affordable Housing and Homelessness

    The Government of Alberta recently released the Affordable Housing Review Panel’s report, which seeks to transform the affordable housing system. The Seniors and Housing ministry is currently developing a strategic plan and redesign of the affordable housing system. The reforms will ensure its financial sustainability and capacity to respond to growing demand. There will be no large budget changes until this redesign is completed.

    However, there is still money for existing affordable housing initiatives. The government is dedicated to building 1,800 units to house individuals, families, and seniors in need of social supports and housing and to maintain units that already exist. As a result of recommendations from the review, Budget 2021 will provide a $16 million reinstatement to the Rental Assistance Program. Rental supports are critical for struggling Albertans to pay their rents.

    The Government of Alberta stated they will continue to provide over $193 million for Homeless Support and Outreach Services. However, this is slightly down from the $197 million spent in the 2019–20 fiscal year. Nevertheless, they have included funding for 500 shelter spaces in Edmonton and Red Deer.

    Addictions and Mental Health

    The budget has committed $140 million over four years to increase access to services, expand programs, and establish new publicly funded mental health and addictions treatment spaces to support 4,000 Albertans towards a path to recovery. In addition, the government announced $25 million to support construction of five therapeutic communities across Alberta as part of an integrated system that encompasses clients of the health care system, justice system, and community social services system.

    Existing supervised consumption sites across the province will receive $15.7 million in funding, a reduction of $2 million from last year due to the closure of the Lethbridge site. There is no new funding for harm reduction services, instead focusing on recovery-based services.

    Employment and Income Support

    Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped (AISH), Persons with Developmental Disabilities (PDD) and Income Support programs, have seen lower caseloads over the past year. Many people accessing these supports had transitioned to the Canada Emegency Response Benefit (CERB), likely because the larger payments allowed them to better meet their needs. The government will continue to fund these income support programs and serve vulnerable Albertans, although there will be no funding increases.

    The government introduced benefits specially for the COVID-19 pandemic. The Critical Worker Benefit provides a one-time payment of $1,200 to individuals working on the front lines during the pandemic. People who work in health care, social services, education, and private sectors are eligible; $465 million has been dedicated for this benefit.

    The Government of Alberta is dedicated to getting people back to work. As part of its Recovery Plan, it has instituted a Labour and Talent Strategy to increase learning opportunities, expand the apprenticeship model, and enhance connections between school and industries so that young Albertans will have better job prospects. The province is also dedicating $1.5 billion over four years to key economic sectors, assuming that they will build and diversify Alberta’s economy and create new jobs.

    Drugs and Supplemental Health Benefits

    As with the previous budget, there are changes to drug programs (which include transitioning patients from higher cost biologic medications to generic versions as well as the Seniors Drug Program no longer covering spouses and dependents younger than 65 years of age). However, plans to introduce income tested deductibles were deferred and are not reflected in the new budget.

    In addition, there are funding increases to the Outpatient Cancer Therapy and Specialized High Cost Drug programs to address drug cost increases and higher patient volumes. The operating expense budget for these programs has grown to over $1.9 billion per year.

    Family and Community Support Services     

    Funding for Family and Community Support Services is being maintained at $100 million. To address pressing social challenges—particularly against the backdrop of COVID-19—the Community and Social Services ministry is providing $7 million for the Civil Society Empowerment Fund to help non-profit organizations and charities address social problems for Albertans. In addition, $13 million will be provided for sexual assault services and over $5 million will be provided for Family Violence Prevention programs.

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  • Blog: Loneliness and Substance Use During COVID-19

    Blog: Loneliness and Substance Use During COVID-19

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    Blog post by Aastha Tripathi, practicum student

    The rapid emergence of COVID-19 and national efforts to minimize its spread have severely disrupted the lives of Canadians. To contain the spread of COVID-19, the federal government has advised Canadians to stay at home and shelter-in-place since March 2020. In response, many of us have adapted by working from home, staying at home except to get necessities, wearing face masks, and avoiding large social groups. For most Canadians, this is the first time experiencing unwanted and prolonged separation from the vital and deeply human aspect of social interaction.  These separation periods can increase feelings of loneliness—a key contributor to mental health issues such as substance abuse and depression. [1]

    A Nanos poll commissioned by the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Abuse found that 20% of Canadians who adhered to social distancing protocols reported drinking alcohol once a day in May 2020.  [2] Furthermore, one in ten Canadians reported that they had been drinking a larger quantity of alcohol in May compared to the previous month. [2] Alarmingly, 8% of Canadians indicated that they were unable to stop consumption on at least one occasion once they started. [2] Though consuming alcohol or cannabis can provide temporary relief to stress and anxiety [3], studies show that regular use of these substances can increase the risk of developing alcohol use disorder (AUD) or cannabis use disorder (CUD)—especially due to stresses during a pandemic. [4] Furthermore, individuals with a history of mental health disorders or problematic substance use are at an elevated risk of developing AUD and CUD when facing stressful situations. [5] Loneliness can lead to frequent and heavier substance consumption for some individuals, which can intensify feelings of loneliness, creating a vicious cycle. [6]

    Acknowledging the problem is the first step to combat it. We must recognize that increased loneliness is an expected and probable consequence of the current stay at home measures. It is essential that COVID-19 relief efforts geared towards mental health target the removal of stigma surrounding those who admit to feeling lonely. Thankfully, there are resources such as Edmonton’s 24/7 Distress Helpline (managed by the Canadian Mental Health Association). There is also information on substance abuse and COVID-19 curated by the University of Alberta and the Assembly of First Nations. Though this prolonged social isolation has increased feelings of loneliness, it is crucial to remember that help is always available and accessible.

    References

    [1] Stickley, A., & Koyanagi, A. (2016). Loneliness, common mental disorders and suicidal behaviour: Findings from a general population survey. Journal of Affective Disorders, 197, 81-87.

    [2] Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction. (2020). Boredom and stress drives increased alcohol consumption during COVID-19: Nanos poll summary report. https://www.ccsa.ca/sites/default/files/2020-06/CCSA-NANOS-Increased-Alcohol-Consumption-During-COVID-19-Report-2020-en_0.pdf

    [3] Eckardt, M.J., File, S.E., Gessa, G.L., Grant, K.A., Guerri, C., Hoffman, P.L., Kalant, H., Koob, H., Li, T.K., & Tabakoff, B. (1998). Effects of moderate alcohol consumption on the central nervous system. Alcoholism, Clinical and Experimental Research, 22(5), 998-1040.

    [4] Sinha, R. (2008). Chronic stress, drug use, and vulnerability to addiction. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1141, 105–130.

     [5] Andersen, S. L. (2019). Stress, sensitive periods, and substance abuse. Neurobiology of Stress, 10.

     [6] Leigh-Hunt, N., Bagguley, D., Bash, K., Turner, V., Turnbull, S., Valtorta, N., & Caan, W. (2017). An overview of systematic reviews on the public health consequences of social isolation and loneliness. Public Health, 152, 157–171.

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