For Immediate Release
17 November, 2022
The NL NDP Caucus has been fielding calls from individuals facing more barriers to ensure they receive their $500 cost of living support cheques from the provincial government. People calling into to the inquiry line provided by government receive a voicemail directing them to email. Individuals who need to update their mailing address cannot do so by email, and must be confirmed by phone.
“People facing domestic abuse are often in situations where their abuser has control over many aspects of their lives, including their finances,” said Dinn. “We asked directly, how will the Liberal government ensure that this money doesn’t end up in the hands of abusers? We were told this would be addressed, and with cheques being mailed this week, we have been given no assurances that a solution has been found.
From April to the end of September 2022, the intake stats for at the women’s shelter Iris Kirby House were: 73 admissions, 211 turn-aways, 527 distress calls. Each one of these numbers represent a woman or family attempting to flee their abusers. Since being asked on October 6th, 2022, the Liberal government has provided no solution as to how the $500 cost of living cheques will reach these women and not end up in the hands of their abusers.
“People are in need of support, but since this has been announced we see time and time again this wasn’t thought out, and we’re not confident these supports will reach people in need,” said Dinn. “$194M could have been invested to retain radiology technicians, build accessible housing, or subsidize the cost of healthy foods to benefit people equitably.”
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For further information, contact Eddy St. Coeur, Director of Communications, NDP Caucus at 729-2137 (o), or eddystcoeur@gov.nl.ca