Article content continued

Kneebone said the big concern is that demand has been rising in a straight line and that even with projections that Alberta will see a return to economic growth this year there is no guarantee of a quick decline in the numbers.

He said the big increase may be an indication that “this recession is hitting those with low income more heavily than others.”

The spike may also be showing that people who’ve lost their job and used up their EI have little confidence they will be able to return to the workforce, said Kneebone.

“These are really, really important questions we need answers to,” he said.

The economist said there are interesting trends in social assistance claimants in Alberta seen over time. The number of recipients jumped from around 25,000 to 40,000 during the recession spurred by the worldwide economic downturn of 2008-09.

While the numbers receded after 2010, they did not fall back to pre-downturn levels, said Kneebone.

“Recessions can be really damaging because it’s not just necessarily a temporary thing. For a lot of people it’s a permanent thing,” he said.

The numbers come as no surprise to the Calgary Food Bank, which served a record 171,000 clients in 2016.

Communications manager D.D. Coutts agreed that low-income Albertans have been hammered by this recession but noted the food bank is also serving many Calgarians who have lost high-paying jobs during the downturn.

“We’ll see people laid off and they don’t have enough money until they get their first EI cheque to buy food. So we’ll see that happen and then we’ll see them as they move from EI to those fixed government benefits,” she said.