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It will take some time to sort out the drastic changes being inflicted on Saskatchewan by a party that ran on a promise of continuity just two months ago. But few of the moves made in the Saskatchewan Party’s budget are more obviously flawed than a change to make social assistance both less accessible and less likely to provide support for long-term development.

In its budget, the Sask. Party slashed funding to needs-based social programs and declared that it intends to direct people away from those types of benefits. Instead, it plans to funnel toward another program with two glaring flaws: it depends on participation in pre-employment programs, which are themselves being cut, and it claws back every dime that an individual actually earns if a job search proves successful.

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Let’s take a closer look at the apparent philosophy behind the move — and why it figures to do nothing but harm to people who should both expect and benefit from better public support.