The Right to Social Assistance: British Columbia's Two Year Time Limit - 14 Questions and Answers

Position paper by the Poverty and Human Rights Project of BC (now the Poverty and Human Rights Centre), written to raise public awareness about the threat to human rights of new social assistance policy in BC. The paper argues that the BC policy of placing a time limit on welfare eligibility is not consistent with people's rights under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. In question-and-answer format, the report argues that single parents will be particularly affected by the policy. It describes various sections of the Charter that are violated by the policy, such as the right to security; the right to freedom from discrimination; and the right to essential public services.