Our Mission:
Rooted in God’s radical love, expressed through compassion and action, the Regina Anti-Poverty Ministry advocates and educates with and for those seeking social and economic justice.
Your generosity makes it possible for individuals to access resources to meet their basic needs.
Whether it is a one-time donation or recurring donation, every dollar goes directly to our mission helping people who have slipped into poverty with the challenges they face.
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I’d love this job. Not unlike what I’m doing now. What does it mean by temporary. I get the 20 hours I already work that but what is temporary mean I’m this case. Thanks:)
Dakota Dennis Sugar-Quewezance
Job Description at antipovertyministry.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/RAPM-JobDescription.pdf
“Despite having some of the worst poverty indicators in the country, the provincial government has not really made an attempt to seriously address the issue for more than a decade. In 2016, the government released their one and only attempt at a poverty reduction strategy. That plan—which was widely criticized as being inadequate by its own advisory group members—at least made the promise to reduce “enduring poverty (lasting two years or longer) by 50 per cent by 2025.”
It is probably best for the government that this promise has largely been forgotten, because as we approach 10 years since that promise was made, poverty in Saskatchewan—and in particular child poverty—not only growing, but deepening.
Over 78,000 children under the age of 18 in Saskatchewan were in poverty in 2023, a child poverty rate of 27.1 per cent. This is well above Canada’s national child poverty rate of 18.3 percent and is the highest child poverty rate of all the provinces.
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Compounding these rather bleak statistics is the depth of poverty in our province—a term which refers to how far below the poverty line a family’s income falls in relation to the after-tax low-income measure (LIM). It is often referred to as the ‘low-income’ or ‘poverty gap.’ Saskatchewan low-income families have the largest poverty gaps of all the provinces, with only Nunavut and the NorthWest Territories recording larger poverty gaps in certain economic families.
Within Saskatchewan, child poverty rates can vary dramatically depending on location. If we view poverty rates by economic region within the province we can see major disparities, particularly between urban versus more rural and northern areas of the province. Indeed, northern areas of the province are subject to enduringly high levels of poverty for children under 18, with rates over 60 per cent.
Child Poverty by Economic Region
Child Poverty RateOverall Poverty Rate
North
62
50.1
Prince Albert
35.4
24.5
Yorkton-Melville
22.6
18.9
Saskatoon-Biggar
22.4
17.4
Regina-Moose Mountain
21.7
16.9
Swift Current - Moose Jaw
19.6
16
Get the dataCreated with Datawrapper
Government transfers in the form of child tax benefits, tax credits, and social assistance were important in helping to reduce poverty in the province. For Saskatchewan in 2023, the child poverty rate of 27.1 per cent would have been 39.2 per cent without these federal and provincial government transfers. Despite arguments that employment alone is the best route out of poverty, Saskatchewan’s child poverty rate of 27.1 percent would be more than 10 points higher (37.5 per cent) were Saskatchewan families to rely on market income alone. Even with employment earnings, many families are still below the poverty line, with government transfers an essential source of income.
We know that government transfers to low-income families can make all the difference. Saskatchewan should seriously consider adopting some of what other provinces are doing to address poverty. This could include creating a supplementary provincial child benefit, indexing social assistance rates to inflation and introducing a provincial sales tax rebate. Affordability for low-income families could also be addressed by seriously considering a limit on annual rent increases and ensuring wider accessibility of $10 per day childcare.
The Saskatchewan government’s long record of neglect has left us with some of the worst economic outcomes for children in the country. This makes it all the more incumbent on this government to make child poverty in Saskatchewan a far greater priority. We need a much more concerted effort by the Saskatchewan government to combat the deleterious effects poverty will have on the next generation of our province’s children if it is continued to be ignored.
Growing and Deepening Child Poverty in Saskatchewan | CCPA
www.policyalternatives.ca
The Saskatchewan government’s long record of neglect has left it with some of the worst economic outcomes for children in the country.0 CommentsComment on Facebook
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Crappiest bus system in canada
“I’m very concerned that this is just going to be another sweeping attempt to take away necessary special needs at a time that we really need to be re-investing and enhancing the program,” said Peter Gilmer, with the Regina Anti-Poverty Ministry.
“The reality is that the majority of people on the SAID program are going without meeting the most basic needs as it is — they’re not just living in poverty, they’re living well below the deep poverty or basic needs poverty level,” he explained.
The program is meant to provide income to people who have a significant and enduring disability who aren’t expected to be able to make enough money through work to sustain themselves.
According to a news release from Terry Jenson, Saskatchewan’s social services minister, clients and partners have said the program is too complicated.
“This complexity makes it difficult for clients to know what they are eligible for, and limits ministry flexibility to adapt to individual circumstances that also slows down support for clients.
“Changes beginning April 1, 2026, will better address client needs and support them to receive all the benefits they are eligible for in the simplest and quickest way possible,” the release said.
Legislative changes to the program have been made through an Order in Council from Jenson’s office.
Benefit and exemption changes
Some of the benefits which had paid out the actual cost of expenses, including for service animals, are being changed to a flat-rate benefit. The province said people who had been getting more than the new flat-rate will continue to get the same amount.
Gilmer said advocates have always felt the best coverage for things is the actual cost.
“There are circumstances which suggest that people need to have the actual cost covered, otherwise they’re going into significant debt or they’re going without,” said Gilmer.
He pointed to the Saskatchewan Income Support (SIS) program, which stopped paying for utilities separately and required the cost be taken out of a shelter benefit, which Gilmer said is already inadequate.
The SAID changes also remove benefits the ministry said were outdated, not being used by clients, or are being provided by other programs.
The ministry will increase the money people can have in the bank and still apply for the SAID program — up $500 to $2,000 from the previous $1,500 per member of the household. It’s also planning to increase the same SIS exemption by $500.
Gilmer said increases to any exemption in these programs is welcomed, but $500 isn’t enough. He said there had been discussions about a significant boost to the asset exemption across the board.
“Certainly those discussions were not about just an additional $500 for people coming on the program, it was about allowing people to have some backfill when crises arrive,” he explained.
They also combine specific policies into broader categories. This includes replacing a number of employment-related benefits with one larger Employment and Training Benefit, and combining a number of benefits around things like furniture needs and garbage removal into the Household Health and Safety Benefit.
Gilmer said the government calling them “broader categories” was confusing to him, saying there are two ways to make sure people’s most basic needs are met: either include special needs programming that fully covers people’s needs, or have a benefit level high enough to give people a livable income.
He said people on the SAID program right now are thousands of dollars a year below what it would take to meet their most basic needs.
Program of last resort
Gilmer noted the province is now using the phrase “program of last resort” in its messaging and is including it in the legislation. He said when the program was created in 2012 it wasn’t intended to be another income-tested welfare program.
“It was deemed to have implications of income recovery or income replacement for people who were not in the workforce due to disability, and it was really supposed to be a sensitive program that took people’s individualized needs into consideration,” he said.
Gilmer said using terms like “program of last resort” indicates the province is moving away from an income replacement program into a means-tested welfare program.
The provincial government and various ministers of social services have frequently used “program of last resort” terminology when talking about the SIS program
Still more changes
According to the ministry, these changes are part of a review it did on the SAID program in 2025.
Gilmer said he and the ministry have been “swamped” trying to help clients over the past several months navigate the changes made through that review in areas where he said the ministry believes it’s been overpaying.
“Everything from phone coverage for people in care homes, to expecting that one of the last locked-in pensions that had been exempted is now being deemed to be income, to forcing people on supplemental special diets to have to pay out of their own pocket up front,” he said.
Gilmer believes the provincial government is just trying to save itself some money with cuts to the program.
“This is the absolute worst place for the Government of Saskatchewan to be looking at saving money, because it’s a place where we’re already seeing massive under-funding in terms of both the benefits and needs coverage that people with significant and enduring disabilities are receiving,” he said.
However, the Ministry of Social Service said in a news release that the changes set to come into effect on April 1 will be cost-neutral.
Gilmer said he’s very concerned about the changes and, while he wants to get clear on what changes are taking place, he has no doubt he and others will be challenging them and continuing the fight with the provincial government.
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The people making these decisions should have to live on the income given to the SAID recipients...then make their decision.
Thanks to Peter and the Regina Anti-Poverty Ministry for all the good work and advocacy they do!
I think if we cut some government raises and all the assistant positions and shrink government bonuses pensions etc it would free up enough to put into healthcare along with cutting all the upper positions/ managers and move it to the people that need it including all the frontline staff
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After a two year process of education, reflection and action The Regina Anti-Poverty Ministry has been approved and today voted unanimously to become an Affirming Ministry.
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Congratulations!!
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Careers
The Regina Anti-poverty Ministry is now hiring a part-time Support Worker position available immediately. Attached below is all relevant information regarding the available position.
Careers
The Regina Anti-poverty Ministry is now hiring a part-time Support Worker position available immediately.
Attached below is all relevant information regarding the available position.