Dear Community Partner,

On January 1, 2020, a number of changes to the Employment and Assistance Act and the Employment and Assistance for Persons with Disabilities Act took effect.

As outlined in the Ministry of Social Development and Poverty Reduction’s (MSDPR) news release, these positive changes include:

• Ending the requirement for people on PWD, PPMB or regular Income Assistance to pursue Canada Pension Plan retirement benefits before the age of 65;
• Removing the limit to the number of security deposits for Ministry clients
• Introducing a repayable pet damage deposit with the same requirements as a security deposit
• Changing the definition of spouse so that people can live together for 12 consecutive months (instead of 3) before being considered spouses
        – Married spouses who separate but are not yet divorced can live
  together in the same home and be treated as separate family
  units even if they are still legally married
        – Adults will no longer be considered dependents of each other on
  the basis of demonstrating a parent role towards the child

For more information, please read MSDPR’s news release (linked above) or contact our Advocacy Access Program at 604-872-1278/1-800-663-1278 or feedback@disabilityalliancebc.therightfitbc.org.