Sask. researcher links high HIV rates to social assistance issues

A researcher at the University of Saskatchewan says low social assistance rates are contributing to the spread of HIV across the province.

Holly McKenzie, a postdoctoral fellow at the university's college of medicine, noted in her recent article that Saskatchewan has the highest rate of HIV in Canada, with case rates more than three times the national average.

While the issue of HIV transmission is complex, McKenzie says changes to the Saskatchewan Income Support (SIS) program have made a bad situation even worse.

"We do not have policies that understand the relationship between sufficient income, between the basic needs of people being met and having enough resources to get what they and their families need, and these opportunistic infections," McKenzie told CBC Radio's The Morning Edition.

"We still have people who are making policies who are blaming HIV and syphilis on risk behaviours rather than seeing the wider structures and the root causes of these rates of infection."

LISTEN | McKenzie spoke with host Stefani Langenegger on The Morning Edition: 

McKenzie said that recently, more and more babies are being born in Saskatchewan with either HIV or syphilis. This year alone, two babies have been born with HIV, something that is largely unheard of in North America.

Meanwhile cases of congenital syphilis, where babies are born with the infection, have risen exponentially in the province to more than 50 reported in 2020 from four in 2016. Babies born with syphilis can face many problems, from deafness to neurological issues.

Katelyn Roberts, the executive director of Sanctum Care Group, said there is an obvious connection between inadequate social assistance rates and the spread of HIV.

"The treatment [for HIV positive people] is simple. It's one pill, once a day," said Roberts.

"But if you are homeless, for example, you are trying to survive day to day, to get your food, to figure out where you're going to sleep, you're not thinking about medication. You're thinking in the short term, 'What do I need to do today to get through the day?'"

The SIS program has been controversial since it was brought in by the provincial government. Critics say the social assistance program does not provide people with enough money to live on.

On average, an adult living in Regina or Saskatoon could receive as much as $600 a month for shelter and utilities, and another $315 a month for food and all other expenses — although the amount each person receives is determined on a case-by-case basis and the person's circumstances are reviewed each month.

"When people are having to use different community services and government services to get their basic needs met and they don't have access to stable housing, then it makes it harder for them to make their prenatal appointments," said McKenzie.

"When they're going to multiple different services to access what they need, it just can't be the top priority."

McKenzie has several problems with the new system, including SIS's policy of paying rent to recipients rather than directly to landlords.

In the 2022 budget, the government increased basic benefits by $30 per month and shelter benefits by $25 per month.

As well, in November, the province opened the program up for direct payment of rent and utilities with high needs clients.

However, McKenzie said people on the program continue to struggle. She said spending more money on stabilizing people on social assistance will pay off in the long run.

"Adequate social assistance rates are going to cost less than treating syphilis and HIV," she said.

"But this shouldn't even be an economic question. If people need to have their basic needs met in order to access prenatal care, we should be providing that."

Jeff Redekop, executive director of income assistance service delivery with the provincial Ministry of Social Services, said in a statement to the CBC that Saskatchewan is among the top provinces in Canada for providing for people's basic needs with income assistance rates that are similar, if not better, than rates in other provinces.

"Since the Saskatchewan Income Support program was launched over two years ago, it's been helping thousands of individuals and families make ends meet while our staff work with them to become more self-sufficient and independent to the best of their abilities," said Redekop.

"Benefits are available beyond the adult basic and shelter rates to address the unique needs of clients, and increased earned income exemptions ensure families keep more of what they make as they transition to employment."