Kimberly Rogers Inquest Alerts

Lifetime ban is 'both morally and fiscally irresponsible'
Commentary by NANCY VANDER PLAATS

Special to The Independent
December 18, 2002

The Inquest into the death of Kimberly Rogers of Sudbury has nearly concluded after more than six weeks. Public interest groups including the Ontario Social Safety NetWork have suggested recommendations to prevent future deaths of people in similar circumstances. The jury is expected to release its verdict and recommendations before Christmas.

Kimberly Rogers was the pregnant woman who died in August 2001 while serving a sentence of house arrest for welfare fraud. Her crime had been that while collecting welfare, had received student loans while completing a Cambrian College program in social work. A welfare recipient is not allowed to attend post-secondary education, because the stated aim of Ontario Works is "the shortest route to employment." This means taking any short-term, low-wage job possible rather than developing a long-term strategy for secure employment.

The ban on social assistance was only for three months for Ms. Rogers because her fraud was committed before April 2000. However any welfare fraud committed after April 2000 results in that person being ineligible to receive any welfare or Ontario Disability benefits for their entire life. Many municipalities including Northumberland County have passed resolutions urging the provincial government to get rid of this lifetime ban.

Ms. Rogers got her benefits temporarily restored pending a full court hearing on her claim that the ban violates the Charter of Rights. However she died before the court could render a decision on that issue.

The inquest heard evidence about Ms. Rogers' life, the circumstances that lead to her welfare fraud conviction, her health (she suffered from serious problems with her knee, migraine headaches, anxiety, social phobias and depression), and how she coped while confined to her tiny apartment during the heat wave in the summer of 2001. A complex picture emerged of a person who had had a difficult childhood, had been involved in a previous abusive relationship, and had had a previous suicide attempt. But she had excelled in her college social work program, and had been praised as a dedicated, compassionate worker by the social agencies where she did her field placements. In the few months before her death she had reconciled with her family and had been looking forward to the birth of her child.

For the public interest groups present at the hearing, it was important to examine the stresses that Ms. Rogers suffered in the final months of her life, and which also affect other people in similar situations. Even when Ms. Rogers had her benefits restored, she had to live on only $485 per month. Evidence was given showing that welfare rates are well below the average costs for rent and the minimum costs of nutritious food; these calculations include nothing for transportation, telephone, personal hygiene supplies.

Sudbury's medical officer of health presented evidence showing that poverty is one of the most important factors in poor health of all kinds. She stressed how short-sighted it is for a society to leave some of its citizens without enough income for nutritious food and shelter, or in the case of the lifetime ban, to leave people with no income at all.

By the end of the inquest, the evidence so overwhelming showed the lifetime ban to be both morally and fiscally irresponsible, that even the Sudbury Police department urged the jury to recommend its elimination. Leaving people with no income or resources, the police said, creates desperate people, which leads to an unsafe society.

Nancy Vander Plaats is a part time Brighton resident and a member of the Ontario Social Safety NetWork, a party with standing at the Rogers Inquest.

source:
http://www.eastnorthumberland.com/news/news2002/newsDecember2002/ban1218002.html