Carl DeLine

After almost a year of growing welfare lines, Calgary is seeing its first sign the worst may be over.

Last month there were 22,390 welfare cases in the Calgary region, 138 fewer cases than February. The city has not seen a drop in the number of people on social assistance since April 1986.

“It’s great news, said Bob Scott, a spokesman for Alberta Social Services, who released the figures Tuesday.

But Scott could not account for the drop in the number of welfare cases nor was he willing to predict whether the figures will continue to drop.

“There doesn’t seem to be any specific areas which are down, it’s across the board,” said Scott.

He said he can’t pinpoint a particular area of the city or a group of recipients–employable or non-employable–who could be responsible for the decreased caseload.

In March 1986 there were almost 5,000 fewer welfare cases in Calgary.

Province-wide, however, the number of welfare cases rose to 69,252 from 68,777 in February. Unlike previous months when Calgary was often to blame for rising provincial statistics, Edmonton showed an increase of 1.2 percent to 26,972.

Jim Dau, an Edmonton spokesman for Alberta Social Services, said it’s too early to determine whether the trend has shifted to that city.

“In one month you can’t tell. It could just be an anomaly,” he said.

Carl DeLine of the Inter-Faith Food Bank said that during the past two weeks the number of food hampers handed out rose to 70 from 50 per day, but the numbers remain manageable.

DeLine said welfare recipients are not yet feeling the effect of cuts in the provincial budget, but he said the food bank should be gearing up for higher demand in July.

The budget, announced 10 days ago, slashed benefits of some welfare recipients by almost 30 percent as of June 1.

Originally published April 1, 1987 by the Calgary Herald (Calgary, AB), credited to Carol Howes.