{UAH} Why Mulindwa is mad having lost the welfare check :Ontario 'inflating' welfare fraud

The Ontario government is overstating the amount of welfare fraud in the province to further undermine public confidence in the welfare system, critics of the government's social policies said yesterday.

The critics said a government report released yesterday includes cases in which eligibility was lost because of new regulations brought in last year along with cases of welfare fraud. And although the report is titled The Welfare Fraud Control Report for 1998-99, the totals actually include more cases of misuse than outright fraud, they say.

The report says that welfare benefits were reduced or terminated because of fraud or misuse in 16,900 cases between April 1, 1998, and March 31, 1999.

"They've upped the number of people they are cutting off just because of rule changes they themselves have made," said Andrew Mitchell of the Community Social Planning Council of Toronto.

Mr. Mitchell said that in his news release, Social Services Minister John Baird talked mainly of how the government's "welfare-fraud measures serve as a deterrent."

The report issued yesterday said that a total of 59,062 cases of suspected fraud or misuse were referred for investigation. This resulted in the 16,900 reductions or terminations of benefits.

In a typical month during the 1998-99 fiscal year, the province had about 311,000 welfare cases covering about 693,000 people, according to Social Services Ministry statistics.

Over all, the government obtained only 747 convictions for fraud during the 1998-99 fiscal year, Mr. Baird said.

He said this did not represent the full amount of fraud because it is very difficult to get a conviction for welfare fraud. He said the 16,900 reductions in welfare benefits or terminations showed that the government is fighting welfare fraud.

But Mr. Mitchell said the government's number of 16,900 reductions or terminations in welfare benefits is more a reflection of changes in regulations and in the circumstances of those receiving benefits, not cases of fraud.

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