{"id":2048,"date":"2022-12-19T21:43:21","date_gmt":"2022-12-19T21:43:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/marl.mb.ca\/?post_type=blog&p=2048"},"modified":"2024-05-16T21:17:10","modified_gmt":"2024-05-16T21:17:10","slug":"for-all-the-people-the-unknown-impact-of-bill-24-on-charter-rights","status":"publish","type":"blog","link":"https:\/\/marl.mb.ca\/blogs\/for-all-the-people-the-unknown-impact-of-bill-24-on-charter-rights\/","title":{"rendered":"For all the People: The Unknown Impact of Bill 24 on Charter Rights"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
We have all been made to feel powerless, despite the fact that we have more power than we realize. This can be especially true when our rights are being impacted on a grander scale, such as in the context of government services. Many experience the effects of this on a daily basis as a function of their involvement in government support programs, and they are the people the recently enacted Social Services Appeal Board Amendment<\/em> Act<\/em>, SM 2018, c 31 (formerly known as Bill 24) stands to impact most drastically. This post endeavours to explain what the Act is, what it does, and the differing views surrounding it in the hopes of allowing you to come to your own conclusion on the following question: does Bill 24 protect human rights in Manitoba?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Bill 24 is directed at the Social Services Appeal Board (SSAB), a body which exists to hear appeals regarding the provision of social services and programs in Manitoba<\/a>. Their caseload encompasses a variety of appeals<\/a> including issues regarding child care subsidies, prenatal benefits, disability services, and income assistance<\/a>. This means that the Board frequently makes decisions affecting some of the most marginalized groups in our province. For 25 years, the characteristic common to all appeals heard by the Board was that none of them adjudicated the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms<\/a><\/em>. Why? Because in 1992, the Manitoba Court of Appeal decided that the SSAB did not have jurisdiction to hear Charter<\/em> complaints.<\/p>\n\n\n\n