Niagara, Ontario’s Welland Riding MPP Cindy Forster
News from the Office of Welland, Ontario Riding MPP Cindy Forster
Welland, Ontrario, January 26th, 2015 – Cindy Forster, NDP Critic for Community and Social Services, called on the Liberal government to come clean about the chaos caused by SAMS, as an internal memo predicts at least 10 more weeks of turmoil for families and caseworkers.
“The SAMS nightmare keeps getting worse for families on social assistance,” said Forster. “This Liberal government was careless to put the most vulnerable Ontarians at the mercy of unreliable software. Months later and with over $250 million dollars spent, the Liberal government still has no clue how to fix it.”
Forster said this mess has gotten worse with some clients incorrectly receiving case suspensions letters, cancelling their crucial cheques and benefits. She also said this mess could affect recipients’ income taxes, with front-line staff reporting that the computer problems are impacting the accuracy of T5 statements. Incorrect T5 slips will jeopardize recipients’ funding for medical benefits, GST rebates and other grants and benefits.
“The chaos caused by SAMS is getting worse, not better,” said Forster. “People are being cut-off from social assistance as staff struggle to reverse incorrect suspensions while preparing tax forms that reflect inaccurate overpayments and underpayments. And front-line staff need technicians on-site to fix the computer problems, not a helpline. This is a complete mess.”
Forster said Friday’s internal memo from the Ministry of Community and Social Services to staff reveals nearly a dozen critical flaws plaguing both OW and ODSP province-wide. The memo states that the government only now has an “understanding of the issues and a clear sense of priorities,” despite repeated warnings from frontline staff prior to the roll-out of SAMS in November.
Shockingly, the internal memo predicts it will take at least 10 more weeks to address these problems.
“Another 10 weeks of chaos is simply unbearable for struggling families and caseworkers alike,” said Forster. “No one can afford to wait until April for the Liberals to fix problems that should have been avoided in the first place.”
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Niagara At Large 
To err is to be human! To deny there is a problem is to be the current Ontario Liberal Government.
What do McGuinty and Wynne have in common? Neither one can correct problems they each created/create!
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The Ontario Government a few short years ago had a similar problem with the then Workman’s Compensation Board computer System and should have had a more intense due diligence before ever venturing down the road of purchasing this dud. This “NEW” system is a total complete disaster and should never been purchased and why was it ???? especially when they had a system that though old apparently still fulfilled the program it was designed for. This Liberal Government over the previous decade have spent taxpayers money with absolutely no regard for oversight or accountability. Consultants have run rough shod over costing with little or no Government diligence and one wonders the legality of all the $ Billions spent and wasted.
The only reason they still hold the reins of power is the fear of Hudak, a true puppet of the Fraser Institute and the American Republican Tea Party both financed by big monies from south of the Border.
Was that new System brought on line without proper personnel training and a trial period? If so there needs to be the heads of those involved put on the chopping block and fired. or is…………… IT JUST ANOTHER $BILLION………YAWN………..YAWN ………and OOPS ……..TOO BAD
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Many years ago my wife served on the board of directors of a Fort Erie food bank, The latest figures on how many people in our have not Province, that depend on food banks, to keep their families fed, is now nearing 500,0000 the people are in dire need for assistance , the numbers just keep on growing….We need to get out of NAFTA, it is a huge failure for the working people here.!!!
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