British Columbia’s ombudsperson says people calling the government with questions about income and disability assistance are facing long waits, sometimes of more than an hour, creating barriers to accessing essential services.
The most recent ministry data, released by Jay Chalke’s office, shows that between 2022 and 2024, only about 13 per cent of calls were answered within 10 minutes on average.
That’s despite the government having set a service standard requiring 80 per cent of calls to be answered in that time.
In October 2024 the average wait time was one hour and four minutes, and only 5.4 per cent of calls got picked up within 10 minutes.
Chalke’s office has been raising the alarm about wait times since 2018 and he says in a statement that, at this rate, it will be decades before the Ministry of Social Development and Poverty Reduction meets its own service standards.
Chalke says the ministry has taken steps to improve access, including the introduction of a call-back option, but staffing levels and call volumes continue to prevent things from getting better.
In an interview with CBC News, Chalke said that many people who need to seek income and disability assistance don’t have cellphones of their own.
“And so sometimes they’re sitting in the office of a non-governmental organization, an anti-poverty group, using their phone, sitting there … trying to reach the ministry for hours on end,” he said.
“So that doesn’t help them, to be told, ‘Well, we can call you back in a few hours,’ when they don’t have a phone themselves.”
Helaine Boyd, the executive director of the advocacy group Disability Alliance B.C., said that the ombudsperson’s report wasn’t surprising to her.
“I think it boils down to the fact that the ministry hasn’t really understood or fully considered the heightened demand in our province for income assistance and disability assistance,” she said.
“And they have to meet that demand by hiring more staff.”
Deputy minister responds
In a letter offering the government’s response to Chalke’s report, deputy minister Allison Bond writes that caseloads have increased by 6.2 per cent over the past year “driven in part by a slower economy, increased cost of living, and more clients with complex needs.”
“We remain focused on improving phone wait times and providing timely, quality service through multiple channels. While wait times sometimes exceed our service standard, we are actively working to address this—particularly as caseloads continue to rise,” she said.
“We are filling frontline staff vacancies and managing within our budgetary constraints to better meet demand.”
Bond says that in 2024, nearly 8,000 phone service surveys were completed and 68 per cent of clients were satisfied with wait times, adding that clients now have access to an online system to get help with some needs.
Chalke says the ministry has indicated it may review its service standards, which he says brings “the possibility that current standards could be lowered rather than service improved.”
“Vulnerable people in British Columbia contact the ministry because they need help meeting basic needs such as food, shelter, or medical supplies,” he said in the news release.
“When wait times are this long, the service itself becomes a barrier to access, raising serious concerns about fairness.”
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