Calls are growing for the provincial government to fund phone service for Nova Scotians on income assistance. For the past two years, Evelyn Napier has been on income assistance, and although she wanted a phone, she just couldn’t afford it. “I absolutely wanted a phone, but it just wasn’t even remotely feasible,” says Napier.
Phone service is also not something covered through the government program, unless deemed medically essential, in which case a client would have to get medical documentation. “Phone rates in this country are just dreadful.
If I got a phone, then it meant I wasn’t saving any money for emergencies,” she says. “It would be like making tradeoffs, which is classic when you’re on income assistance, you’re always making