REGINA — Those looking for information related to housing programs, financial support and other forms of government welfare on the Saskatchewan government website are being automatically redirected to BC’s official tourism website, hellobc.com.
“Applying for social assistance in Saskatchewan? Why not win a free trip to Vancouver instead?!” exclaimed the online advertisement. “No need to worry about your mental health problems when we can pay for your one-way ticket to Rocky Mountain paradise.”
People attempting to flee violent domestic situations were encouraged to visit the vineyards of the Okanagan Valley before experiencing whale-watching in Victoria.
“Who needs adequate housing and stability when we can send you the Whistler?” a social worker rhetorically asked members of the media. “Life is an adventure everywhere else except for here. Also, they have a much better bus pass program than we do.”
Officials said that this was standard Saskatchewan policy just like how the police gives free rides for the homeless out of the city into rural areas on cold nights.
