B.C.’s ombudsperson says it will take “decades” before the Social Development and Poverty Reduction Ministry reaches its own service standards for call wait times.
Ombudsperson Jay Chalke’s office released the update report Tuesday (Jan. 13), eight years after his office identified core problems when it came to the ministry’s response time to calls for income and disability assistance. Tuesday’s updated report follows an investigative update in 2020 and the original report in 2018.
“Most callers are still waiting far too long to reach this critically important service. At this rate, it will be decades before the ministry meets its own service standards,” Chalke said in a news release.
It notes that most people calling the ministry for income and disability assistance are still waiting far long than the government’s own service standards.
The province’s service standards require 80 per cent of calls to be answered within a 10-minute average. According to the ombudsperson, ministry data between 2022 and 2024 shows that about only 13 per cent of calls were answered within that timeframe.
A news release from the ombudsperson notes that in several months over the past two years, “as few as five per cent of calls were answered within 10 minutes, with some days seeing average wait times exceed an hour.”
The report notes there is “no consistent trend” toward meeting wait-time standards in the future.
The ministry reportedly “indicated that it was ‘considering a review of current service standards to make sure they reflect today’s realities and client expectations’” in its response to the draft report.
The report notes that’s a “significant concern” as it could be an indication of “weakened” service standards, given the ministry’s “chronic inability to meet its own current standards.”
Chalke said service standards exist to ensure people can access public services in a timely and fair way.
“When standards are consistently missed, the answer should be to improve service delivery, not to lower expectations by weakening service standards.”
In 2018, the ombudsperson released “Holding Pattern: Call wait times for income and disability assistance,” a systemic investigation that found prolonged delays in reaching the ministry by phone. Those delays created barriers to accessing essential services.
Chalke said vulnerable people in B.C. contact the Poverty Reduction Ministry because they need help meeting basic needs such as food, shelter or medical supplies.
He added that many people who rely on income and disability assistance are living with disabilities and prolonged wait times can create significant accessibility barriers. Chalke noted that under the Accessible BC Act, the provincial government has an obligation to identify and remove barriers to accessing public services.
“When wait times are this long, the service itself becomes a barrier to access, raising serious concerns about fairness.”
While Chalke’s update Tuesday acknowledges that the ministry has taken steps to improve access, including a call-back option, the report finds that staffing levels and call volumes continue to “prevent sustained improvement.”
Tuesday’s updated report also highlights ongoing gaps in transparency. According to the ombudsperson, the ministry now collects some data on in-person service waits, but it hasn’t “established or publicly reported” service standards for in-person wait times, “limiting accountability across different service delivery channels.”
In an emailed statement to Black Press Media, Social Development and Poverty Reduction Minister Sheila Malcolmson said her ministry is reviewing the report “carefully, and remain committed to continuous improvement and respectful, timely client service.”
Malcolmson said the ministry has been responding to the increased demance for income assistance in “new and innovative ways.” She added the ministry has made changes to streamline processes and expand access.
“We know there’s more work to do and we’ll keep focusing on changes that make the biggest difference for people.”
The Social Development and Poverty Reduction Ministry has seen income assistance caseloads increase by 17,200 cases and disability assistance by 5,900 cases in the last two years, about 30 per cent and 4.9 per cent, respectively.
The statement notes that refugee claimants have also creased by 85 per cent since late 2023, “adding complexity.”