I find in general there's a lack of incentive for people to change jobs and change roles. We've seen success stories. For example, my key dishwasher was on social assistance for nine years. She had two foster children, and she has a third she's raising on her own who has a myriad of disabilities, in terms of social issues at school and what not. She's incredible, but nine years not in the workforce.... It took a sensitive employer like us to say, let's work with this.
You have to support their situation. It shouldn't be to her detriment to re-enter the workforce. It frustrates me to no end. She's still in subsidized housing, when she has a good job. There is a need for programs that can move her forward and get her out of there, but at the same time we as a small business can only pay what the job is worth. No matter how much we care for her and support her in other ways, a dishwasher's wage is a dishwasher's wage.
If there were a top-up system, rather than saying that as soon as you get into the workforce we're clawing back, and you don't get this and you don't get that, if we were saying, enter the workforce and we'll still give you your subsidy.... Every single time she looks at getting out on her own, she says, well, they're going to take away my this and my that.
I just think we have it wrong. This is somebody who is a dedicated worker. She shows up every single day, five days a week, and she shouldn't be in that situation.