Federal sharing of costs 50%
for those not covered by existing categorical programs
Needs Test as opposed to Means Test
hope that assistance would rise
Unemployment Assistance Act, 1956

In the 1950s there were protests over UI by private charities and the provinces. Due to high rates of unemployment they claimed that they could not keep up to the demand for unemployment assistance and therefore demanded changes to the Unemployment Assistance Act. In 1956 the Unemployment Assistance Act was passed. It replaced the means test with a needs test and provided for the federal government to share 50 percent of the costs, with not ceiling specified. Many believed that the new needs test would provide a social minimum as it filled the gap between resources and needs.

line-up for the Scott Mission, an over night shelter in Toronto, Ontario, 1953, National Archives Neg. no. PA93921.