An Online Makeover for TRAC Tenant Resource & Advisory Centre

Community posts

By Andrew SakamotoTRAC Logo (blue)
Executive Director, TRAC

TRAC provides information on residential tenancy law to tenants and advocates across British Columbia. Our services include a Tenant Infoline, legal education workshops, multilingual publications and a website/social media.  We work with all levels of government, other community organizations and the general public to promote the legal protection of tenants and the availability of affordable rental housing in BC.

As a small organization with a provincial mandate, we rely on technology to help us educate communities across the province.  One way we do is by making our resources accessible through Clicklaw.

Recently, we also launched our new website!  The design is modern and clean, and our content has been organized in a way that allows users to quickly find answers to their legal questions.

Here are some of the highlights of our new site:

  • Tenant Survival Guide – One of the most popular legal publications in the province, our TSG offers a comprehensive yet plain language overview of tenants’ and landlords’ rights and responsibilities.
  • Template Letters –When issues arise during a tenancy, tenants should communicate their concerns to their landlord on paper. TRAC offers 27 template letters to use as a starting point.
  • Tenant Info Pamphlets – TRAC has created a pamphlet that covers the fundamentals of residential tenancy law, and translated it into 18 languages. For tenants whose first language is not English, this is where to look.
  • All content pages on our website can be printed as nicely formatted fact sheets. Online information is important, but so are hardcopy resources. Feel free to print and distribute our fact sheets to friends, family members, clients and landlords

Benefits and Services: Social Assistance on Reserve

New on Clicklaw

Social Assistance on ReserveFood, shelter and clothing: these are the basic necessities that directly impact our quality of life. Meeting basic needs can be a challenge on reservations. If you live on reserve and are struggling to pay for food, shelter and clothing you can apply for social assistance.

The LSS Aboriginal Legal Aid BC website has information to help get you started with an application. Below are highlights from the website; visit the site for more detail:

Who can get social assistance

You must be:

  • an adult (19 or over)
  • live on reserve in BC; and
  • one of the following:
    • a Canadian citizen
    • a permanent resident
    • a Convention refugee, or
    • a sponsored immigrant whose sponsor can’t or won’t provide support. (Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada will decide whether this is the case.)

What is social assistance?

Social assistance is money and other benefits for people who:

  • live on reserve
  • don’t have enough money to meet their needs
  • have no other reasonable way of getting money

In addition to regular benefits, social assistance benefits can include additional benefits for: people with certain types of physical or mental disabilities, people with medical conditions and people who face undue hardship issues like hunger and eviction. Some of these additional benefits are short-term and time-limited.

Where and how to apply for social assistance benefits

You can apply for social assistance with the band social development worker for the reserve you live on. You can reach them by calling the band office for your reserve.

For more information on the types of benefits, how to apply, and who can help, visit the LSS website here: Aboriginal Legal Aid in BC