Ineligible: Single Mothers Under Welfare Surveillance Maki Krys

Between 1995 and 2015, Ontario ushered in a new era of regulating the poor, whereby new welfare surveillance technology was mandated to disentitle recipients, reduce caseloads, and enforce workfare. Welfare surveillance has exacerbated social inequality, especially among low income, Indigenous, and racialized single mothers. A technologically infused welfare state automated eligibility and risk assessments to interact with welfare fraud hotlines, fraud enforcement officers, and other state surveillance practices.While the poor have always been monitored and surveilled by the state when seeking financial support, the methods, techniques, and capacity for surveillance within and across government jurisdictions has profoundly altered how recipients navigate social assistance.

Krys Maki unpacks in-depth interviews with Ontario Works caseworkers, anti-poverty activists, and single