Excerpts from the press release:

The National Council of Welfare's report, Welfare Incomes 2005, paints a dismal picture, and one that is getting worse. When adjusted for inflation, many 2005 welfare incomes were lower than they were in 1986. Most welfare incomes peaked in 1994 or earlier. Some of the losses between the peak year and 2005 are staggering, with one-third of households losing $3,000 or more. Five provinces&emdash;Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia&emdash;recorded the lowest levels of welfare incomes between 2000 and 2005.