One of the designers of Manitoba’s Rent Assist program a decade ago says changes made under the former Tories need to be reversed in order for the NDP government’s homelessness strategy to work.

The program was set up by then-NDP premier Greg Selinger in 2014 to support people transitioning from “welfare to work,” while also increasing benefits for those who rely on government supports for their income, said University of Manitoba economics and labour studies associate professor Jesse Hajer.

In the years since, changes to the program have seen benefits clawed back, which has made it more difficult for low-income Manitobans to make ends meet, Hajer said.

In a report released Thursday for the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, Hajer, who was on the planning and priorities committee

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