Posts by Seth Klein

Seth Klein

About Seth Klein

Seth Klein is a CCPA-BC research associate and the former CCPA-BC Director. His research deals primarily with welfare policy, poverty, inequality and economic security. A social activist for over 30 years and a former teacher, Seth holds a BA in international relations, a BEd from the University of Toronto and an MA in political science from Simon Fraser University.

Seth is an adjunct professor with Simon Fraser University’s Urban Studies program and the former BC director of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. His book A Good War: Mobilizing Canada for the Climate Emergency is now available.

Seth is also a past co-chair of the BC Poverty Reduction Coalition, an advisory board member for the Columbia Institute’s Centre for Civic Governance, and an advisor and instructor for Next Up, a leadership program for young people committed to social and environmental justice.
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A bleak jobs picture outside BC’s big cities

Jan 8, 2017
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We hear a lot about BC’s strong jobs performance – it’s mentioned in every speech and media appearance by our Premier and members of her government. On the surface, it sounds like a good news story with over 73,000 new jobs created in 2016 while many provinces actually lost jobs. But what the Premier doesn’t… View Article

When LNG plants get a special deal on Hydro rates, who pays?

Dec 20, 2016
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It’s always telling to see who in our province is able to win special treatment from the BC government. The BC Utilities Commission is currently reviewing residential BC Hydro rates, something they do periodically. As part of that process, the BC Public Interest Advocacy Centre (BCPIAC), on behalf of numerous organizations representing low-income British Columbians… View Article

BC Tax Commission focuses on business and not the rest of us

Nov 23, 2016
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This fall we presented recommendations to the provincial government’s “Commission on Tax Competitiveness”, which released its final report today. But the Commission suffered from a basic flaw: an exclusive focus on business taxes. What about how BC’s overall tax system affects the large majority of British Columbians? The Commission’s terms of reference precluded consideration of… View Article

Lessons from the Trump election for progressives in Canada

Nov 18, 2016
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It’s been a little over a week since we were jolted by the profoundly disturbing reality of a Donald Trump US presidency. We’ve all found ourselves in many discussions about how such an abhorrent and blatantly racist and misogynist candidate could have won the most powerful political office in the world, and about how to… View Article

Four planks for a bold and progressive BC jobs agenda

Nov 17, 2016
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BC needs a revitalized jobs plan. The provincial government’s narrow focus on Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) hasn’t worked. The government hitched BC’s economic wagon to the elusive investment decisions of foreign transnational corporations, and to the ups and downs of international commodity prices, and the hoped-for investment simply didn’t materialize. And for all the talk… View Article

The New Climate Denialism: Time for an intervention

Sep 22, 2016
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For decades, the urgent need for climate action was stymied by what came to be known as “climate denialism” (or its more mild cousin, “climate skepticism”). In an effort to create public confusion and stall political progress, the fossil fuel industry poured tens of millions of dollars into the pockets of foundations, think tanks, lobby… View Article

The fifth annual Welfare Food Challenge is coming up

Sep 13, 2016
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The 2016 Welfare Food Challenge—in which participants spend one week eating only what can be purchased with the money a welfare recipient receives—is coming up on October 16th. The organization behind the challenge, Raise the Rates, calculates the amount participants have to spend on food based on the expectation that welfare recipients will have to pay for rental housing,… View Article