The story of child poverty in Canada is very much an urban story. One out of every 10 children living in urban areas was poor in 2010, compared to one in 20 children living in non-urban areas. Three quarters (or 76%) of all poor children in Canada lived in one of the urban centres shown [...]
Entries Tagged as 'living wage'
Vancouver child poverty rate is second-highest in Canada
May 8th, 2013 · Iglika Ivanova · No Comments · Children & youth, Poverty, inequality & welfare
Tags: child poverty·living wage·poverty
Living wage reports reveal a big gap between actual wages and the costs of raising a family in BC
May 2nd, 2013 · Iglika Ivanova · 1 Comment · Economy, Education, Employment & labour, Poverty, inequality & welfare, Taxes, Women
How much do working parents need to earn to be able to afford to live in our community? There reports released today provide the answer for the three largest regional districts in BC, home to 2/3 of this province’s population: $19.62/hour in Metro Vancouver, $18.73/hour in Greater Victoria and $16.37/hour in the Fraser Valley.
Seeking a Real Families First Agenda this First BC Family Day
February 7th, 2013 · Seth Klein · Comments Off · Children & youth, Economy, Employment & labour, Poverty, inequality & welfare, Taxes
By Seth Klein and Adrienne Montani On February 11, British Columbians will enjoy a well-deserved new stat holiday. With the inaugural Family Day, Premier Christy Clark has made good on a promise made during her bid for the BC Liberal leadership. The winter stretch needed a new long weekend, and many will appreciate this new-found [...]
Tags: child poverty·children·living wage·minimum wage·poverty·welfare
England’s serious debate about living wages
November 8th, 2012 · Keith Reynolds · 2 Comments · Employment & labour
I was in London for the last week and I was amazed to see what a big issue the idea of paying people a living wage has become there. The living wage, as opposed to the minimum wage, is based on what a family needs to have the essentials of life. Last week a KPMG [...]
Tags: living wage
Local living wage employer wins best employer award
February 29th, 2012 · Seth Klein · Comments Off · Employment & labour, Poverty, inequality & welfare
Hats off to Eclipse Awards, a local small business that was one of the first to seek certification as an official Living Wage Employer. At an awards ceremony last night, Eclipse won the Best Employer award from Small Business BC. Their status as a living wage employer played an important role. Here’s a news release [...]
Tags: child poverty·living wage
Growing support for cities to adopt living wage
November 16th, 2011 · Seth Klein · Comments Off · Employment & labour, Municipalities, Poverty, inequality & welfare
New developments since my recent post calling on municipalities to lead the way on adopting living wage policies: First, over just over 100 candidates have responded to the Open Letter issued by the Living Wage for Families campaign, covering almost every Lower Mainland municipality. Almost all have expressed support for this proposal or at least [...]
Tags: living wage·Municipalities·poverty
Living Wage Policy: Why Municipal Governments should lead the way
October 25th, 2011 · Seth Klein · Comments Off · Employment & labour, Poverty, inequality & welfare
By Michael McCarthy Flynn and Seth Klein The Living Wage for Families Campaign, along with 54 organizations representing over 300,000 British Columbians, recently issued an Open Letter calling on all municipal election candidates to help low-income families in their cities by passing a Living Wage policy if they are elected (available here). Many families are [...]
Living Wage 2010
May 4th, 2010 · Seth Klein · 3 Comments · Employment & labour
This morning CCPA-BC released a new study with First Call: BC Child and Youth Advocacy Coalition, and the Metro Vancouver Living Wage for Families Campaign. Working for a Living Wage 2010: Making Paid Work Meet Basic Family Needs in Metro Vancouver updates the first Metro Vancouver calculation published in 2008. The living wage calculation includes [...]
Tags: living wage
Living Wage: Congratulations to New Westminster
April 27th, 2010 · Seth Klein · 8 Comments · Children & youth, Employment & labour, Poverty, inequality & welfare
Some great news to share on the living wage front. Last night (April 26), New Westminster City Council voted unanimously to adopt the first municipal Living Wage policy in Canada. They have used the broad definition of the family living wage, developed two years ago by CCPA, First Call and the Victoria Community Council (meaning, [...]
Tags: child poverty·living wage·poverty
IWD commitments on my wish list
March 5th, 2009 · Adrienne Montani · Comments Off · Children & youth, Employment & labour, Poverty, inequality & welfare, Women
With International Women’s Day on the horizon this weekend, I’m looking for some commitments. Women are over-represented in low-wage work. So which party in the upcoming election will commit to an investment in BC’s social capital through a living wage policy for the public sector, including public contractors? Stimulating the local economy and adding to [...]
Tags: childcare·children·living wage·Women
