CCPA-BC’s new study on legal aid in BC explores the impact of cuts to the system and proposes a new rights-based approach that would cut both economic and social costs. Listen to interviews with the authors on CBC’s Early Edition, Jim Harrison’s show on CHNL in Kamloops and Adam Stirling’s show on CFAX in Victoria. [...]
Entries Tagged as 'Women'
Rights-based legal aid: a proposal for BC
November 9th, 2010 · Sarah Leavitt · Comments Off · Law & legal issues
Tags: human rights·legal aid·Women
What will it take to bring smarter family policy to BC?
September 27th, 2010 · Iglika Ivanova · Comments Off · Children & youth, Transparency & accountability, Women
Did you know that the BC government has set a goal to reduce early childhood vulnerability to 15% by fiscal year 2015? You can hardly tell by their actions. BC did introduce full-day kindergarten in some communities this fall, but other than that the family policy front has been rather quiet lately. The latest childhood [...]
Tags: accountability·child poverty·childcare·children·families·family policy·poverty·role of government·Women
Women in the Canadian Economy
March 8th, 2010 · Iglika Ivanova · 6 Comments · Children & youth, Economy, Women
Last weekend, I spoke at a community event celebrating International Women’s Day in Vancouver. It got me thinking about the status of women in the Canadian economy, reflecting both on the successes over the last half century and on the areas where work is still needed to achieve gender equality. As a young woman in [...]
Tags: gender inequality·Women
The catch-22 of low-income benefits that are phased out quickly
October 9th, 2009 · Iglika Ivanova · 8 Comments · Children & youth, Employment & labour, Housing & homelessness, Poverty, inequality & welfare, Provincial budget & finance, Taxes, Women
My friend Emily is a single mom. She works full time for a salary that keeps her and her child above the poverty line but doesn’t allow for much more. Her income is low enough that she qualifies for temporary relief from paying her student loans (which are massive even though she is yet to [...]
The recent secretive, haphazard spending cuts should be repealed
September 23rd, 2009 · Iglika Ivanova · Comments Off · Children & youth, Economy, Education, Provincial budget & finance, Transparency & accountability, Women
Almost daily we wake up to news of yet another important program or initiative whose funding has been cut by the BC government. Literacy initiatives, high school sports, programs that protect women and children from violence, arts and culture: hardly an area of social service provision has been spared. These cuts have been devastating to [...]
Tags: accountability·budget·children·deficit·role of government·service cuts·Women
BC government should heed its own report on childcare
May 7th, 2009 · Iglika Ivanova · Comments Off · Children & youth, Economy, Employment & labour, Poverty, inequality & welfare, Women
Do you remember the 2008 Throne Speech in which the provincial government launched a feasibility study on providing full day kindergarten for 5 year-olds and extending full day preschool options to younger children as well? Here’s a refresher: A new Early Childhood Learning Agency will be established. It will assess the feasibility and costs of [...]
Tags: childcare·children·early childhood education·Early Childhood Learning Agency·kindergarten·teachers·Women
Why young children’s education and care are not priorities in this election
May 7th, 2009 · Iglika Ivanova · Comments Off · Children & youth, Economy, Education, Women
It seems clear that policy-makers in this province (and country, for that matter) are not prepared to invest in a quality early education and childcare system, despite the proven benefits for children. The reasons have got to be political, as the economic case for investing in early childhood education and care has already been made [...]
Tags: baby boomers·campaign·childcare·children·early childhood education·feminism·gender inequality·health promotion·intergenerational justice·Paul Kershaw·Paul Krugman·seniors·Women
BC's child care crisis IS an election issue
April 30th, 2009 · Rita Chudnovsky · 1 Comment · Children & youth, Economy
The provincial election is off and running, and once again families and communities know that childcare should be a high priority for every candidate in every riding. After eight years of failed policies, ad hoc decisions, and inadequate funding, B.C. childcare is in a crisis. Just ask any young family about their struggle to find [...]
Reflections on the Citizens’ Assembly
April 30th, 2009 · Marc Lee · Comments Off · Electoral reform
One of the most interesting stories behind BC’s Single Transferable Vote referendum is how we got there. The Citizen’s Assembly on Electoral Reform ran for a year, a fascinating exercise in deliberative democracy, and perhaps the most interesting and forward-looking thing done by the Liberals in their first term. Wendy Bergerud was a CA member [...]
Tags: BC Citizens' Assembly·deliberative democracy·Electoral reform·Fair Vote Canada·Fair Voting BC·FPTP·MMP·Wendy Bergerud·Women
March unemployment hits women and young
April 10th, 2009 · Keith Reynolds · Comments Off · Economy, Employment & labour
There is an interesting side story to the information that came out last week showing a big jump in unemployment in BC. Almost all of the increase was among two groups – women and young people. The overall unemployment rate jumped from 6.7% to 7.4%. The increase for men over the age of 25 was [...]
Tags: unemployment·Women
