Poverty, inequality & welfare

BC’s child poverty rate: Don’t cherry-pick the numbers

Apr 28, 2017

It’s always welcome to see poverty identified as an important issue in our elections as it was in last Wednesday’s BC Leaders’ Debate. We want to see our political leaders challenging each other to do better on this file. However, in the debate—as well as in numerous media interviews—Premier Clark has repeated the claim that… View Article

Sharing our realities: Life on disability assistance in BC

Apr 27, 2017

By Trish Garner and Heather McCain

Both people with disabilities and those who work within the income assistance system say the effects of provincial government policy in British Columbia are demoralizing. Looking beyond the numbers to focus on real-life stories, the report Sharing Our Realities: Life on Disability Assistance finds a remarkable consensus between people with disabilities, income assistance workers, and… View Article

Economic insecurity touches seniors’ lives in profound ways

Apr 6, 2017

By Terra Poirier, Iglika Ivanova and Caelie Frampton

In the spring of 2016, the CCPA’s Terra Poirier and photographer Caelie Frampton met with three local seniors to document their lived experience of poverty and inequality. The images and stories of these women paint a sobering picture of what life is like when the hardships of living with a low income are combined with… View Article

Time to raise welfare rates: Debunking the BC government’s sorry excuses for inaction

Mar 30, 2017

By Seth Klein and Pamela Reaño

April 1st marks the 10th anniversary since basic welfare benefit rates (also known as social assistance rates) were last increased in British Columbia. For a single person on basic assistance the benefit rate remains $610 per month, and for a single parent with one child it is $946 a month. That means for 10 years running,… View Article

BC Budget 2017 fails to fill the hole we’ve dug for children, youth and families

Mar 9, 2017

By Adrienne Montani

What’s the purpose of digging a hole and then re-filling it halfway or even all the way 15 years later? Child and youth services providers and families are asking this question as they review the “new” dollars for child-serving ministries in the 2017 BC budget. Over the last 15 years provincial child-serving ministries, school districts,… View Article

Adult education in BC: A Canadian outlier

Feb 6, 2017

By Suzanne Smythe

Thankfully for their residents, not every province handles adult education like BC where the government has eroded access to high-school level courses for adults while other provinces are making basic education more accessible. In mid January, the Province of Ontario announced policy changes to make adult education more affordable and to ensure that low and… View Article

Most and least expensive cities for child care: 4 key takeaways for BC

Dec 15, 2016

By Iglika Ivanova

A new CCPA report reveals staggering disparities in parents’ experiences with child care across the country. Prices are highest in Toronto and lowest in cities in Quebec where child care is heavily subsidized by the provincial government. Cities in Manitoba and PEI, the other two provinces in Canada that set child care fees and fund… View Article

BC’s higher-than-expected surplus is a wasted opportunity

Dec 8, 2016

By Iglika Ivanova

BC is on track to have a massive budget surplus this year according to the November update on provincial finances. At the end of the second quarter of the fiscal year, we’re looking at a surplus of $2.24 billion. This is $300 million more than what the September budget update projected and a staggering $2… View Article

Low-income seniors also victim to affordable housing crisis

Nov 22, 2016

By Sarah Sheridan

It may be hard to believe, but Statistics Canada data shows that 52 per cent of senior renters (65+) in Metro Vancouver spend 30 per cent or more of their monthly income on rent, and 21 per cent spend half or more. So how are low-income seniors expected to survive? The ratio of rent to… View Article

The case for a progressive property tax

Nov 2, 2016

By Marc Lee

In 1993, then-Finance Minister Glen Clark tabled a controversial BC Budget, featuring a wide range of tax changes. A one-point increase in the provincial sales tax was the largest measure, tempered by the introduction of a refundable sales tax credit. Most of the budget measures increased taxes on the wealthy and corporations. Up went the… View Article

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