It is beyond the scope of this report to propose a comprehensive poverty reduction plan. Much work has already been done to inform a BC plan that has vision, targets and timelines and includes: • Raising income assistance rates to account for the actual cost of healthy food and safe housing and indexing rates to the cost of living • Raising the minimum wage to a level that supports an individual working full-time, full-year with an income above Statistics Canada low-income cut-off in a major urban centre • Supporting a wide range of initiatives to ensure all British Columbians have access to safe and affordable housing • Supporting initiatives that increase access to healthy food for all British Columbians, especially those living in rural and remote communities, or for whom access to food is difficult • Building a system of high quality, affordable, accessible child care • Measuring success by improvements in the health and social statistics of the most disadvantaged British Columbians.
To inform a BC poverty reduction plan see: •
A Poverty Reduction Plan for BC, www.policyalternatives.ca
•
Healthy Futures for BC Families: Policy Recommendations for Improving the Health of British Columbians, www.bchealthyliving.ca
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BC Campaign 2000: 2009 Child Poverty Report Card, www.firstcallbc.org
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BC Poverty Reduction Coalition, www.bcpovertyreduction.ca
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Hunger Count 2009: A comprehensive report on hunger and food bank use in Canada, and recommendations for change, www.foodbankscanada.ca
What can you do? Learn more about poverty and take action in your community. • Compare your monthly disposable income to that of an individual or family on income assistance or earning a low wage (see Tables 1 and 3). Could you afford the food basket if you were in their shoes? • Support co-operative and affordable housing projects in your neighbourhood. • Get political and speak out in your community – work, school, church, professional associations, etc. – about why we should all care about eliminating poverty. • Volunteer at a seniors or community centre or after-school program. • Write a letter to your Member of the Legislative Assembly and ask for: • A provincial poverty reduction plan • An affordable housing strategy • Fair income assistance rates • Higher minimum wage • Favourable tax policies for low income earners. Find your Member of the Legislative Assembly at www.leg.bc.ca/Mla/3-1-1.htm
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