SUNDAY September
22 2013
FOCUS 3
Reconciliation LIVE 11
Family fun SPORT 29
Morgan soars to worlds Local News . Local Matter s
INTERACT WITH THE NEWS at N S N E W S .C O M
West Van’s rich are indeed richer 23% of residents in top 10% of earners: Household Survey JANE SEYD jseyd@nsnews.com
InWestVancouver, the “one per cent” is actually the seven per cent. That’s according to information from the National Household Survey on income, recently released
by Statistics Canada, which confirms that West Vancouver’s reputation for affluence is well deserved. Across the country as a whole, individuals earning more than $191,000 were among the lucky few in the top one per cent of income. In the District of West
Vancouver, however, seven per cent of people fell into that category, while about 23 per cent of residents were in the top 10 per cent of income earners nation-wide. Only about 65 per cent of income in West Vancouver was earned through employment. Residents received almost 18 per cent of their income through investments — three times the provincial average — as well as receiving a higher
than average income through private pensions. Among those who worked full-time, earners were likely to be senior managers and business professionals with median incomes of around $74,000. But the average income of the top 10 per cent — including investments and other sources of income — was much higher, at more than $250,000. Among men, that climbed to just
under $300,000. Not all is rosy for the rich, however.West Vancouverites also paid a higher percentage of their income in taxes than those with slimmer wallets. West Vancouver residents paid about 25 per cent of their total income to the tax man, compared to about 14 per cent overall for residents of B.C. Statistics Canada pegged the median after-tax income of families in West Vancouver
at just shy of $98,000. Not everyone in West Vancouver is well off, however. Almost 15 per cent of residents are living in households considered lowincome — defined as having half the Canadian median of after-tax household income. In North Vancouver, incomes were also higher than the provincial average, although less stratospheric
Outdoor taxes a bad idea: Tim Jones BRENT RICHTER brichter@nsnews.com
The organization that represents the province’s 80 search and rescue teams is pitching some ideas to beef up funding for rescue teams that would hit outdoor recreationists in the wallet. In a paper meant only to get some ideas up for discussion, the B.C. Search and Rescue Association suggests a number of ways SAR groups can raise more funds to help them keep up with ever-growing call volumes. Among the ideas: putting a new user fee on outdoor recreational activity costs like ski-hill lift tickets, hunting and fishing licences, off-road vehicle registration and outdoor gear. But that idea is See B.C. page 5
SWING SHIFT Peyton Montague, 4, lounges on the modern swing at John Lawson Park in West Vancouver. A makeover of the children’s playground is partially complete. Use the Layar app to see video footage of the playground. PHOTO CINDY GOODMAN
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