At their convention last year, the Union of BC municipalities passed a resolution calling on the province to adopt a comprehensive poverty reduction plan. Several other provinces have developed such plans or are working on them and they appear to be effective in reducing poverty and its effects. BC, as you may know, has had the highest rate of child poverty for years and is doing nothing in a concerted way. It is time to address the issue. Overtime.

Social groups have been actively working on this issue for years, (http://bcpovertyreduction.ca). Among other initiatives, draft plans calls for a living wage for all British Columbians, a strong commitment to social housing and a plan to address our child care crisis by creating a provincial system that is both accessible to all families and capable of providing quality care for their children.

We need to ensure that no one who is working full time in British Columbia falls below the poverty line. This is a fundamental matter of social justice. (http://www.livingwageforfamilies.ca).

If we are successful in creating adequate employment in this province and as parents go to work, they need to know that their children are well cared for. Poorer parents especially need a care system they can afford. The Coalition of Child Care Advocates of BC and the Early Childhood Educators of BC have offered a concrete, innovative, ‘made in BC’ solution that would offer quality care and learning for $10 a day and offer it free to families with incomes under S40, 000. (http://cccabc.bc.ca/cccabcdocs/integrated.html)

If elected, will you be active in pushing the provincial government to adopt such a plan? How would you propose to do that? In the meantime, would you sign the petition on the BC Poverty Reduction website, http://bcpovertyreduction.ca)?

Sincerely,

Rob Hart,
Mission & Outreach Committee