Why BC needs a poverty reduction plan
BC is Canada’s only province without a poverty reduction plan. This report examines the most recent statistics on poverty and its associated hardships in BC, and demonstrates that strong policies are urgently needed to dramatically reduce and ultimately eliminate poverty in our province.
A comprehensive and ambitious poverty reduction plan for BC is long overdue.
Attachments
Long Overdue: Why BC Needs a Poverty Reduction Plan — SUMMARY
About the authors
Seth Klein is a CCPA-BC research associate and the former CCPA-BC Director. His research deals primarily with welfare policy, poverty, inequality and economic security. A social activist for over 30 years and a former teacher, Seth holds a BA in international relations, a BEd from the University of Toronto and an MA in political science from Simon Fraser University. Seth is an adjunct professor with Simon Fraser University’s Urban Studies program and the former BC director of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. His book A Good War: Mobilizing Canada for the Climate Emergency is now available. Seth is also a past co-chair of the BC Poverty Reduction Coalition, an advisory board member for the Columbia Institute’s Centre for Civic Governance, and an advisor and instructor for Next Up, a leadership program for young people committed to social and environmental justice. Follow Seth on Twitter
Iglika Ivanova is a Senior Economist and the Public Interest Researcher at the CCPA’s BC Office. She researches and writes on key social and economic challenges facing BC and Canada, including poverty, economic insecurity and labour market shifts towards more precarious work. Iglika is Co-Director of the Understanding Precarity in BC Project (UP-BC). Iglika also investigates issues of government finance, tax policy and privatization and how they relate to the accessibility and quality of public services. She is particularly interested in the potential for public policy to build a more just, inclusive and sustainable economy. Follow Iglika on Twitter
Andrew Leyland is a master’s student in the School of Population and Public Health at UBC. He was the Rosenbluth Intern in Policy Research at the CCPA-BC. He is strongly committed to improving the social determinants of health and discovering policy solutions that help build healthy, equitable societies. Andrew is also concerned by the increase in precarious employment among young Canadians, and the erosion of stable, secure, gainful jobs.
