BC seniors are anything but a homogenous group. Large income and wealth inequalities exist among both seniors and working-age British Columbians—the defining problem we face isn’t about intergenerational inequality, but rather the growing gap between rich and poor across generations. Learn more: policyalternatives.ca/SeniorsInequality. Read the news release here.
Today we released a new Climate Justice Project report, Fighting Energy Poverty in the Transition to Zero-Emission Housing: A Framework for BC, by yours truly, Eugene Kung (a lawyer with the BC Public Interest Advocacy Centre and a steering committee member of the CJP) and Jason Owen (who worked on this project as a…
Today we released a new Climate Justice Project report, Fighting Energy Poverty in the Transition to Zero-Emission Housing: A Framework for BC, by yours truly, Eugene Kung (a lawyer with the BC Public Interest Advocacy Centre and a steering committee member of the CJP) and Jason Owen (who worked on this project as a student…
Numerous studies have demonstrated that quality child care has a positive correlation with improved childhood outcomes, notably higher social and cognitive scores upon school entry, especially with children living in poverty. On Wednesday May 13th child care advocates from across Canada are joining together to call for a universally accessible,…
Why isn’t inequality a key issue in the latest election? This column is being written in the middle of a federal election campaign, the outcome of which most readers will know by the time they see it. Not being prescient, I can only hope, as I write in ignorance of…
I often get asked about alternatives to our fossil-fuelled status quo. In recent years, there have been many new projects that point to the way forward, that get beyond vague statements about reducing carbon emissions and boosting clean energy. Our CCPA-BC office held a conference last year to examine new approaches…
Last Thursday’s Statistics Canada release of individual and household income data for 2008 marks a new era in the study of poverty in Canada. Instead of reporting only on the Low Income Cut Offs (LICO), as they used to, Statistics Canada reported on three of the most common measures of…
martinbertrand.fr / /Shutterstock” style=”border-radius:0px;–objectFit:cover;–imagePosX:50%;–imagePosY:50%” decoding=”async” srcset=”https://www.policyalternatives.ca/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/pn_sep2020_for-better-or-worse-300×133.jpg 300w, https://www.policyalternatives.ca/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/pn_sep2020_for-better-or-worse-768×341.jpg 768w, https://www.policyalternatives.ca/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/pn_sep2020_for-better-or-worse.jpg 900w” sizes=”(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px” />Since the provincial election was called last week, the focus of debate so far has been the timing. But like it or not, we’re headed to the polls in less than a month—and it’s time to shift gears to focus on the many urgent issues at stake. Top of that…
Proposed changes will help to restore the social security role that used to be an intrinsic part of EI but has been sidelined over the last 30 years. The 1971 Unemployment Insurance Act positioned unemployment insurance as both an insurance program and a social security program, and by doing so, it created…
Today the Halifax Regional Municipal Council will consider a staff report that recommends that Council approve the adoption of a Supplier Code of Conduct (including Living Wage requirements). Voting in favour of this recommendation would be one important step forward, but will not have the impact that a broader living wage policy could…
Kudos to the Globe and Mail for their front page story on Jan 23rd highlighting the fact that the official unemployment rate does not count First Nations reserves. You heard that right: First Nations reserves, some of the poorest places in the country, are not included in the official unemployment rate. As unbelievable…
25 years ago, Canada adopted the United Nations Convention on the Right of the Child. Among the rights enumerated in that Convention, children have a right: to learn, to play, to nutritional food, to a home.