Inequality and poverty

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In early February, over 200 organizations and community leaders from across BC issued an open letter to BC political parties, calling on them to commit – prior to the May election –– to a comprehensive poverty reduction plan, with legislated targets and timelines. We were among the signatories.
British Columbians are distressed by poverty and growing homelessness in our midst, but too often we feel resigned — that nothing can be done, that seeing poor people sleeping in the streets is the new normal. Not so. There is nothing inevitable about poverty and homelessness in a society as wealthy as ours. But changing this reality requires focused government action. Other jurisdictions have set clear targets and timelines –– and they’re getting results.
(Vancouver) A new study reveals that BC’s poor and middle class families are in worse financial shape than their parents’ generation. The study, released today by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, finds that fully 60% of families with children are earning less than their counterparts in the late 1970s, while incomes for the wealthiest 10% have increased dramatically. The result is a widening gap between the rich and the rest of the population. Among the study’s key findings:
Halifax, N.S. - Our safety is at risk when governments fail to respond effectively to changing heat supplies and prices, according to Larry Hughes, the lead author of two new reports released today by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives in Nova Scotia.