> Plan to reduce poverty and homelessness

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Contact:
Marjorie Griffin Cohen, 604.294.2134 (today), 778.782.5838, mcohen@sfu.ca
Carol Thorbes, PAMR, 778.782.3035, cthorbes@sfu.ca

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An economic downturn is the perfect time to tackle poverty, say the co-authors of a new report, A Poverty Reduction Plan for B.C., published by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA).

SFU political scientist Marjorie Griffin Cohen is one of seven co-authors. She says: “Maintaining the purchasing power of large numbers of people who spend all their money locally on necessities like rent, food and transportation will reduce the severity of a downturn.”

A new, national Environics poll reveals that eliminating poverty and homelessness is a key concern for British Columbians. According to the report, B.C. has the highest rate of poverty in Canada, yet also boasts the country’s highest average wealth, and more millionaires per capita than any other province. In B.C., most of the poor are working, yet their yearly income is $7,700 below the poverty line.

The report calls on government to reduce overall poverty in B.C. by 30 per cent within four years, particularly among First Nations people, recent immigrants, children, women and the disabled. It also advocates eliminating deep poverty within two years and eliminating street homelessness within five years.

The report’s action plan for achieving these goals includes targets such as:

• Raising the minimum wage, strengthening employment standards and enforcing workplace protection to improve low-wage workers’ working conditions
• Increasing welfare rates by 50 per cent and removing arbitrary barriers preventing people in dire need from accessing welfare
• An immediate start on building 2,000 units per year of new social housing
• Implementing a universal, public early-learning and childcare program
• Increasing post-secondary grants for low-income students

SFU women’s studies doctoral candidate Trish Garner is among the other six co-authors of the report. The 65-page document is a product of the five-year Economic Security Project, an SFU/CCPA alliance that is investigating how to improve the economic well-being of B.C.’s poor and homeless.

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