Poverty, inequality & welfare

My welfare food challenge: Day 2

Oct 17, 2013
By
Day 2, and I’ve already bent the rules. The battle against the cold is no going well, so I’m taking some cold medicine and drinking tea (which was not in my budget). Otherwise, still on the plan. For dinner last night I had some of the large soup I made in preparation (it’s actually pretty… View Article

My welfare food challenge: Day 1

Oct 16, 2013
By
Today is Day 1 of my welfare food challenge, during which I will spend one week trying to eat on a total budget of $26. You can read more about the Welfare Food Challenge here. I’ve been researching and writing about welfare policy since the late 1990s (including a major 2008 study entitled Living on… View Article

Why does BC have the highest poverty rate in Canada?

Jul 16, 2013
By
Statistics Canada recently released new data on the incomes of Canadians and it shows two worrisome trends continuing through the economic recovery: BC has the highest poverty rate in Canada and the highest child poverty rate (tied with Manitoba); and Ordinary families in BC haven’t had a raise since 2008 – family incomes in the… View Article

Latest Statscan poverty numbers paint bleak picture for BC

Jul 8, 2013
By
Statistics Canada has released Incomes in Canada for 2011, with the latest poverty rates. You can find it here. And the numbers for BC are grim indeed, painting a very different picture from the rosy one the government likes to present. First Call has put out a news release detailing some of the latest child… View Article

Short BC throne speech neglects climate crisis, poverty

Jun 26, 2013
By
Everyone expected today’s throne speech to be a brief recap of Christy Clark’s election platform. And on this front, it certainly delivered: only 8 pages, compared to the usual 20+, pinning our province’s hopes on LNG exports, and using much of the same language, word for word, that we’ve heard repeatedly throughout the election campaign…. View Article