Poverty, inequality & welfare

Land wealth is a massive source of inequality in BC

Sep 4, 2018
By
Many of us worry about income inequality in BC, and so we should. But here’s the thing—bad as income inequality is, wealth inequality is worse. And in our province, that wealth inequality is driven in large part by real estate—who owns it, and who doesn’t. The ownership of real estate wealth in BC is highly… View Article

Urgent action needed to control rent increases: Submission to the BC Rental Housing Task Force

Jul 6, 2018
By and
On July 3rd, we shared our recommendations regarding BC’s Residential Tenancy Act and controlling rental costs in British Columbia with the BC Rental Housing Task Force. This is our submission. As we noted in our March submission to the BC government’s poverty reduction consultation, we believe that bold action to control rental costs must be… View Article

From housing market to human right: A view from Metro Vancouver

May 29, 2018
By
I made the following submission to the Government of Canada’s consultation on National Housing Strategy’s human rights-based approach to housing, through which they are requesting “opinions and ideas about the key elements of a human rights-based approach to housing, the proposed approach to the new legislation, and new concepts to be explored.” This submission outlines key reasons… View Article

Deep poverty: BC government can—and should—end it

May 24, 2018
By and
The BC government’s public consultations into the development of a poverty reduction plan have ended. Now the ideas and recommendations from hundreds of British Columbians are in the hands of the government as they turn all that input into the official plan. We’ve been told to expect enabling legislation—including legislated targets and timelines—for the fall… View Article

BC’s poverty reduction plans: Progress and next steps

Apr 13, 2018
By
After years of the previous BC government refusing to develop a poverty reduction plan, the new provincial government is finally moving forward on a plan. The Confidence and Supply Agreement between the BC NDP and Greens includes a commitment to “design and implement a province-wide poverty reduction strategy.” This is particularly gratifying for us at… View Article

Poverty interventions are health interventions: Three considerations

Mar 23, 2018
By
An irrefutable evidence base demonstrates that socioeconomic conditions—in particular poverty and inequality—impact health. In health care we call these conditions ‘social determinants of health’ (SDOH)—a term that describes the downstream health impacts of multiple forms of systemic inequity. In the context of a society, culture and health system that focus on the individual, it is… View Article

Raising the minimum wage is good for public health

Feb 5, 2018
By
Soon we expect the Fair Wages Commission to advise the BC government on a path towards a $15 minimum wage and a plan for regular increases. This will be very good news for our province. Increasing the minimum wage is an important step in reducing poverty and income inequalities that cause poor health. In charting… View Article

Glacial pace of governments out of sync with fentanyl crisis

Dec 20, 2017
By
British Columbia is experiencing the worst opioid overdose crisis in its history. By October 31st, the BC Coroners Service reported that 1208 people had died from overdose: higher than the next three causes of unnatural deaths combined—suicides, motor vehicle incidents and homicides. The numbers for November and December will be released early next year and… View Article