Poverty, inequality & welfare

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

May 29, 2018
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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

Inclusive growth and the future of work: A recap of our 2017 Rosenbluth Lecture with Armine Yalnizyan

Dec 5, 2017
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This year, the CCPA-BC’s annual Gideon Rosenbluth Memorial lecture featured one of Canada’s leading progressive economists, Armine Yalnizyan, who shared some insights on the changing world of work and the importance of achieving inclusive growth. Making growth inclusive has become a global policy priority backed, at least on paper, by international organizations like the OECD,… View Article

Challenges persist: Community-based mental health in BC

Nov 17, 2017
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In 2006, I wrote the report, “Community Based Mental Health in BC: Changes to Income, Employment and Housing Supports” to explain policy changes that had occurred with a new government and to look at their impact on community-based mental health services. In 2001 the Liberals came into power in BC after ten years of an… View Article