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B.C. poverty reduction plan could reduce
costs, advocates argue
http://goo.gl/NA6ZL
January 30, 2012
By Yolande Cole
As Surrey-Fleetwood MLA Jagrup Brar completes his 31 days of living on the
monthly welfare rate of $610 [ http://goo.gl/2CVpb
], advocates are calling for a plan that they argue would cost less than half
of what is currently spent on poverty. Povertys costing our province
between $8 and $9 billion a year thats a conservative estimate,
said Seth Klein, B.C. director of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives
(CCPA), at a press conference in the Downtown Eastside today (January
30). The cost of actually fully implementing a bold, comprehensive poverty
reduction plan is less than half of that. (...) According to the CCPAs
calculation, annual costs of poverty in B.C. include $1.2 billion in health
care, $745 million in crime costs, and an estimated $6.2 billion in lost productivity.
Source:
The Straight.com - Vancouver's Online Source
http://www.straight.com/
Related links:
Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA)
* British Columbia Office:
http://www.policyalternatives.ca/offices/bc
The CCPA BC Office works with a team of over 60 staff and volunteer researchers
to investigate major problems in our provincethe high rate of poverty,
the extreme concentration of wealth, the serious environmental challenges.
But we dont stop there: we propose real, workable solutions to these
problems. Our goal: social, economic and environmental justice.
[ In December 2008, the CCPA-BC Office published a comprehensive poverty reduction plan. Read the news release, watch a slideshow or download the study at www.policyalternatives.ca/reports/2008/12/poverty_reduction ]
* National Office:
http://www.policyalternatives.ca/
The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives is an independent, non-partisan
research institute concerned with issues of social, economic and environmental
justice. Founded in 1980, the CCPA is one of Canadas leading progressive
voices in public policy debates.
---
BC Poverty Reduction Coalition
http://bcpovertyreduction.ca
We are a coalition that includes community and non-profit groups, faith groups,
health organizations, First Nations and Aboriginal organizations, businesses,
labour organizations, and social policy groups. We have come together around
a campaign aimed at seeing the introduction of a bold and comprehensive poverty
reduction plan from the government of British Columbia that would include
legislated targets and timelines to significantly reduce poverty and homelessness.
We have 25 Coalition Members and over 350 supporting organizations with a
collective membership of over 300,000 that have joined the call for a poverty
reduction plan.
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2010
Homeless Champions
(Life in the Downtown
Eastside of Vancouver)
"This
website is dedicated to telling the stories of the unfortunate individuals living
in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver in the hope that awareness of this problem
will spur people to get involved, to let all levels of government know that something
has to be done to alleviate this misery rooted in addiction, homelessness and
depravity. To point the way to recovery from addiction, which we believe is the
root of most of this situation. With the 2010 Olympics coming to Vancouver it
is our mandate to record the transition and the extreme changes that are even
now occurring and will continue to unfold in the Downtown Eastside."
Action
Committee of People With Disabilities
The Action Committee of People
with Disabilities, or ACPD, is a charitable cross-disability society located in
Victoria, British Columbia.
(...) ACPD serves all people, regardless of disability
type: physical, psychiatric, developmental, sensory and/or emotional. We are operated
by and for people with disabilities. Whenever possible, our programs and services
are offered by consumers.
Anti-Poverty
Committee (APC)
"The Anti-Poverty Committee is an organization
of poor and working people, who fight for poor people, their rights and an end
to poverty by any means necessary. The poor face constant attack under the capitalist
system and these attacks have only intensified under the BC Liberal government.
APC is committed to fighting the brutal policies of the BC Liberals through direct
action, mass mobilization, and casework."
- incl. links to : Home | Campaigns
& Issues | Publications | Calendar | Archive | Links
APC
CAMPAIGNS:
Safe Streets Act - Welfare Campaign - Housing Campaign - Police
Brutality - Skwelkwek'welt Support - Immigrant and Refugee Solidarity - Legal
Defense - Harm Reduction - Cheam Solidarity
BC
Association for Community Living
"The BC Association for Community
Living is a provincial association dedicated to promoting the participation of
people with developmental disabilities in all aspects community life. We also
support activities dedicated to building inclusive communities that value the
diverse abilities of all people.."
- incl. links to : About Us - Self-Advocacy
- Social Policy Positions - Government Relations - Special Projects - COmmunity
Living Month - Calendar - Resources - Issues
BC Association of Social
Workers
"BCASW is a voluntary,
not-for-profit membership association that provides support and professional development
services to its members and a strong voice for professional and social advocacy.
BCASW is one of eleven provincial/territorial social work associations belonging
to the Canadian Association of Social Workers
(CASW)."
- incl. links to : | About us | Join BCASW | Contact us |
News | Home | | Member Benefits& Services | A Career in Social Work | Social
Work Links | Coming Events | The Whistle | Job Postings | Current Affairs | Message
Board | Private Practice Roster | Perspective Newsmagazine
Time
to Open the Door to our Human Rights Obligations,
says BC Association
of Social Workers
Media Release
March 27, 2006
The BC Association
of Social Workers supports a call for an in-depth public review of the legislation,
policies and practices that have closed the front door to welfare in BC. This
call comes after the release of the report Denied Assistance: Closing the Front
Door on Welfare by the Vancouver Island Public Interest Research Group (VIPIRG)
and the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA).
Source:
BC
Association of Social Workers
BC
Blogs from The Tyee
- links to hundreds of BC-based blogs
organized under the following categories:
* Activism * Arts & Culture
* Beyond B.C. * Commerce & Law * Environment & Ecology * Health &
Lifestyle * Politics: Commentary * Regional * Tech & Media * Travel &
Global Culture * Video Blogs & Podcasts
TIP: set some time aside to explore these blogs at a more leisurely pace --- this list is broader in scope than just social programs, so you'll find some surprise "pundit nuggets", like Norman's Spectator: Norm Spector's own blog, and you'll also find links to some totally irrelevant but quite interesting blogs like Purl this!: Life, knitting, and other ramblings from the Okanagan, and many more...
Source:
The
Tyee
BC
Child Care Advocacy Forum
Established in the spring of 1999, the Child
Care Advocacy Forum is an alliance of six provincial child care organizations
that brings together over 4000 individuals, groups and child care providers in
BC. While continuing to work on their own organizational priorities, the member
organizations of the Forum work together to advance a Common Vision and Agenda
for Child Care in BC.
B.C. CEDAW
(CEDAW= Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against
Women)
THE B.C. CEDAW GROUP IS A COALITION of womens non-governmental and non-profit British Columbia organizations that are committed to advancing the equality interests of women and girls.
THE B.C. CEDAW GROUP MADE SUBMISSIONS to the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women at the time of its reviews of Canada in 2003 and 2008.
THE B.C. CEDAW GROUP ALSO MADE SUBMISSIONS to the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in 2006, and participated in the preparation of the Canadian non-governmental report for the United Nations Human Rights Councils Universal Periodic Review of Canada in 2009.
THE GOAL OF THE COALITION is to ensure that governments in British Columbia comply with their human rights obligations to women.
BC CEDAW reports:
Feb 16, 2010
Olympic
Games: Stark Contrast to Poverty and Violence
Open Letter to Prime Minister Harper and Premier Campbell
Dear Sirs,
400,000 visitors will come to British Columbia from around the world for the
2010 Olympics. We can show them beautiful mountains, new sports venues, and
a new subway line. We can show them the extraordinary talents of Canadian athletes
and artists. Tragically, the splendour and expense of the Olympic Games stand
in stark contrast to the poverty and violence experienced by the most marginalized
women in this rich country.
On February 2, 2010, the BC CEDAW Group, with the endorsement of the Union of
BC Indian Chiefs and many other organizations, filed a report with the United
Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women on these
issues. [see the link below]
Source:
Union of BC Indian Chiefs
and
B.C. CEDAW Group
[CEDAW=United Nations Committee on the
Elimination of Discrimination against Women]
The B.C. CEDAW GROUP is a coalition of womens non-governmental and non-profit
British Columbia organizations that are committed to advancing the equality
interests of
women and girls.
The report:
nothing
to report (PDF - 83K, 15 pages)
Submission of the B.C. CEDAW Group
To the United Nations Committee on the
Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women
A Report on Progress in Implementing Priority Recommendations made by
the Committee in its 2008 Concluding Observations on Canada
JANUARY 2010
(...) The Government of British Columbia has failed to act on either of these
central issues:
womens poverty and the lack of adequate social assistance, and
police and government failure to prevent or effectively investigate violence
against Aboriginal women and girls.
The Government of British Columbia stands in violation of its obligations under
Articles 2 and 3 of the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against
Women.
9 February 2010
Information
provided by the Government of the
Canada under the follow-up procedure to the
concluding observations of the Committee (PDF - 121K, 39 pages)
Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
Interim Report in follow-up to the review of Canadas Sixth and Seventh
Reports
February 2010
On October 22, 2008, Canada appeared before the United Nations (UN) Committee
on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (the Committee) for the review
of its Sixth and Seventh Reports on the Convention on the Elimination of All
Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). In its concluding observations
following the review, the Committee asked Canada to submit, within one year,
information with respect to two of its recommendations (paragraphs 14 and 32).
Additional information can be found in
Canadas
Sixth and Seventh Reports on CEDAW
BC Coalition of People with
Disabilities
The BC Coalition of People with Disabilities is a provincial, cross-disability
advocacy organization. Our mandate is to raise public and political awareness
of issues that concern us.
- includes links to : Current Issues and Campaigns - Ongoing Programs and Publications
- Advocacy Access Program - Wellness and Disability Initiative - Publications
Catalogue - AIDS & Disability Action Program - Transition Magazine - Individualized
Funding Project - Alternatives to Restraints - CARMA Project
Selected site content:
Disability
Community Stunned by Provincial Cuts to Crucial Medical Goods and Services
March 5, 2010
VANCOUVER People with disabilities who are already struggling to manage
on provincial disability benefits have been told by the Province it will no
longer pay for some of the medically essential items and services they depend
on. Beginning April 1st, the Province will no longer fund a range of health
items including pre-made foot orthotics, diabetic glucometers and a bottled
water supplement of $20 a month for people with conditions such as HIV/AIDS.
[NOTE: After clicking the link above, you'll have to scroll to the bottom of
the page to read the entire news release. The first part of the page is a more
detailed list of the cuts.]
Source:
BC Coalition of People with Disabilities
For over 30 years, the BC Coalition of People with Disabilities (BCCPD) has
been a provincial, cross-disability voice in British Columbia. Our mission is
to raise awareness around issues that affect the lives of people who live with
a disability.
Related link:
Employment
and Assistance for Persons with Disabilities Regulation
- amendments made under BC Regulation 67/2010 appear in red text.
Help
Sheets online (PDF files, unless otherwise noted)
Checklist to help you fill out your PWD Application - The Persons with Disabilities
Benefit Application - Checklist for the Persons with Disabilities (PWD) Benefit
- Appealing denial of the PWD benefit: The Reconsideration - Appealing denial
of the PWD benefit: The Appeal Tribunal - Persons with Persistent and Multiple
Barriers (PPMB) to Employment - Enhanced medical coverage - Trusts for Persons
with Disabilities (PWD) - Employment and People with Disabilities - Employment,
Education and Training Supplements for People with Disabilities - Appealing
Denial of the PPMB Benefit: The Reconsideration Request - Appealing Denial of
the PPMB Benefit: The Appeal Tribunal - Income Assistance Application Process
for People with Disabilities - Rate Amounts for PWD and PPMB Benefits
People
who must re-apply for disability benefits
Former beneficiaries
of Disability Benefits ("DB II" Benefits) must complete the designation
review form.
Changes to Income Assistance:
Important Updates - find out here why people with disabilities are required
to re-apply for financial assistance.
October
3, 2002
- Analysis
of Changes to Disability Benefits Legislation
- Update
on changes to Income Assistance programs in BC
- Update
on the new definition of disability and application form for Disability Benefits
-
Disability Benefits
level one will be eliminated as of October 1,2002
Community
Alert : Update on the new definition and application form for disability benefits
September
19, 2002
"...individuals who currently have disability status will
be reassessed under the new criteria of the definition of disability..."
BC
Coalition of People with Disabilities responds to Ministers Coell and Cheema
April 18 and April 24, 2002
"Minister of Human
Resources Murray Coell has written a letter to BC's news editors suggesting that
disability advocates have made incorrect statements about the changes to disability
benefits legislation. The Minister has also co-authored a letter with Minister
of State for Mental Health Gulzar Cheema in which they say that incorrect rumours
are circulating in the disability community about the impact of the changes on
people with mental health disabilities. "
Links to the original
letters by the Ministers on the Government website (this link was dead on
December 28/02, so I've removed the URL... )
Analysis
of Changes to Disability Benefits Legislation
Proposed
New Act means thousands of British Columbians with Disabilities will lose their
Benefits
April 15th 2002
"The practical ramifications
of these changes are devastating. They will set the disability community back
20 years.
BC
Coalition of Women's Centres
"The mission of the BC Coalition
of Women's Centres is to seek an end to the violence, poverty and other human
rights abuses experienced by women in British Columbia, by supporting and promoting
both independent and coordinated social change action among women's centres and
other equity-seeking organizations."
- incl. links to :
Action!
[Grade the BC Government on Prevention of Violence Against Women | Get the FAMOUS
Women's Bucks | Operation: Application | contact MLAs | links]
Archives
IMPACT of BC Cuts on Women | Silent protest of BC women's minister | Prevention
of Violence Report Card for BC Gov't | Alert to UN: BC's Human Rights violations]
Info
[contact information | BCCWC mission and values | find a women's centre in
your community]
Media
.....................................
On
March 31, 2004, the provincial government eliminated 100 percent of the funding
to all womens centres in B.C.
.....................................
Making
JAM 2004 - Stop the Death of BC's Women's Centres!
March 8, 2004
International
Women's Day
"On March 31, 2004, BC Liberal Government will eliminate
100% of operational funding for all 37 of BC's Women's Centres. More than half
will be forced to close, and many more will have to struggle to keep providing
services to women."
Call your MLA - and show your support for BC's Women's
Centres!
JAM the phone and fax lines. JAM up the E-mail inboxes. JAM between
11 am to 3 pm on March 8 to kick off the JAM Campaign
Send a Eulogy for BC's
Women's Centres to Premier Campbell and Your MLA!
MLA Contact Info
More...
Prevention
of Violence Against Women:
Report Card for the Government of British Columbia
April 2002
- incl. links to: Report Card Highlights -Report Card
Details - Grade the Government's Record - Media Release
More
sleight-of-hand from BC Liberal Government:
Minister Lynn Stephens follows
in footsteps of Premier Vander Zalm
News Release
February 12,
2003
"The BC Coalition of Womens Centres demands that Child Care
subsidies and grants be restored to pre-April 2002 levels."
Related
Link: |
Child
care cuts a huge blow to womens equality in BC:
Accumulated
cuts will devastate many daycares
November
7, 2002
"Cuts to BCs Contribution and
Compensation Staff Incentive Program, as reported recently in the media, are only
the tip of the iceberg when it comes to cuts affecting childcare in British Columbia.
The accumulation of these cuts will be a huge blow
to women in BC, setting the womens equality clock back as far as forty years.
Cuts will also devastate many daycares in BC, especially those run by small, non-profit
organizations, which must seek funding from as many as five different BC Ministries
in order to keep their doors open."
IMPACT
of BC Government Cutbacks on Women
Updated July 9, 2002
"Elimination
of Women's Rights = Violence Against Women and Children | Cuts to Income = Increased
Poverty | Cuts to Health = Increased Risk | Cuts to Housing = Homelessness | Elimination
of Justice = Violation of Human Rights | Elimination of Right to Education and
Training"
Prevention
of Violence Against Women:
Report Card for the Government of British Columbia
April 2002
- incl. links to: Report Card Highlights -Report Card
Details - Grade the Government's Record - Media Release
BC
Community Living Coalition
"The Community Living Coalition
is an open and inclusive gathering of people and organizations dedicated to empowering
individuals and families to make decisions about how they lead their lives in
the community."
Founding Organizations:
Individualized
Funding Families Coalition
BC
Association for Community Living
Vision
for Community Living
Visit these sites to find
out the effects of BC Government cuts to community living programs for people
with disabilities in British Columbia.
BC Council for Families
The BC Council for Families
works to strengthen, encourage and support families through information, education,
research and advocacy.
Site
map
The BC Courthouse Library
Society
The B.C. Courthouse Library Society is a non-profit organization providing access
to legal information resources and information services to members of the legal
community and the public of British Columbia.
BC Federation of Labour
(BCFL)
"...where you can learn
about: workers' rights, labour news and policies, the campaigns of BC's unions,
and more."
The BC Federation of Labour represents 450,000 members
of affiliated unions in more than 1,100 locals, working in every aspect of the
BC economy.
Selected reports:
From
the
BC Federation of Labour:
From
best to last--young workers call frozen minimum
wage an embarrassment as BC
set to claim last place
August
31, 2009
Victoria-Tomorrow British Columbia will become the lowest minimum
wage province in all of Canada as New Brunswick raises its minimum wage to $8.25.
A group of young workers gathered in front of the provincial legislature called
BC's minimum wage freeze an embarrassment.
Source:
British
Columbia
Federation of Labour
---
Related article:
B.C.
about to have lowest minimum wage in Canada
August
31, 2009
VICTORIA The B.C. Federation of Labour is painting British
Columbia as an embarrassment as the province is on the eve of having the lowest
minimum wage in Canada. The federation said when New Brunswick raises its minimum
wage to $8.25, B.C. will join Prince Edward Island as the only province in Canada
still holding to an $8 minimum.
Source:
Canada.com
---
Related
links from the
Labour
Program, Human Resources and Social Development Canada:
Current
And Forthcoming Minimum Hourly Wage Rates For Adult Workers in Canada
(this
is the best resource for info on current and upcoming minimum wage levels)
Minimum
Hourly Wages for Canadian Adult Workers since 1965
NOTE: this information
is broken up into five files - one for each decade.
The link takes you to
the latest decade (2005 to 2014); click the date links at the top of the page
for pages for earlier decades.
Source:
Minimum
Wage Database
[ Employment
Standards Legislation in Canada ]
[ Labour
Program, Human Resources and Social Development Canada ]
- Go to the Minimum Wage /Living Wage Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/minwage.htm
---
Shameless
self-promotion of "new era" for women another waste of taxpayer money
February
25, 2004
Source:
BC Government and Service
Employees' Union
NOTE: for links to more info about the government pamphlet
entitled A
New Era for Women (PDF file), go to the Canadian Social Research Links
Non-Governmental Sites in British Columbia (C-W) page
Note:
For more links to BC Budget 2004 (February 17, 2004) information and NGO analysis
of that BC Budget,
see also the British Columbia NGO
Links (C-W) page of this site
A
Path to Poverty: A Review of Child and Family Poverty Conditions in British Columbia
(PDF file - 46K, 14 pages)
Report prepared for B.C. Federation of Labour
By
Michael Goldberg and Andrea Long
Social Planning and Research Council of BC
August
2003
"By making it more difficult for the working poor to earn a decent
wage, further reducing the value of welfare benefits, and increasing the cost
of needed services like childcare and healthcare, poor families have little to
look forward to from the Liberals New Era."
Related
Link:
Social Planning
and Research Council (SPARC) of British Columbia
BC Government and Service Employees Union (BCGEU)
Fund
all womens services, BCGEU tells womens services minister
News
Release
February 10, 2004
"The B.C. Government and Service Employees
Union (BCGEU) reacted angrily today to public comments by Ida Chong, minister
of state for womens services, that funding for womens centres will
instead go to counselling and shelters because they directly help women
and children. (...) On March 31, 2004, the provincial
government will eliminate 100 percent of the funding to all womens centres
in B.C. [emphasis added]. This amounts to about $47,000 a year for
each of the 37 womens centres, or a total of $1.7 million. The cost translates
into just over $5 per woman helped by a womens centre, or 91 cents for every
woman and girl in the province, according to the B.C. Coalition of Womens
Centres."
The BC Coalition of Women's Centres is asking for the support of British Columbians in calling on Ida Chong and the BC Liberals to continue funding the 37 Women's Centres in this province. To join the fight please go to www.bcwomen.cjb.net or www.SaveWomensCentres.ca
BC Human Rights
Coalition
The B.C. Human Rights Coalition is a charitable
non-profit community based organization that seeks to promote and strengthen human
rights throughout B.C. and Canada.
Information - incl. links to : Pamphlets and Manuals - Newsletters - Information Bulletins and Notices - Position Papers - Media Materials - Annual Reports
BC
Human Rights Defenders
"The BC Human Rights Defenders is a non-profit
organization dedicated to protecting and promoting the advancement of human rights
provincially, nationally and internationally. (...) The Defenders have been active
since May 2002, when the BC Liberal government eliminated the BC Human Rights
Commission, making BC the first province without a government agency to advocate
and promote respect for human rights in British Columbia. The new system created
by the Liberals make it more difficult for people who are disadvantaged by poverty,
disability, race, ancestry, gender, family status, sexual orientation, and religion,
to access justice through an open and supportive human rights system."
Route
64 - Another Detour on the Road to Equality:
An Examination of the Current
Human Rights System in British Columbia
March 2006
The BC Human
Rights Defenders is pleased to make available the report from the International
and Human Rights Law Association of the University of Victoria.
Complete report:
Route
64 - Another Detour on the Road to Equality:
An Examination of the Current
Human Rights System in British Columbia(PDF file - 481K, 78 pages)
March
2006
"On March 31, 2003, Bill 64, the Human Rights Code Amendment Act,
2002, was brought into force. The bill enacted sweeping amendments to British
Columbias Human Rights Code and abolished the B.C. Human Rights Commission,
the body formerly responsible for administering the Code through a variety of
functions including research, education, monitoring, investigation and dispute
resolution."
Backgrounder (PDF file - 47K, 2 pages)
This
site contains:
- information about legal aid in BC,
- information about
the Legal Services Society (LSS) and its services, including LawLINE (toll-free
hotline for people in BC that provides information, referrals and legal advice)
Other websites maintained by the Legal Services Society:
Family
Law in British Columbia
"This site contains:
- self-help materials
to help you with your legal problem
- links to people and places where you
can get more legal help or information
- general information about family
law."
LawLINK
-
incl. links to info about the following areas of law in BC : Aboriginal - Consumer
and Debt - Crime - Family - Housing - Immigration and Refugee - Legal Help - Pensions
and Benefits - Welfare - Wills and Trusts - Work
NOTE: the Welfare
section includes information about : Appeals, Applying for Welfare, Disability
Benefits, Health Benefits, Problems with Welfare
Electronic
Law Library
- detailed legal information, including laws, statutes,
court rules and decisions, and parliamentary proceedings
BC
Supreme Court Self-Help Information Centre website
- information about
the court system and court procedures
- information about the law and alternatives
to court
- links to legal advice services
ELAN
- Electronic Legal Aid Newsletter
Elan is an electronic newsletter
of the Legal Services Society e-mailed once a month to community stakeholders
who choose to receive this service.
The first issue, dated July 2005, inlcudes
the following content:
- Family Duty Counsel Services
Now in Supreme Courts - LSS Launches Multilingual Call
Centre/LawLINE Scripts - Outreach Services for Your Organization
- Hot off the Press from LSS - Bookmark
These Sites
BC Liberals Suck (blog)
July 24, 2008
The
Privatization of Welfare in BC
There are many in the Province who
are well aware that the BC Liberals have been in the process of privatizing the
income assistance system over the past 7 years in office. It has often been incremental
and under the radar of most people. When the citizens of BC look back in years
to come to see where things went so horribly wrong, they will not have too hard
a time figuring it out. They need solely to look at Gordon Campbell and his merry
band of scalawags, pickpockets and scoundrels to see how we lost it all and why
we are suffering so, some of us more than others.
The latest scandal in the making the impending privatization of the welfare system (aka income assistance). Interesting to note that the BC government has NOT announced their new $17.9 million contract with Haley Ltd. a multi-national company that specializes in information technology that will upgrade and introduce a new integrated case management system to modernize the social welfare system. In case you werent sure, in the parlance of globalization, modernize is synonymous with privatize.
Related link:
British
Columbia Taps Haley and Oracle to Modernize the Province's Social Welfare System
Significant
North American Social Services Implementation of Oracle's Siebel Public Sector
Client Relationship
Management Suite of Products Will Use Haley Office Rules
and Determinations Engine for Eligibility Processing and Benefits Delivery
WASHINGTON,
July 09, 2008
Haley Limited today announced its participation with Oracle
in a $17.9 million (Canadian) contract for the first phase of a new integrated
case management system that will upgrade and modernize the social welfare system
for the Canadian province of British Columbia.
Source:
MarketWatch
Rollback
: Timeline for a new era of cuts and broken promises
- comprehensive
chronological list of the Campbell government's accomplishments so far - the NDP
perspective...
BCPolitics.ca
"BC
Politics.ca provides independent perspectives on the events, people and issues
that make up British Columbia's zany political life. Unlike mainstream media which
often appears captivated by the interests of big business or blatant sensationalism,
it is our aspiration that BCPOLITICS.ca will provide an elevated, alternate forum
for discussion and commentary on the news and political issues that shape our
lives and communities in British Columbia."
BC Poverty Reduction Coalition
http://bcpovertyreduction.ca/
We are a coalition that includes community and non-profit groups, faith groups,
health organizations, First Nations and Aboriginal organizations, businesses,
labour organizations, and social policy groups. We have come together around
a campaign aimed at seeing the introduction of a bold and comprehensive poverty
reduction plan from the government of British Columbia that would include
legislated targets and timelines to significantly reduce poverty and homelessness.
|
BC
Progress Board
"The BC Progress Board, established by the Premier
in July 2001, is an independent panel of 15 senior business executives and academic
leaders Chaired by David Black, President of Black Press Ltd. Tim McEwan serves
as the Board's Executive Director. The BC Progress Board is an independent panel
with two primary objectives: 1) To identify issues of importance to the future
economic prosperity of British Columbia (...), and 2) To provide advice on whether
the province is achieving its goal of improving British Columbia's competitive
position by establishing an ongoing means to measure and benchmark British Columbia's
economic progress over time and relative to other jurisdictions."
- incl.
links to: Home - About The Board - Press Releases - Calendar - Benchmarks - Advisory
Work - Ideas And Advice - Resources - Contact Us
BC Public Interest Advocacy Centre - Human and equality rights
Ombudsman
report reveals underlying problems in welfare ministry (PDF file -
55K, 1 page)
News Release
March 28, 2006
(Vancouver) Fifteen anti-poverty
groups across BC are welcoming the Ombudsmans report, released today, into
complaints about unfairness at the BC Ministry of Employment and Income Assistance.
As a result of the Ombudsmans investigation, the Ministry has been making
sweeping changes to policies and procedures, including to the application process
and three week work search, reconsideration and appeal rights, and Ministry home
visits.
Source:
British
Columbia Public Interest Advocacy Centre (BCPIAC)
Related Link:
Ombudsman
Investigation of the Public Interest Advocacy Centres
Complaints about
the Ministry of Employment and Income Assistance(PDF file - 121K,
22 pages)
March 2006
Source:
BC
Ombudsman
Anti-poverty
groups across BC complain to Ombudsman
about unfairness at Ministry of Human
Resources
News Release
February 2, 2005
"Vancouver,
BC - The BC Public Interest Advocacy Centre, on behalf of a coalition of 15 organizations
from communities across BC, has filed a systemic complaint with the Ombudsman
about the Ministry of Human Resources because of concerns about unfair practices
experienced by poor people who need assistance from the Ministry."
Welfare
recipients preparing constitutional challenge to time limit seek clarification
about new exemption
News Release
February 13, 2004
"Vancouver
- Lawyers with the BC Public Interest Advocacy Centre (BCPIAC) wrote to Human
Resources Minister Stan Hagen and Attorney General Geoff Plant on February 12,
2004 to ask whether their clients have been exempted from the provincial governments
24-month time limit on social assistance. BCPIAC, in association with the Poverty
and Human Rights Project, has been preparing a constitutional challenge to the
time limit. BCPIAC represents several community groups and four individual clients
who stand to be affected by the time limit.
Source:
BC
Public Interest Advocacy Centre
Related links - see the Canadian Social
Research Links BC
Welfare Time Limits
Caring for All
Canadians : Brief to the Standing Committee on Finance
Pre-Budget Consultation
Posted
September 11, 2003
"This autumn the BC Public Interest
Advocacy Centre (PIAC) will be urging the federal government to consider poor
Canadians when it drafts Canadas next budget. On behalf of seven organizations,
the PIACs articled student Jess Hadley will be asking the government to
earmark transfer payments for social assistance, affordable housing, and legal
aid. She will also ask Parliament to implement a national drug insurance scheme,
and to make the Disability Tax Credit program fairer.
Read
the press release (September 9, 2003)
Complete
document (PDF file - 143K, 9 pages)
Poverty: A Student Learning Resource A co-operative initiative of End Legislated Poverty and the B.C. Teachers' Federation.
BC Work-Life Summit
2003 - Linking Vision With Reality
November 19, 2003
Vancouver
"The
B.C. economy has been facing enormous challenges including: increasing global
competition for scarce resources, massive forest fires that have displaced families
and hurt businesses, recent threats from SARS, and myriad business concerns. In
this complex environment, work-life issues are of vital concern to corporate CEOs,
government, industry, and labour leaders. Recognizing that business only
succeeds when people succeed, we are addressing work-life issues from both
research and practice-based perspectives. (...) Discussion of new research findings
and practical applications in the business world will be the main agenda."
Program
(PDF file - 186K, 8 pages)
Successful
Summit Inspires BC
November 21, 2003
"BC organizations
representing a cross-section of the public, private and not-for-profit sectors
were WOW'd by an exceptional presentation by Dr. Linda Duxbury at the first ever,
BC Work-Life Summit held at the Hyatt Regency in Vancouver on November 19, 2003.
Dr. Duxbury focused on how British Columbia is doing in terms of work-life balance
as compared to the Prairies, Ontario, Quebec and the Maritimes."
http://www.westwaves.ca/
Where
to Work in Canada?
An Examination of Regional Differences in Work-Life Practices
Linda
Duxbury, Chris Higgins
November 2003
Executive
Summary (PDF file - 69K, 10 pages)
Cover,
Table of Contents and Preface (PDF file - 344K, 10 pages)
Complete
report* (PDF file - 495K, 72 pages)
[*except
for the cover, table of contents and preface]
NOTE: For links to more work-life balance content, go to the Canadian Social Research Links Work-Life Balance page
Caledon Institute of Social Policy
A
New Era in British Columbia: A Profile of Budget Cuts Across Social Programs
(PDF file - 36K, 10 pages)
Caledon Institute of Social Policy
July 2002
"This paper is a summary of the wide range of reductions and cuts the
BC Liberals have introduced to social programs over the past year. It documents
changes in the areas of health care, education, income security, justice, and
services for children, women and persons with disabilities."
Resources (excerpt):
www.gov.bc.ca for Budget 2002 and Ministry
Service Plans
www.povnet.org for updates on general cuts
across sector sand links to other sites
www.policyalternatives.ca/bc
for general analysis and commentary
www.tenants.bc.ca for information on
Residential Tenancy Act
www.bccpd.bc.ca for information on cuts
to programs serving people with disabilities
www.bctf.bc.ca for information regarding
K-12 education changes and cuts
www.cfs-fcee.ca for information regarding
postsecondary education changes and cuts
www.sparc.bc.ca for information and commentary
regarding income assistance
www.firstcallbc.org for information
regarding changes and cuts to children's programs
www.vcn.bc.ca for information regarding
community living changes and cuts
www.vsw.ca for information regarding women's
programs
www.vcn.bc.ca/srsnetbc for information
regarding seniors' programs
|
|
Many
problems found with welfare law
(Cutting off welfare and disability payments
to people who have outstanding criminal warrants)
June 1, 2010
The provincial government's plan to refuse welfare and disability payments to
people who have outstanding criminal warrants has one major flaw: It relies
on the honesty of those charged with crimes to tell social service workers that
they have outstanding warrants. It's not the only problem with this new law
that comes into affect today. This new regulation is punitive, pointless and
counterproductive. It punishes people who may be charged but never convicted
of a crime. It's counterproductive because it is likely it will force some people
to steal just to survive, if they are honest enough to admit that they have
an outstanding warrant and then have their request for welfare denied.
Related BC Government link:
Outstanding
Warrants (PDF - 34K, 3 pages)
March 19, 2010
Information Factsheet
Effective June 1, 2010, changes to the BC Employment and Assistance Program
will restrict eligibility for income assistance or disability assistance for
persons who have outstanding arrest warrants for indictable offences in BC or
other provinces, as well as arrest warrants under the Immigration and Refugee
Protection Act (Canada).
Source:
Ministry of Housing and Social Development
Related video:
Welfare
crackdown (video, 1:25 )
Pivot Legal Society's John Richardson reacts to the B.C. government suing hundreds
of welfare recipients to try to recover overpayments
[ NOTE: After you've viewed the above video, check the right-hand column next
to the video screen for more poverty-related videos from BC. ]
Source:
MSN Canada
Canada
West Foundation survey respondents rate homelessness as high priority
News
Release
May 25, 2007
CALGARY -- The Canada West Foundation today released
a public opinion survey which shows that the majority of urbanites in western
Canada and Toronto rate reducing homelessness as a high priority. The most popular
ways to address homelessness, according to the survey's respondents, are increased
affordable housing and increased programs and services for homeless people rather
than more shelter beds.
Complete study:
LOOKING
WEST 2007
Segment 4: Urban Social Challenges (PDF file - 1.12MB,
12 pages)
May 2007
Related link:
Looking West - links to all five segments of Looking West 2007 and to earlier editions (back to 2001)
Source:
Canada
West Foundation
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Leading
the Way: The BC/Alberta economy
December 2006
In 2004 and 2005,
BC and Alberta were the top two provinces in terms of economic growth. This strong
performance has been due in large part to conditions in natural resource markets,
notably high commodity prices and strong foreign demand. A by-product of this
prosperity is a level of employment not witnessed in many years. Sustained job
growth and ample economic opportunities have enticed people to move to BC and
Alberta from other parts of the country, as evidenced by recent trends in interprovincial
migration.
Complete report (PDF file - 1.2MB, 10 pages)
Source:
Canada
West Foundation
Related link:
British
Columbia Business Council
Counterpoint:
The
Family Benefit Packages in Alberta and BC Do Not Measure Up
(PDF file - 60K, 2 pages)
News Release
March 7, 2007
Author Paul Kershaw
(University of British Columbia) examines overall family benefits packages in
Alberta and BC for different types of families and then compares them with those
of other industrialized countries. His findings show that Alberta and BC rank
low by international standards in terms of their combined investment in family
benefits. The study serves as a reminder that promoting gender equity, raising
healthy children and supporting parents in the quest to balance work and family
requires more than rhetoric, it requires real investment.
Summary
(PDF file - 48K, 1 page)
Policy
Brief (PDF file - 112 K, 2 pages)
Complete
study (PDF file - 625K, 44 pages)
Source:
Institute
for Research on Public Policy
Canadian Association of Food Banks
Food
bank use by B.C. children up 42 per cent
November
11, 2004
"VICTORIA A national report on the use of food banks by
children in Canada has put British Columbia on its trend watch. The B.C. Liberal
government said it's concerned about the results which found 41.7 per cent more
children needed emergency food in B.C. in 2004 over 2003 - some 8,000 more kids.
Human Resources Minister Susan Brice, however, said the conclusions in the Canadian
Association of Food Banks' annual report reflect a North American problem."
Source:
CTV
Related Links:
HungerCount 2004
News Release (Winnipeg,
October 15, 2004)
Complete report
(PDF file - 347K, 32 pages)
Source:
Research
Studies - incl. links to hunger counts for 2004 and earlier years (back
to 1997
|
|
CBC British
Columbia
[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation]
British
Columbia coalition launches legal aid commission
June 28, 2010
Concerns over cuts to legal aid services in B.C. have prompted a coalition of
justice groups to launch a public examination of the system. The Public Commission
on Legal Aid will visit 10 B.C. communities this fall to gather input from British
Columbians in order to make recommendations to the provincial government. The
commission is a joint project of several groups, including the Law Society of
B.C., the Vancouver Bar Association and the Canadian Bar Association's B.C.
branch.
Source:
CBC British Columbia
The Public Commission on Legal Aid has been established
and is supported by the following six funding partners:
* Canadian Bar Association - BC
Branch
* Law Society of British Columbia
* Law Foundation of British Columbia
* British Columbia Crown
Counsel Association
* Vancouver Bar Association
* Victoria Bar Association
Related links:
June 24, 2010
The
New Public Commission on Legal Aid Wants to Hear From You
A
timeline of cuts to BC legal aid (from 2002 to April 2010)
Posted January 25, 2010
Source:
PovNet.org
---
Protest
shuts down Olympic Village condo sale
May 15, 2010
Protesters crashed an open house at Vancouver's Olympic Village on Saturday,
forcing police to lock the area down. Brandishing signs and chanting, dozens
of people were there to protest what they say is a lack of social housing at
the development. (...) About 475 units at the $1.1-billion waterfront development
in False Creek went on the market Saturday. Another 260 were sold during pre-sales
in 2007. About 250 rental units will be reserved for civic workers and low-income
residents. The project has been mired in controversy. Last month, the city voted
to halve the amount of social housing it had promised to provide in the Olympic
Village development. The project also had to be rescued by the City of Vancouver
with loan guarantees in order to get it ready for the Olympic Games in February.
Cut
Olympic Village social housing: report
April 20, 2010
(...) "It's unfortunate that we couldn't have more social housing on the
site. The financial realities are forcing us to scale back somewhat," Vancouver
Mayor Gregor Roberston told reporters.
---
From the
Vancouver Media Co-Op:
False
Promises on False Creek
Mayor hires hundred more police in response to growing homeless population;
hands promised social housing units at Olympic Village over to police
May 11, 2010
By Nathan Crompton
Mayor Gregor Robertsons recent homeless count shows a 12% increase in
homelessness since 2008, the year of his election to office. While Gregor ran
on a platform to end homelessness, he and the Vision caucus have responded to
this increase with the unaccompanied strategy of millions of dollars for increased
policing. Now, as of April 20, the vast majority of the promised low-income
units in the Olympic Village are being handed over to the police and other essential
City workers.
[TIP : If you scroll to the bottom of the above article, you'll find 10 links
to related information.]
Canadian Council on Social Development
May
2009
The
Best Place on Earth? Contemporary and Historical Perspectives
on Poverty Reduction
Policies and Programs in British Columbia (PDF - 410K, 38 pages)
By
Scott Graham, Jill Atkey, Crystal Reeves, and Michael Goldberg
Source:
Poverty
Reduction Policies and Programs
Social Development Report Series, 2009
[
Canadian Council on Social Development ]
Also from CCSD :
Poverty
Reduction Policies and Programs in Canada (PDF - 341K, 29 pages)
By
David I. Hay, Information Partnership
Related links ===> Go to the Anti-poverty Strategies and Campaigns page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/antipoverty.htm
Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives - British Columbia Office
Publications - links to over 300 reports from the CCPA-BC Office
Selected reports from BC-CCPA:
BCs
legal aid system is broken
Thousands lack access to justice, leading to high economic and social costs
News Release
November 9, 2010
(Vancouver) Its time for a complete overhaul of BCs legal aid system,
according to a new report from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives and
West Coast LEAF (Womens Legal Education and Action Fund). (...) Rights-Based
Legal Aid: Rebuilding BCs Broken System examines the serious deterioration
of legal aid services over the past 15 years, and particularly since deep cuts
began in 2002.
Complete report:
Rights-Based
Legal Aid:
Rebuilding BCs Broken System (PDF - 1.4MB, 28 pages)
(...) We propose that instead of trying to fix our damaged legal aid system,
we build a new, rights-based system that would ensure legal representation for
low income people, improve the justice system for all British Columbians, and
reduce social and economic costs. (Excerpt from page 5)
---
Every
bite counts: Government must set
menu for BC's food system in face of climate change
News Release
November 2, 2010
(Vancouver) A new report is calling on the BC government to take action to make
BCs food system work better for farmers, eliminate hunger, shift away
from imported products, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The report, Every
Bite Counts: Climate Justice and BCs Food System, released today by the
Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA), calls for a rethink of BC's
food system in light of climate change. The report acknowledges grassroots efforts
to move to local, sustainable agriculture have found support at the local government
level. Largely missing, it says, are actions by the provincial government to
accelerate change.
Complete report:
Every
Bite Counts: Climate Justice and BCs Food System (PDF - 1.9MB,
39 pages)
November 2010
By Marc Lee, Herb Barbolet, Tegan Adams and Matt Thomson
"(...) Thinking about climate justice and food in BC reveals tremendous
potential to develop win-win arrangements that cascade across health, education,
nutrition, poverty and the environment." (Conclusion, page 35)
Report Highlights (PDF - 1.8MB, 8 pages)
---
Social
housing reality check:
Ministrys own service plans show few net new units since 2006
News Release
September 13, 2010
(Vancouver) A new report shows that despite some positive recent developments
on rental assistance and homelessness, BCs progress in building new social
housing units has been minimal. Unpacking the Housing Numbers: How Much New
Social Housing is BC Building? is being released today by the Canadian Centre
for Policy Alternatives and Social Planning and Research Council of BC. The
authors conducted a detailed examination of BC Housings service plans
for 2006 to 2011. (...) In fact, the governments own data indicate an
overall net increase of only 280 new housing units over the past five years,
a sobering and concerning finding.
Complete report:
Unpacking
the Housing Numbers:
How Much New Social Housing is BC Building? (PDF File, 559K, 12
pages)
---
Meaningful
Training Programs for BC Welfare Recipients with Multiple Barriers
Help First, Not Work First (PDF - 625K, 28
pages)
By Shauna Butterwick
July 26, 2010
Welfare "reform" in BC has made it more difficult to qualify for welfare,
and many of those who have managed to remain on income assistance have multiple
barriers to employment, including addiction, mental and physical health problems,
learning disabilities, lack of English skills, unstable housing and homelessness.
These recipients have not been well served by the reformed system,
particularly employment training programs. This study examined the experiences
of welfare recipients participating in two types of pre-employment programs:
the BC Employment Program (BCEP) and the Community Assistance Program (CAP).
The study makes recommendations for providing more effective and relevant services
for people with multiple barriers.
---
2010
living wage shows the real costs
of raising a family in Metro Vancouver
News Release
May 4, 2010
Vancouver --- $18.17 is the 2010 family living wage, according to a report released
today that calculates an hourly wage based on the real costs of raising a family
in Vancouver. Working for a Living Wage 2010: Making Paid Work Meet Basic
Family Needs in Metro Vancouver updates the first Metro Vancouver calculation
published in 2008, and was released by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives
(CCPA), First Call: BC Child and Youth Advocacy Coalition, and the Metro Vancouver
Living Wage for Families Campaign.
Working
for a Living Wage 2010
Making Paid Work Meet Basic Family Needs in Metro Vancouver (PDF
- 419K, 8 pages)
by Tim Richards, Marcy Cohen, Seth Klein
May 2010
Related links:
* Working
for a Living Wage 2008 (PDF - 2.9MB, 52 pages)
(Original complete report)
September 2008
---
A
Closer Look at Low Wages in BC (PDF - 269K,
9 pages)
February 2010
By Steve Kerstetter for the
Canadian
Centre for Policy Alternatives
Workers in British Columbia earned an average of $21.46 an hour in 2008, according
to the latest annual wage data published by Statistics Canada. This was good
news for workers at the average wage or better, and well above the minimum wage
of $8. The average wage has gone up 25 per cent over the past decade (pre-inflation
adjustment). However, a closer look at the situation of workers in BC reveals
some troubling facts about wages and hours of work, and the workers who are
most likely to have low wages and/or insufficient hours. Hundreds of thousands
of workers are still at wage levels that either trap them in poverty or put
them at high risk of falling into poverty.
---
A
Living Wage for Families
To get involved or to become a Living Wage employer,
you can start by visiting this website, which is the home page of the Metro
Vancouver Living Wage for Families Campaign
- incl. links to :
* Home * What is a Living Wage? * Get Involved * Learn
More * Living Wage Employers * About Us
Latest News:
Sign
up and endorse the Living Wage For Families Campaign (PDF - 321K,
1 page)
July 2009
Living Wage Campaign launched in Ottawa
June 2009
Related
links from the BC Office of the
Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives:
Living
wage shows real cost of raising a family
Would lift thousands out of poverty,
share prosperity of BC’s economy
Press Release
September
25, 2008
(Vancouver) A new study calls on major public and private sector
employers to pay a living wage that would lift low-income families out of poverty
and severe financial stress.
Working
for a Living Wage:
Ensuring Paid Work Meets Basic Family Needs in Vancouver
and Victoria - 2008
Summary
(PDF file - , 753K, 8 pages)
Complete
report (PDF - 2.9MB, 52 pages)
Living
Wage Calculation Spreadsheet (Excel spreadsheet - 56 K)
September
2008
Living
Wage Calculation Guide (pdf - 738k, 24 PAGES)
- September 2008
Note: While this guide is most appropriate for BC communities, its methodology
should be fairly easily transferable to other Canadian communities."
Calculating
the Living Wage in six stages:
* Family Expenses * Government Transfers
* Government Deductions and Taxes * Determining the Living Wage Amount * BC Child
Care Subsidy * Verifying the Calculations
---
BC
Commentary:
A Review of Provincial Social and Economic Trends
(PDF - 644K, pages)
Spring 2009, Volume 12, Number 2
April 21, 2009
Inside
this pre-election special edition:
BCs Growing Gap
Vanilla, No
Sprinkles: A Review of BC Budget 2009
A Closer Look at Single Transferable
Vote
* An STV Primer
* The Case for STV
* The Case Against STV
* Reflections on the Citizens Assembly
* STV is Worth Trying
* The
Ghost of Elections Past: STV in the 1952 and 1953 BC Elections
Source:
CCPA
BC Office Publications
[ CCPA
British Columbia Office ]
[ Canadian
Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA)]
Related links found in the above BC Commentary:
No
to BC-STV:
www.nostv.org
British
Columbians for STV:
www.stv.ca
Citizens
Assembly on Electoral Reform:
www.citizensassembly.bc.ca/public
The
Time is Now
A Poverty Reduction Plan for BC (video slideshow)
by
Goh Iromoto, Shannon Daub & Seth Klein
March 27, 2009
Poverty
Amid Plenty:
A Slideshow About Welfare in BC (video slideshow)
by
Goh Iromoto, Shannon Daub & Seth Klein
March 27, 2009
BC
Budget 2009: Vanilla, No Sprinkles
February 17, 2009
By Marc Lee
Faced
with a nasty recession at its doorstep, the BC budget is uninspiring and underwhelming
in its ambition. Overall there is little that actively plans for a recession,
preferring instead a steady-as-she-goes budget, perhaps aimed at cultivating the
image of responsible economic managers in a time of crisis. There are no tax cuts
or drastic spending cuts, thankfully, but nor is there any short-term assistance
to the most vulnerable, nor any meaningful investments towards a long-term strategic
vision.
Source:
The Lead-Up
BC
Election Commentary from the CCPA
---
NOTE:More
BC Budget 2009 information (budget papers, analysis, etc.):
http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/budgets.htm#bc
(from
the Canadian Social Research Links Budgets 2009-2010 Links page)
---
A
Poverty Reduction Plan for BC "(...) Five provinces in Canada have either adopted poverty-reduction plans, or are in the process of developing them. With the highest poverty rates in Canada, now is the time for BC to set clear goals, with concrete targets and a system of transparency. That way, the public can measure the results, even when the government changes hands." Related links: Poverty
reduction commitment needed from all BC political parties BC
Poverty Poll Results: British Columbians Want Action (PDF - 63K, 1
page) Source: Related link: Premier
says B.C. making progress but still has 'long way to go' on helping children in
need |
Ground-breaking
study follows BC welfare recipients for two years
Reveals
welfare rules and rates cause disturbing harm to most vulnerable
News
Release
April 22, 2008
Vancouver - A ground-breaking study that for two
years followed British Columbians living on welfare paints a disturbing picture
of how people are forced to make ends meet under new welfare rules and low rates.
(...) Living on Welfare in BC: Experiences of Longer-Term Expected to Work
Recipients followed 62 people from Vancouver, Victoria and Kelowna.
(co-published
by the CCPABC office and Raise the
Rates)
Living on Welfare
in BC:
Experiences of Longer-Term Expected to Work Recipients
April
2008
By Seth Klein and Jane Pulkingham
With Sylvia Parusel, Kathryn Plancke,
Jewelles Smith, Dixon Sookraj, Thi Vu, Bruce Wallace and Jane Worton
"(...)
"Only a small fraction of the participants in this study left poverty. Those
who remain on assistance remain very poor, even if re-categorized. Those forced
off even more so. And while those who shifted from income assistance to the labour
market were better off, most are now counted among the working poor.""
Complete
report (PDF - 2.7MB)
Summary
(PDF - 1.1MB
CCPA Reports and Studies - links to 800+ reports
Source:
Economic
Security Project <==== incl. links to 25 related studies
Canadian
Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA) - British Columbia Office
[ CCPA
National Office ]
Related links:
Poverty
Built into BC's System
Two-year study looks at welfare policies'
effects on people.
By Andrew MacLeod
April 22, 2008
- incl. links
to three related Tyee articles and more resources
Source:
The
Tyee
Related Web/News/Blog links:
Google
Search Results Links - always current results!
Using the following
search terms (without the quote marks):
"CCPA, BC, welfare report"
-
Web search results page
- News
search results page
- Blog Search Results
page
Source:
Google.ca
Make
work possible for more people with significant disabilities: study
Press Release
February 22, 2008
(Vancouver) People living
with mental illnesses, developmental disabilities and serious conditions such
as MS often find themselves in a catch-22 - unable to take on full-time year-round
employment, but willing and able to work with the right supports and flexibility.
A study released today urges the provincial government to adopt a series of creative
recommendations that would make employment possible for many more British Columbians
with significant disabilities. "Current income assistance policies often
discourage rather than encourage people with disabilities to work," says
Michael Goldberg, co-author of Removing Barriers to Work: Flexible Employment
Options for People with Disabilities in BC and a research associate with the Canadian
Centre for Policy Alternatives.
Removing
Barriers to Work:
Flexible Employment Options for People with Disabilities
in BC
Complete
report (PDF file - 1.3MB, 65 pages)
Summary
(PDF file, 1.4MB, 25 pages)
Panhandling
should not be criminalized, says study
Press Release
September
20, 2007
Restrictions on peaceful panhandlingsuch as City of Winnipeg
Bylaw No. 128/2005constitute an illegitimate use of state power, says a
study released today by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. The study,
by Arthur Schafer, director of the Centre for Professional and Applied Ethics
at the University of Manitoba, says there is no moral or legal justification for
turning peaceful beggars into criminals.
Complete report:
The
Expressive Liberty of Beggars:
Why it matters to them, and to us
(PDF file - 282K, 28 pages)
Towards
a More Democratic and Credible BC Budget
Submission to the Select
Standing Committee on Finance and Government Services, Legislative Assembly of
British Columbia
September 21, 2007
BC
surplus to top $3 billion this year and next
CCPA calls for bold action on
poverty and homelessness
Press
Release
January 31, 2007
(Vancouver) BCs budget forecasts have become
more fiction than fact, says the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA)
in its BC Solutions Budget 2007. Since 2002, provincial budgets have underestimated
the year-end balance by a total of $10 billion (based on financial reports from
the Ministry of Finance) due to extremely pessimistic revenue projections.
* BC
Solutions Budget 2007 - PDF file, 330K, 16 pages
*
SUMMARY:
BC Solutions Budget 2007 - PDF file, 218K, 4 pages
A
better way to set welfare rates - British Columbia
Editorial
November
1, 2006
Last weeks announcement by Premier Campbell that
the government will increase the shelter allowance for people receiving welfare
is welcome news. This long-overdue policy reversal shouldnt wait until Februarys
Provincial Budget to be implemented. And overall rates must be increased (not
just the shelter allowance). But at least the Premier has acknowledged that rates
are too low. The Premiers promise also lays bare how arbitrary and deeply
political the process of setting rates and eligibility rules has become. Rates
have remained frozen for years, as inflation eats away at their real value. They
are only now being increased because the rise in homelessness has become impossible
to ignore, and the resulting political pressure is finally forcing our leaders
to act.
- incl. links to the following CCPA resources:
* Editorial: A
call for accountability at the Ministry of Employment and Income Assistance
* Press Release: Study finds BCs welfare system denying assistance to people
in need, diverting many to homelessness and hardship
* Press Release:
CCPA calls on province to raise welfare rates
* Study - Denied Assistance:
Closing the Front Door on Welfare in BC
* Summary - Denied Assistance: Closing
the Front Door on Welfare in BC
All
BC-CCPA Research & Publications by Topic:
Click on the drop-down
"Topic"menu --- here are two sample topics:
- Housing
& homelessness
- Inequality
& poverty
2007
BC Budget must tackle poverty, homelessness
Press Release
September
27, 2006
(Vancouver) Amid rising public concern about poverty and homelessness,
the provincial government is being urged to adopt a comprehensive anti-poverty
strategy in its next budget. With a surplus that is likely to pass the $4
billion mark next year, there is no reason why we cant address the growing
problem of poverty amidst plenty, says Marc Lee, CCPABCs Senior
Economist.
Complete report:
Taking
Action on Poverty:
Submission to the Select Standing Committee on Finance
and Government Services,
Legislative Assembly of British Columbia
BC Budget
2007 Consultation (PDF file - 281K, 11 pages)
September 2006
Presented
by Seth Klein, BC Director and Marc Lee, Senior Economist
"There is no
excuse for poverty in a province as wealthy as BC (projected GDP in 2007 will
be approximately $187 billion). There is nothing inevitable about our unacceptably
high poverty rates, our growing inequality and our rising homelessness. These
facts result from poor policy choices, and jurisdictions that choose to prioritize
these issues have been very successful in substantially reducing poverty."
CCPA
calls on province to raise welfare rates
Arbitrary cuts, inflation have driven
down benefit rates by 30% since mid-90s
Press
Release
April 24, 2006
(Vancouver) The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives
is calling on the provincial government to immediately raise welfare rates, so
that people can meet basic needs. Arbitrary cuts since the mid-1990s mean rates
are now lower in absolute dollars than they were twelve years ago, and combined
with inflation their value has plummeted by about 30%. (Rates for disabled recipients
have increased slightly in absolute dollars but after inflation have also decreased.)
'In 2002, the province made a series of arbitrary cuts to welfare benefits as
part of its budget reduction plan. The cuts took more than $92 million directly
out of the poorest British Columbians pockets in the two years after they
were made,' says Seth Klein, the CCPAs BC Director and author of Budget
Savings on the Backs of the Poor: Who Paid the Price for Welfare Benefit Cuts
in BC, released today. The $92 million savings to government was calculated
using figures obtained through Freedom of Information requests.
Complete report:
Budget
Savings on the Backs of the Poor:
Who Paid the Price for Welfare Benefit Cuts
in BC (PDF file - 585K, 4 pages)
April 2006
By Seth Klein and
Andrea Smith
In January 2002, in the wake of tax cuts that induced the largest
deficit in the history of British Columbia, the provincial government announced
a massive budget cut at the Ministry of Human Resources (the ministry responsible
for welfare). MHRs operating budget was to be reduced by $581 million, or
30 per cent, over the course of three years.
Related Links:
A
Better Way to Set Welfare Rates (PDF file - 588K, 4 pages)
April
2006
By Steve Kerstetter
There are many shortcomings in the BC welfare system,
but none as fundamental or appalling as the meager amount of financial support
it provides to people in need. In its most recent budget, the provincial government
once again chose not to increase welfare benefit rates, even though rates have
not increased in 12 years, and over that time inflation has eaten away at the
real value of a welfare cheque.
Welfare
rates opinion poll results (PDF file - 67K, 1 page)
March 17, 2006
An
Ipsos-Reid poll commissioned by the CCPA last month shows that 74% of British
Columbians would support an increase in welfare rates.
------------------------
Study
finds BCs welfare system denying assistance
to people in need, diverting
many to homelessness and hardship
Press Release
March 27, 2006
(Vancouver)
A major study released today finds that BCs welfare system is systematically
discouraging, delaying and denying assistance to many of the people most in need
of help, with harmful consequences for some of the provinces most vulnerable
residents.
"Denied Assistance: Closing the Front Door on Welfare in BC"
examines why the number of people receiving welfare has plummeted in the wake
of changes to eligibility rules and the application system, and looks at what
is happening to people who seek and are denied welfare. It is the first in-depth
assessment of the new application system, drawing on data obtained through Freedom
of Information requests and extensive interviews with people who have applied
for welfare, front-line community advocates and Ministry workers.
Denied
Assistance:
Closing the Front Door on Welfare in BC
March 2006
*
Complete
report - PDF File, 564K, 69 pages
* Summary
- PDF File, 362K, 8 pages
* Access
to welfare opinion poll results - PDF File, 65K - 1 page
------------------------
BC
Solutions Budget 2006:
Budgeting for Women's Equality
February
16, 2006
Big
budget surplus a good time to bridge the gender gap
Editorial
Wanted:
An honest budget debate
Press Release
BC
Solutions Budget 2006 - PDF file (104K, 4 pages)
Summary
BC
Solutions Budget 2006: Budgeting for Women's Equality - PDF file (275K,
41 pages)
Complete report
------------------------
Investing
in education for low-income adults pays off
Press Release
February
1, 2006
"(Vancouver) The province must invest in education programs for
low-income adults with upgrading needs if it wants achieve its goal of making
BC the best-educated and most literate jurisdiction in North America. Shauna Butterwick,
an Associate Professor in the Department of Educational Studies at UBC, is the
author of A Path out of Poverty: Helping Low-Income Adults Upgrade Their
Education, released today by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.
The study calls on the provincial government to:
* Restore tuition-free Adult
Basic Education (upgrading for those who havent completed high school) at
BCs public colleges;
* Change welfare rules so recipients can participate
in upgrading, literacy, and English as a Second Language programs without losing
their income assistance benefits;
* Restore and increase targeted funding
to post-secondary institutions to support income assistance recipients who participate
in these programs;
* Support colleges and institutes in meeting the specific
education needs of adults who have experienced long-term poverty.
Complete report:
A
Path Out of Poverty:
Helping BC Income Assistance Recipients Upgrade Their
Education (PDF file - 240K, 33 pages)
February 2006
------------------------
Provincial
budget fails to address BC's social deficits
News Release
February
15, 2005
"Vancouver - The provincial governments pre-election budget,
tabled today, fails to address BCs social deficits, according to the Canadian
Centre for Policy Alternatives. 'The government claims that its approach is balanced.
Its approach for the last four years, however, has been anything but,' says Seth
Klein, the CCPAs BC Director. 'BC has seen a significant redistribution
of income from the poorest among us to the wealthiest. This budget fails to restore
the deep and painful spending cuts of recent years. Spending outside health and
education remains $1.2 billion lower than in 2001/02.'
Related Link:
Surplus
should be reinvested in people and communities
CCPA outlines budget choices
in 2005 BC Solutions Budget
News Release
February 7, 2005
(Vancouver)
The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives says the priority for this years
provincial budget should be reinvestment in people and communities. The
government is set to finish the year with a record surplus of over $2 billion,
and a projected surplus in 2005/06 of $1.4 billion, says Seth Klein, Director
of the CCPAs BC Office. Our number one priority should be to undo
the damage from deep spending cuts. We should not lock them in place with further
tax cuts or make payments on the provincial debt.
Summary:
BC Solutions Budget 2005 - PDF File, 98 Kb
BC
Solutions Budget 2005 - PDF File, 457 Kb
------------------------
Inequality
on the rise in BC
News
Release
December 22, 2004
"BC's rich got richer and our poor got poorer,
according to a new report on inequality. And that is before the sweeping policy
changes undertaken by the current provincial government. New Perspectives on
Income Inequality in BC, released today by the Canadian Centre for Policy
Alternatives, looks at three data sources on inequality - survey data, tax data
and census data - to assess inequality trends in the 1990s."
Complete
report:
New
Perspectives on Income Inequality in BC - PDF file (456K, 31 pages)
40
BC Economists Call On the BC Government to Reconsider Spending Cuts
News Release
February 7, 2002
"In advance of the February 19 provincial
budget, the economists have issued an open letter to Premier Campbell and Finance
Minister Collins. The Premier and Finance Minister claim a looming "structural
deficit" gives them no choice but to significantly cut spending over the
next three years. The signatories to today's letter dispute this view."
Source:
Canadian
Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA) - BC Office
Related link:
Canadian
Centre for Policy Alternatives - National Office
"The
Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives is an independent, non-partisan research
institute concerned with issues of social and economic justice. Founded in 1980,
the CCPA is one of Canadas leading progressive voices in public policy debates.
By combining solid research with extensive outreach, we work to enrich democratic
dialogue and ensure Canadians know there are workable solutions to the issues
we face. "
Canadian Policy Research Networks (CPRN)
R.I.P. CPRN
More
of the Same?
The Position of the Four Largest Canadian Provinces in the World
of Welfare Regimes
November 5, 2004
by Paul Bernard, Sébastien
Saint-Arnaud
"In More of the Same? The Position of the Four Largest
Canadian Provinces in the World of Welfare Regimes, Paul Bernard and Sébastien
Saint-Arnaud locate the welfare regimes of Quebec, Ontario, Alberta and British
Columbia among those of a group of advanced countries in the Organization
for Economic Cooperation and Development [OECD]. They compare them in terms of
a wide set of indicators representing public policy, social situations and level
of public participation."
NOTE: This article is based partly on Gøsta Esping-Andersen's 1990 typology of welfare regimes in advanced capitalist societies and more recent related work. It's not a detailed comparison of welfare programs in certain Canadian jurisdictions, but rather an academic analysis of how the welfare systems in four Canadian provinces fit within the international typology. It should be emphasized that the analysis of welfare regimes in the four Canadian jurisdictions focuses on the mid-1990s, which was a tumultuous period in the evolution of the Canadian welfare system. Programs (and governments, except for Emperor Klein...) have changed since then, but ten years later, it's still true that "Alberta somewhat resembles the 'ultra-liberal' United States, while Quebec leans in the direction of Europe, and to some extent, of social-democracy." [Excerpt from the Abstract].
Complete report:
More
of the Same? The Position of the Four Largest Canadian Provinces
in the World
of Welfare Regimes (PDF file - 1.5MB, 32 pages)
November 2004
[translation
of an article initially published in French in the
Canadian Journal of Sociology,
Spring 2004]
Source:
Family
Network (CPRN)
Canadian
Union of Public Employees - BC
CUPE
BC divisions launch provincial election web sites
February
2, 2005
"May 17 may seem like a long way off, but Canadian Union of Public
Employees members in BC have their eyes firmly fixed on the date. CUPE BC and
the Hospital Employees Union have launched election web sites to help oust Gordon
Campbell's liberals. (...) The sites feature voter registration information, an
inventory of the liberal government's broken promises, campaign tools, background
on issues, and ways to get involved."
Deceive
BC: the Hospital Employees' Union's election web site
Strong
Communities: Election 2005: CUPE BC's election web site
BC
budget legally balanced but morally bankrupt
February 17, 2004
Democracy
Day 2004
Democracy Day will be a day of province-wide
protest action by CUPE. Instead of reporting for work on that day, CUPE members
will "organize political protest and positive activities for members in their
communities. (...) Democracy Day will be called by the CUPE BC leadership when
they have determined the timing is right. That may be next week or next month...""CUPE
BC has posted an extensive series if documents on their upcoming Democracy Day
on the CUPE BC region web site. Democracy Day is the first province wide day of
political protest opposing the BC Liberals' undemocractic policies and actions."
Click on the link above to download the following info:
Speaking notes
- Political protest issues - Vital services handout - Democracy Day resolution
- Report - 'On the Line for Our Democracy' - Report - 'It's not Your Parents'
British Columbia - Change in BC since 2001' - Fact Sheets (Women under the BC
Liberals, Children under the BC Liberals, Unions under the BC Liberals, Seniors
under the BC Liberals)
Carnegie
Community Action Project
The Carnegie Community Action Project (CCAP)
is a project of the board of the Carnegie Community Centre Association. CCAP works
mostly on housing, income, and land use issues in the Downtown Eastside (DTES)
of Vancouver so the DTES can remain a low income friendly community.
-
incl. links to :
* About CCAP * About DTES * CCAP Reports * Bulletins * Better
Incomes * More Social Housing * Poverty Olympics * Stop Gentrification * International
Campaign * Thank You
---
Downtown
Eastside (DTES) rents through the roof says report
June 18, 2009
Carnegie
Community Action Project (CCAP) marked the release of Still Losing Housing, their
second annual Hotel Survey and Report for the DTES, by holding a press conference
in front of the infamous Balmoral Hotel. (...) According to the report over 1,600
SROs are renting at $425 and over per month, despite welfare and disability rates
averaging $375 per month in the DTES. That's a 44 per cent increase of rooms charging
over $425, with some rates reaching as high as $800 per month.
Source:
Megaphone
- Vancouver's Street Paper
The Report:
Still
Losing Hotel Rooms: CCAPs 2009 Hotel Survey and Report (PDF
- 6MB, 20 pages)
By Wendy Pedersen and Jean Swanson
MLA
goes homeless, for a cause
August 26, 2004
"VANCOUVER -
Vancouver Liberal MLA Lorne Mayencourt says he's worried that city council is
throwing people out of low-rent hotel rooms in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside."
MLA
calls for ban on squeegee kids
May 7 2004
VANCOUVER - Vancouver
Liberal MLA Lorne Mayencourt wants to ban squeegee kids and aggressive panhandlers,
and he's introduced a private member's bill to do it. (...) He began work on the
Safe Streets Act 18 months ago, basing it on similar legislation in Alberta and
Ontario. The act would make it illegal for squeegee kids and panhandlers to approach
people for money. Mayencourt has the backing of the Vancouver Board of Trade.
But others aren't so supportive. The B.C. Civil Liberties Association is denouncing
the bill, saying that in a democratic society, people have a right to ask for
spare change as long as they do it peacefully."We don't need this
legislation," says Murray Mollard, the executive director of the association.
"It's offensive in a variety of ways, and it prohibits behaviour that just
shouldn't be prohibited." Others agree. Vancouver city councillor Jim Green
says the bill is a desperate bid to get attention before the next election."
Related Links:
Poverty
tourism shows contempt for the poor
Tourists merely visiting the lives of the
poor will not be the harbingers of social change
by Derrick O'Keefe
September
3, 2004
"Lorne Mayencourt, BC Liberal MLA, recently spent five nights
living in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside (DTES), getting an up close view of the
lives of those people his government has helped to keep in, or push into, abject
poverty. Mayencourt's brief poverty tourism does not appear to have won him any
new friends in the DTES, perhaps because earlier this year he introduced the Safe
Streets Act into the legislature, which aims at criminalizing the poor under the
pretext of reducing 'aggressive pan-handling.'
Source:
rabble.ca
Lorne Mayencourt (Liberal MLA, Vancouver - Burrard) - personal page, BC Government
Lorne's
Blog - daily first-person accounts of Lorne's week of roughing it in DTES
"The
City of Vancouver and the Vancouver P.D. have closed two Eastside hotels in the
last few weeks, the Marr and the American, with more closures probably on the
way, their tenants are being evicted. I'm going to spend a few days and nights
living as some of the poorest residents in this city, in the hope of hearing their
ideas on how to improve their housing and their security. Maybe I can find a new
perspective on the neighborhood. Hopefully I'll be able to come up with a better
idea than simply evicting people with nowhere else to go."
Welfare
reforms triggered internal warnings
July 7, 2003
"VICTORIA
- Senior bureaucrats warned the Ministry of Human Resources last year that B.C.'s
welfare reforms could create hardship for some people, according to just-released
documents. The heavily-censored files were obtained by CBC News under the Freedom
of Information Act."
- incl. links to copies of internal briefing notes
from July 2002 concerning potential impacts of the welfare time limits (two years
of every five-year period) and the two-year financial independence test.
Child
Poverty in British Columbia
March/April
2009
"Our province has the highest child poverty rate in Canada.
It's
a damning statistic that advocates are calling B.C.'s Shame."
Clicking
the link above opens the main page of this four-part series from CTV-BC, where
you'll find links to articles and videos on the following topics:
* BC - The
highest child poverty rate in Canada
* One woman's struggle to provide
*
Food banks jammed with kids
* Poverty's dangerous consequences
Source:
CTV
British Columbia
Centre for Applied Research in Mental Health and Addiction (CARMHA) - Simon Fraser University
Housing
and Support for Adults with
Severe Addictions and/or Mental Illness in British
Columbia (PDF file - 765K, 150 pages)
February 2008
By Michelle
Patterson, Julian Somers, Karen McIntosh, Alan Shiell and Charles Frankish
Source:
Related links:
The
high cost of homelessness
Every homeless person costs system $55,000, an
amount that could buy supported housing for each of them
By Lori Culbert
March
21, 2008
VANCOUVER - We've been counting them and governments have been scrambling
to try to help them, but a recent university study has been looking at a new question
about homeless people in B.C. - what each one costs taxpayers a year. The answer
is $55,000 per person, or an annual total of $644.3 million in health, corrections
and social services spending for all the homeless in B.C.
Source:
Vancouver
Sun
Front
page news points out the obvious:
Homelessness costs us money
March
22, 2008
Source:
The
Vancouver Manifesto
Centre
for Public Sector Studies
The Centre for Public
Sector Studies was established in 1978 to encourage interdisciplinary research
in public policy at the University of Victoria.
- North
American Institute - "NAMI's mission is to examine all aspects of the North
American regional relationship, recognizing the challenges facing the governments,
peoples and cultures of North America, and to develop better approaches to this
changing relationship"
- Center
for North American Studies (Duke University) Interdisciplinary international
center focusing on the political, social, and cultural consequences of regionalization,
and attempts to place them within the long history of the interaction of Canada
and Mexico with the United States.
- Local
Government Institute (LGI) - Created in 1995, LGI is a group of University
of Victoria faculty dedicated to improving the efficiency and effectiveness of
local governments.
Centre
for Research in Women's Studies and Gender Relations
[ University
of British Columbia ]
Report
Card On Women and Children in B.C. (PDF file - 146K, 4 pages)
March
15, 2004
By Michelle Stack
"Whether we like it or not, the media is
part of governing."
Centre
for Research on Economic and Social Policy - CRESP (University of British
Columbia)
"equality, security + community: explaining and improving the
distribution of well being in canada"
- incl. links to : Project Objectives - Research Team - Project Outcome - Colloquium Series - ESC Project Survey - Useful Links - Contact Information
Research Series - links to almost 50 papers organized in the following clusters : Measuring and Explaining Inequality and Insecurity - Social Capital, Community, and Political Processes - Formulation and Assessment of Policy Responses.
A
few sample papers:
Fixing
BC's Structural Deficit--What, Why, When, How? (PDF file - 140K, 41
pages)
Jonathan Kesselman
February 2002
Base
Reforms and Rate Cuts for a Revitalized Personal Tax
Jonathan R.
Kesselman (1999).
Growing calls for cuts in Canadian personal income taxes
have focused on the rates of tax but neglected a deeper analysis of the structural
priorities for fairness and growth. This paper offers an economic analysis of
the combined needs for base reforms and rate cuts.
Abstract
Complete paper (PDF
file 37 pages, 142K)
Income Redistribution
in Canada: Minimum Wages versus Other Policy Instruments
Nicole M.
Fortin and Thomas Lemieux
Revised December 1998
Complete
report (PDF file - 56 pages, 419K)
Vancouver homelessness:
Welfare
rolls down, homelessness up
New report blames provincial changes to eligibility
rules for Vancouver's worsening situation
By Rod Mickleburgh
May
26, 2005
VANCOUVER -- Provincial government changes to welfare rules have doubled
the severity of Vancouver's dire and growing homeless problem, according to the
city's policy co-ordinator for the homeless. Jill Davidson said new requirements
for receiving welfare the Liberals brought in are too onerous and bureaucratic
for many of those eligible to receive social assistance. 'We think we could probably
almost halve the number of people on the street if you just got people on welfare
who were eligible for welfare,' said Ms. Davidson, the author of a 100-page report
and action plan to eliminate homelessness in Vancouver within 10 years."
Source:
The
Globe and Mail
Report
lays out new strategy for homeless - Vancouver
By Mike Howell-Staff
writer
May 23, 2005
"Increase mental health and addiction services,
build more social housing and make changes to the province's employment and assistance
program. Those are the key priorities to reducing homelessness as outlined in
a lengthy city report, Homeless Action Plan, going before city council May 25
at a public meeting. Written by senior housing planner Jill Davidson, who has
worked on the plan for more than a year, the report comes at a time when the streets
are filling up with homeless people. The city's conservative estimates are that
600 people sleep on the streets in the winter months and up to 1,200 in the summer.
That's double the number from three years ago."
Source:
The
Vancouver Courier
Complete report:
Vancouver
Homeless Action Plan (PDF file - 1.2MB, 105 pages)
By Jill Davidson
Homeless
Policy Coordinator
Housing Centre
May 2005
Source:
The
Housing Centre - City of Vancouver Community Services
The Housing Centre
delivers social housing projects and undertakes policy and program development.
The Tenant Assistance Program provides direct assistance to displaced tenants
and homeless individuals in the City.
[City
of Vancouver]
More Housing Centre Council reports - links to dozens more reports on housing and homelessness in Vancouver produced in the past few years by the Housing Centre.
Related Links: Preliminary
Results of [Vancouver] Homeless Count conducted on March 15, 2005
(PDF file - 14K, 2 pages) |
Coalition
of Child Care Advocates of BC (CCCABC)
The Coalition of Child Care
Advocates of BC is a registered society, incorporated under the Society Act on
November 2, 1995. The original child care advocacy organization, the BC Daycare
Action Coalition, was formed in 1982. The purposes of the Society are to promote
and support quality community-based child care services that benefit children,
families and the public and in the best interests of society.
- incl. links
to: * About Us * What's New * CCCABC Materials * Take Action * Advocacy resources
* Calendar
CCCABC
Materials
- links to materials published by the Coalition of Child
Care Advocates of BC:
* Position
& Policy Papers
* Briefs
* Letters
*
Newsletters
Advocacy
Resources
* News articles
* Publications
* Advocate's quick facts
* Timeline of child care in BC
* Advocacy Tools
* Links
Selected site content:
Community
Plan for a Public System of Integrated Early Care and Learning
April 2011
The Coalition of Child Care Advocates of BC and the Early Childhood Educators
of BC are pleased to share our Community Plan for a Public System of Integrated
Early Care and Learning. Our Plan offers a concrete, innovative and ambitious
way forward and provides a framework for significant and lasting system change
in British Columbia.
Download
the Plan (PDF - 2.2MB, 23 pages)
(...) Good early childhood education (ECE) practice recognizes that to support
a child, one needs to understand the environment in which children live: their
families, communities, cultures, and broader society. Children do best when
they are supported by strong and healthy relationships, first in their families
and then in their communities and beyond. The same is true for systems like
this proposed Community Plan for a Public System of Integrated Early Care and
Learning. To grow and thrive, this system needs a strong and supportive environment.
This Plan includes four conditions to support a system of early care and learning:
strong family policy, commitment from federal and provincial governments, First
Nations and Aboriginal community control, and adequate and stable funding.
Frequently-Asked Questions (FAQ)
Partners:
Coalition
of Child Care Advocates of BC (CCCABC)
CCCABC ia a voluntary organization of interested citizens parents, child
care providers, community organizations, and unions - whose purpose is to promote
and support quality community-based child care services that benefit children,
families and the public and in the best interests of society.
[ CCCABC Advocacy Resources
]
[ Child Care Links (BC/Canada/International)
]
Early Childhood
Educators of BC
Early Childhood Educators of British Columbia (ECEBC) educates early childhood
educators and the broader community about the importance of early childhood
education and care. We provide professional development opportunities to early
childhood educators across the province.
Child-care
crisis is a B.C. election issue
April 28, 2009
[ Author Rita Chudnovsky is a consultant with the
Coalition of Child Care Advocates of B.C. ]
BC
CHILD CARE - NOT FOR SALE
October 23, 2007
On October 1, 2007,
the BC government announced that, for the first time, private companies could
receive major capital child care grants. The Coalition of Child Care Advocates
of BC predicted that this change in public policy would make BC attractive to
large foreign owned child care corporations. Our worst fears have now been confirmed.
We have learned that a foreign-based corporation is actively trying to take over
community-based child care providers across BC. If they succeed - the face of
child care in BC will be dramatically changed now and for a long time to come.
This is not the solution to child care in BC.
Hindsight
from Australia - Foresight for BC (PDF file - 200K, 4 pages)
October 23, 2007
"(...)Analysis from Australia suggests that the domination of corporate
child care has decreased accountability, quality, affordability and accessibility.
Increased public spending on child care has not produced child care services
in the public domain ñ in other words an infrastructure for the long
term."
|
|
Coalition for
Public Legal Services
What does the perfect justice system look like?
Why is justice so difficult to access by so many people in British Columbia?
These are the questions that the Coalition for Public Legal Services (CPLS)
strives to answer.
We are a group of stakeholders advocating for an accessible justice system in
our province.
- incl. links to :
* Legal Aid in BC : History of BC Legal Services Society Cuts - LSS Cuts
of 2009 - Justice For All? Video
* Coalition for Public Legal Services : Our Cause - Who We Are - Member
Organizations - Join the Coalition
* News : Latest News - News Archive - Press Releases - Access to Justice
Campaign Blog - Events
* Get involved : Facebook Group - Petition - Love Is Not Enough Bike
Tour - Write to your Local Council - Write to your MLA - Write to the Ministry
of Attorney General
* Renewing our Commitment to Legal Aid : Background: The Emergence of
Legal Aid - Legal Aid and the Constitution - Legal Aid in BC - Legal Aid in
Ontario - Conclusion
* Blog
------------
British Columbia Public Hearings
on Legal Aid - September/October 2010
The
BC Public Commission on Legal Aid
is holding hearings across the province in September and October 2010 to
hear from the public about problems accessing legal help. You can help promote
awareness and participation in the hearings on legal aid in your area by using
the posters on the CPLS website's home page.
Download and print out any or all of these files. Share, distribute, post and
help get the word out to encourage attendance at these Public Commission hearings.
Hearings to be held in:
Chilliwack - Cranbrook - Kamloops - Kelowna - Nanaimo - Prince George - Surrey
- Terrace - Vancouver - Victoria - Williams Lake
[ Double the impact of your submission send a copy to the Finance
Committee. Go to the CPLS home page for
more information.]
Columbia
Journal
The Columbia Journal is a positive progressive alternative
to the conservative corporate press in B.C. Dedicated to inform, entertain and
advocate for the people of B.C., it is an independent publication, promising free
and open debate on all issues, a voice for people throughout B.C.
Welfare
Rates Still Suck
September 2007
Ron Carten
Punitive!
That is the word Jean Swanson, a community organizer in the Downtown Eastside
and author of Poor Bashing: The Politics of Exclusion, uses to describe welfare
policy in B.C. And if anyone thinks the increase in welfare rates announced in
the provincial budget marks a change in that policy they would be dead wrong.
Those familiar with welfare in B.C. will see no change in such barriers to accessing
the program as the three-week wait, the two-year independence test, the two-year
limit, the 1-800 number enquiry and the mandatory internet application process.
These barriers combined with a lack of affordable housing are what have contributed
to the rising rate of homelessness not only in Vancouver but across the province,
according to Swanson who now helps coordinate the province-wide Raise the Rates
campaign from Carnegie Centre.
Source:
September
2007 issue of the Columbia Journal
Related links:
Downtown
Eastside Revitalization Program
Raise
the Rates is a coalition of community groups and organisations concerned
with the level of poverty and homelessness in British Columbia.
Carnegie
Centre - The Downtown Eastsides Livingroom
---
The Carnegie
Newsletter is published twice a month and contains a lively range of articles,
news and views, prose and poetry about life in the Downtown Eastside
Also from the same issue of the Columbia Journal:
BC
Boom going Bust for People
By Marco Procaccini
Two
reports released earlier this month show that the current boom is
not benefiting large number of people in BC, as increasing numbers of people are
experiencing worsening poverty. The B.C. Progress Board report, which came down
Tuesday, showed British Columbia is falling behind the rest of Canada on issues
like poverty, crime and other social conditions. This despite a public accounts
report Wednesday that showed the provinces budget surplus had ballooned
to $4.1 billion.
Related links:
BC
Progress Board Releases 2007 Interim Report
and Special Discussion Paper on
Strategic Considerations for BC's Future
News
Release - July 10, 2007
Executive
Summary (PDF - 59K)
Entire
Report - Issues and Trends (PDF - 1,267K)
Entire
Report - Interim (PDF - 2,667K)
[ Request
a hard copy be mailed to you ]
---
Despite
Green Reputation, Northwest Comes up Short on Key Trends
Cutbacks in gasoline
and improving health are bright spots
Press Release
June 12,
2007
Seattle, WA According to new research by Seattle-based Sightline
Institute, the Northwest is making only slow progress on key trends that shape
our prosperity and environmental health. The region especially lags behind world
leaders when it comes to energy efficiency and curbing sprawl, and is stalled
on economic security for middle- and low-income northwesterners.
Source:
Sightline
"Cascadia's sustainability think tank --- We create tools to help you
build a better Northwest."
BC
Scorecard 2007
"(...) In 2005, the most
recent year that complete data were available, British Columbias rates of
poverty (17.6 percent) and child poverty (20.9 percent) were higher than in the
early 1990s, even while Canadas poverty level has declined..."
Compare
BC's scorecard with those of Idaho, Oregon and Washington
Source:
Cascadia
Scorecard 2007
June 2007
The 2007 edition of the Cascadia Scorecard, the Pacific Northwests annual
progress report, reveals that the region lags behind world leaders on trends
such as energy, sprawl, and economic security. The good news is that we are
making progressand adopting smart solutions will accelerate those gains.
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Attention, BC history buffs:
Community
Health Online Digital Archive Research Resource
(CHODARR)
The goal of CHODARR is to improve health and social welfare research and advocacy
by providing academic and community-based health researchers and social justice
advocates a resource to share and preserve share their research products. CHODARR
is a permanent, catalogued and publicly accessible online digital archive of
research materials related to health and social welfare, with an emphasis on
housing, gender, aboriginal issues, HIV and mental health.
BROWSE
the CHODARR collection
- archived newsletters, reports and research going back to the early 1990s from
a number of organizations including:
» AIDS Vancouver Collection (31 Records)
» British Columbia Persons with AIDS Society Collection (78 Records)
» Carnegie Newsletter Collection (17347 Records
back to 1986)
» Centre for Native Policy and Research Collection (14 Records)
» Downtown Eastside Womens Centre Collection (137 Records)
» End Legislated Poverty Collection (66 Records)
» General collection (29 Records)
» Health and Home Collection (83 Records)
» Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users Collection (575 Records)
» Vancouver Womens Health Collective Collection (407 Records)
Thanks for this archival tip to my friend Penny
of PovNet,
an online anti-poverty community without equal in Canada.
I heartily recommend PovNet!
Community
Legal Assistance Society
"The Community
Legal Assistance Society (CLAS) was incorporated as a non-profit legal aid society
in 1971. Our mission is to provide legal assistance to people throughout British
Columbia who are physically, mentally, socially, economically or otherwise disadvantaged
and to develop law that benefits disadvantaged groups as a whole."
Community Living Services Core Review
The Community Living Services Core Review is part of the BC government's overall
Core Review (see the Canadian Social Research Links BC Government
Links page for more information on the core review).
Vision
for Community Living
Vision for Community Living is a project of
the community living service providers of BC, with input from other stakeholders.
Community Living Coalition - Nov 1, 2001
Founding members:
BC
Association for Community Living
The
BC Association for Community Living is a federation that advocates for children,
youth and adults with developmental disabilities and their families to ensure
justice, rights and opportunities in all areas of their lives.
Individualized
Funding Family Coalition
Community Living
Service Providers
Purpose: To present one proposal to government that
addresses the Core Review and the Budget process, and has the broad support of
the Community Living Movement. This proposal will allow the Community Living movement
to make the changes necessary to the service system in a consultative manner that
avoids disruption of direct services to people with disabilities.
Service
Providers' Submission (concerning the Core Review)
- incl. links
to the executive summary and the complete submission
Individualized
Funding Family Coalition
The Individualized Funding Family Coalition
believes that people with developmental disabilities have the same rights as other
citizens to self-determination, freedom and equality. We also believe that flexible
and innovative approaches are needed to change the status quo, and ensure that
each person has the means necessary to participate as a valued and contributing
member in their communities. We therefore support the implementation of Individualized
Funding in British Columbia as an option for individuals and families so they
can have real choices in how they lead their lives. This web page serves as a
resource for anyone who supports our vision for the future.
Cowichan
Women Against Violence (CWAV)
"Cowichan
Women Against Violence Society works from a feminist perspective to provide a
supportive environment for victims and children who have been affected by abuse.
We support diversity, change, choice and growth through counselling, advocacy,
emergency shelter, community development and education"
CWAV Programs
Children
Who Witness Violence - offers individual counselling and support groups
for children of battered women.
Horizons
Program is a personal development and pre-employment bridging program.
Safer
Futures Program is a community research and development program that works
to create and maintain community environments that promote safety of women and
children in public places, in work places and in their homes.
Somenos
Transition House - provides emergency shelter and emotional support primarily
for battered women and their children.
Women
Against Violence Against Women - counselling, emotional support, information,
court support and referrals for survivors of sexual assault, childhood and adulthood
abuse.
Creative Resistance
- incl. links to : British Columbia - Canada - US - World - Finding Strength
- Action Toolkit - Communitas
- incl. links to 125+ articles and other resources concerning over two dozen
election issues - highly recommended!
Issues : Aquaculture - BC Economy - Child and Family Services - Child
Care - Disability Issues - Education - Employment - Women - Employment Standards
- Energy - Environment - Freedom of Information - Gambling - Health Care - Housing
and Homelessness - Human Rights - Income Inequality - Legal Aid - Lobbying -
Long Term Care - P3s - Pharmacare - Policing - Prison System - Responsible Government
- Seniors' Issues - Social Housing - Taxes - Welfare - Workers' Right
Online Resources : Homelessness and Affordable Housing
[from Creative Resistance]
Affordable Housing
in Vancouver (City of Vancouver)
Affordable
Housing in BC (BC Housing)
Articles on Homelessness
(from PovNet)
Shelter Net BC (NGO)
BC Homelessness and Health Research
Network (University of British Columbia)
Creative
Resistance: Housing and Homelessness
See
also:
- British Columbia NGO Links (D-W)
- British
Columbia Government Links
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Site
created and maintained by:
Gilles
Séguin(This link takes you to my personal page)