Like all Canadians, I was saddened to hear the recent news of another life lost in a clothing donation bin. Vulnerable people are getting seriously injured or killed in an attempt to address their basic needs.
Access to warm clothing and proper footwear are essential for those who are homeless or precariously housed. The contents within these bins have the potential to make their lives a little easier and I can understand the rationale behind why some were compelled to do so.
Following these incidents, there have been calls to remove the bins altogether or modify the current design to make them safer. While we need to take action to save lives, neither approach addresses the root cause of why people are reaching into the bins in the first place.
The fact is, for sixteen years life got harder for those living in poverty. Under the BC Liberals, housing prices skyrocketed, calls to raise welfare rates were ignored, and life became less affordable. Years of BC Liberal neglect has resulted in our province having the second-worst poverty rate in Canada.
It’s sad that in a province as wealthy as ours, over half-a-million people are living in poverty – 99,000 of them being children. Despite our strong economy, too many people have been left behind.
Fortunately for British Columbians, there’s change in the air.
Last fall our New Democrat government passed historic legislation that set bold poverty reduction targets. Over the next five years, we will reduce the overall poverty rate by 25 per cent, and the child poverty rate by 50 per cent.
It’s unanimous! @BCLegislature just passed the Poverty Reduction Strategy Act.
— Janet Routledge (@JanetBurnabyMLA) November 6, 2018
These are more than just numbers, these are people’s lives.
Children who live in poverty often don’t do as well in life – poverty negatively affects their health and education outcomes, which traps them in a life of poverty. By investing in children we’re working to break the cycle that keeps people impoverished from one generation to the next. We know that when you invest in children you lift up their entire family.
Many people are asking what action we’ve taken to reduce poverty so far, and I’m proud to say we’ve already announced record funding for affordable housing and child care. We’ve built 700 modular homes and have 1,300 more under construction, chartered the path to a $15 minimum wage, and cut MSP premiums in half. Further, our initial changes to income assistance programs include a $100 monthly increase (the first increase in 10 years), larger earnings exemptions, and a transportation supplement for people with disabilities.
We know there’s more work to do, that’s why our Poverty Reduction Strategy is set to be released in the coming weeks. The release of our strategy is our next step towards creating a better province, one that reflects the values we share in British Columbia and provides an opportunity for all.
For the first time British Columbia has targets and timelines in place that will hold government accountable on reducing poverty. The work has only just begun, but I’m proud to be a part of a New Democrat government committed to creating a more equitable province for the benefit of all British Columbians.