The goal of the research project is to bring attention to this issue through interviews with front-line service providers along with analysis of statistics and research on queer and trans poverty across North America. If you are aware of statistics, data and any information that may be relevant to this research project, please e-mail jonny@bcpovertyreduction.ca or phone 604-801-5121, x241.

If you are an advocate or representative working within queer and trans communities in BC, and would be interested in being interviewed about the specific poverty issues faced by these communities, please also contact jonny@bcpovertyreduction.ca or phone 604-801-5121, x241.

We are specifically interested in hearing about the following poverty factors:

- Welfare, income assistance and disability benefits;
- Low-wage work, employment discrimination and inadequate or unsafe working conditions;
- Homelessness, housing affordability and housing discrimination;
- Child poverty and youth homelessness;
- Affordable early learning and childcare;
- Affordable and accessible training, apprenticeship and post-secondary education opportunities; and
- Marginalization due to rejection from traditional family support networks.

For the purpose of this study, queer and trans are being used as umbrella terms. Queer as the umbrella term for individuals identifying as lesbian, gay, bisexual, two-spirit, queer, questioning, intersex, undisclosed or non-labeling and asexual. Trans as the umbrella term for individuals who identify as transgender, transsexual, cross-dressing, undisclosed or non-labeling and gender-queer.

The research is designed to engage in an overview survey of queer and trans poverty in BC. The interviews are being conducted with service providers and community advocates to identify possible trends and to discover whether poverty is affecting queer and trans individuals in unique ways due to their sexual orientation and/or gender identity.

Should you have any questions or require more information regarding this research project please contact the BC Poverty Reduction Coalition at the information found below.

———————
Jonny Sopotiuk
BC Poverty Reduction Coalition

tel: 604-801-5121, ext 241
fax: 604-801-5122
email: jonny@bcpovertyreduction.ca

Join the Call at http://bcpovertyreduction.ca
FaceBook: BCPovertyReductionCoalition
Twitter: @PovReductionBC

There is nothing inevitable about poverty.

Two weeks before Alberta’s provincial election, Progressive Conservative Leader Alison Redford announced a Plan for Poverty Reduction. Surprising many, Alberta has re-elected the PC party, and consequently, Alberta will now see a plan in place, centered around a bold commitment to eliminate child poverty in five years. This leaves only British Columbia and Saskatchewan without a provincial plan to tackle poverty (despite the fact that BC has the highest poverty rate in Canada).

The day after Redford’s announcement, the BC government launched its “community poverty-reduction strategies.” In collaboration with the Union of BC Municipalities, they have selected seven communities around the province to pilot these local plans. This approach has some good features but does nothing to address the systemic causes of poverty and will make little difference to the over 500,000 British Columbians struggling to get by.

If the government took the positive features of the community plans – targets and timelines, cross-ministerial involvement, and community engagement – and included them in a scaled-up poverty reduction plan at the provincial level, it would have a real impact on those living in poverty.

As Tina Cousins of the Prince George District Teacher’s Association, an organization within one of the selected communities, states, “a comprehensive approach is needed, not only to boost the income of adults living in poverty, but also to build the social infrastructure, public services, and assets that are vital to providing a path out of poverty.”

The good news is that, after years of prodding, the provincial government has finally recognized the value of creating action plans that address the needs of those living in poverty. This is the first time the government has taken a strategic and integrated approach to this issue. Previously, they have introduced initiatives in isolation and, as both the BC Auditor General and BC’s Representative for Children and Youth have said, a laundry list of actions does not constitute a much-needed plan.

These community plans will also feature “measurable targets,” an important element of any effective approach. Without targets and timelines, real sustained progress remains elusive. Without them, we don’t know if the government’s actions are actually making a difference in people’s lives. The government has never previously measured the success of its initiatives in relation to poverty reduction.

The plans will be developed over the summer with community involvement from local governments, community organizations, local businesses and, most importantly, from people living in poverty. This is key to developing a comprehensive strategy that addresses the needs of low-income families and individuals. Effective community engagement will reveal the over-representation within poverty of certain groups, such as Aboriginal people, people with disabilities, recent immigrants and refugees, lone-mother households and single senior women.

Another central feature to any effective strategy is having a lead minister and the government has appointed Mary McNeil, Minister of Children and Family Development, to be responsible for this initiative. However, they also recognize the importance of cross-ministerial involvement as representatives from other ministries connected to poverty were present at the launch of the community plans in Prince George.

Notwithstanding these positive elements of the community plans, this new initiative is fundamentally lacking because there are no new policies, no new priorities and no new resources to address the crisis of poverty we are facing as a province. These community plans do not recognize that most of the problems and causes of poverty go beyond the community level. Mary McNeil has said that the government does not want “a plan that’s a compromise or watered down for one-size fits all” but there are “one-size fits all” measures that would make a significant difference to people throughout the province, such as building more social housing, raising welfare rates, and indexing both welfare rates and the minimum wage to inflation.

The government’s new approach also has a “families-first” focus, which, although important given that BC has had the highest rate of child poverty for the last eight years, neglects others affected by poverty. A third of single men and women below 65 years of age live in poverty, more than three times the rate for men and women in families (9.2 per cent). Nearly half of all single Aboriginal women and more than one in five single senior women live in poverty. A families-first approach excludes these vulnerable populations.

With the outcome of Alberta’s election, BC is now one of the last two provinces in Canada without a poverty reduction plan. Most other places in the country have a strategy or are in the process of developing one, and many are already seeing success. They are saving lives and money by tackling the issue of poverty head-on. It’s high time BC did too.

Stephen Elliott-Buckley is a health policy researcher. Trish Garner is the Community Organizer of the BC Poverty Reduction Coalition. For more information, go to bcpovertyreduction.ca

We also have updates from some of our members. If you’re between ages 12 and 18 and you have a job, then First Call: BC Child and Youth Advocacy Coalition want to hear from you for their youth labour survey available online. And please read on to catch up on recent news, including the provincial government’s proposed plan to send people on welfare up north to fill labour gaps. Last but not least, if you’re in need of some hope and inspiration, check out the CCPA’s latest Alternative Federal Budget to find out how things could be done differently in Canada for the benefit of all, not just a few.

Read the whole newsletter here.

“Two significant reports were released this week that shine a light on the crisis of poverty we face as a province. Cost of Eating in B.C. 2011 found that healthy food is unaffordable for the poorest people in B.C. And the final Metro Vancouver Homeless Count report reveals that 2,650 people were homeless in 2011. Together, they paint a picture that shows that the basic necessities of housing and food are out of reach to many in our province.”

Read the whole feature here.

Today, MLAs are returning to the Legislature for the Spring Session where they will discuss this important Act. Let’s join together and urge them to have a heart and support the BC Poverty Reduction Act. Please send this Valentine’s Day card (see below) to the Premier and your local MLA. It will only take a few minutes but it will send a strong message when we all do it together:

1. Find your MLA’s email address with the MLA Finder
2. Drag the image below to your desktop
3. Copy and paste the image into an email to your MLA and Christy Clark (premier@gov.bc.ca)

Thanks for your continued support!

BC has the highest poverty rate in Canada and no plan to tackle it directly.

Join others calling for a poverty reduction plan, including over 350 organizations with a collective membership of over 300,000 people throughout the province. Together we can make a difference!