B.C. child poverty a disgrace: Routley
Cowichan Valley Citizen
November 26, 2008 
By Ashley Gaudreault

For the fifth year in a row British Columbia has the distinction of having the highest rate of child poverty in the country, and Nanaimo-Cowichan MLA Doug Routley says he's "absolutely disgusted."

"Any government that has the audacity to boast like this one does that B.C. is the best place on earth, live work and play, needs to examine its priorities," Routley said Monday. "They're failing to provide care for the disabled and the elderly, they are failing to address the issue of child poverty and child poverty rates in general and it's kind of the ultimate condemnation of public policy gone wrong."

According to advocacy group First Call, which issued its annual Child Poverty Report Card Friday morning, B.C.'s child poverty rate is six per cent higher than the national average with 22 per cent.

Based on 2006 statistics, the Vancouver-based organization said 181,000 children in B.C. are living below the poverty line.

And the results of child poverty on a community can be scary too, Routley said.

"Children don't live alone in poverty," he continued. "They live with their families that live in poverty so the results are gaps in society that grow and the gaps that grow are also the social determinants of health. Housing quality gaps grow, people's diets suffer, people's performances at school suffer, chronic illnesses go up, and all those things can be directly attached and attributed in large measure to poverty rates."

…And some of the blame for B.C.'s rates can be laid on low wages and low welfare rates too, he added.

"Increased costs of living have been downloaded by the government on to people," he said. "And we see they're cutting when it comes to child care. These are things that keep people from working and keep people from training and upgrading their skills and giving themselves greater potential too." ….