B.C.'s Shame: The highest child poverty rate in Canada
Apr. 01 2009
CTV British Columbia's ctvbc.ca
By Mi-Jung Lee

Josephine Watson is a single mom who brings in about $2,000 a month -- and half of that goes to feed her three teenage boys.

There's not much left for other essentials. Even though the boys try to pull their weight with a paper route, it's nearly impossible to make ends meet.

"We notice when our mom is stressed and everything affects us," said Josehpine's son Matt. "We are living through a hard time."

Her children are part of a troubling statistic for the province: B.C. has the highest child poverty rate in Canada.

Sixteen per cent of children in this province live beneath the poverty line. That's despite success in other provinces that have brought their rates down.

In Alberta in 1997, the child poverty rate was 15 per cent -- and now it's been cut in half. In 2006, the rate was 7 per cent. But B.C.'s child poverty rate has stayed stubbornly high.

Experts say that this is dangerous -- if a child doesn't get the nutrition he needs in the early years, he'll grow up not being able to learn well and not healthy. That can cost our health care system in the future.

That's no surprise to those who help the poor every day. Many of those relying on food banks are children.

"I go to the food bank to replenish my food every two weeks," said one patron, who gave her name as Lana. "It keeps us in a safe spot in my head and in my heart."

Why does B.C.'s child poverty rate remain so high? Many social groups say one reason is our minimum wage.

Eight dollars an hour was the highest minimum wage in the country in 2001. Since then, other provinces have moved beyond that. Now, B.C. has the second lowest wage in the country.

Only New Brunswick's is lower now but the government there plans to up it to $8.25 by the fall -- leaving B.C.'s minimum wage workers at the bottom.

Watson makes more than minimum wage, but paying the bills is still a struggle, and she worries about her mounting debt.

"I feel like I will not get out of this situation while my kids are still living with me, which is pretty sad and hopeless, and I try not to feel depressed," she said.