Changes need to be made, Klein says
Cariboo Press - Prince George Free Press
April 9, 2009
By: Arthur Williams

British Columbia has the highest level of poverty in Canada, but there are solutions, according to Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives researcher Seth Klein.

In 2006, the most recent year there are statistics for, 13 per cent of British Columbians lived in poverty - more than one in eight. In addition, 16 per cent - nearly one in six - of children in B.C. are growing up in poverty.

B.C.'s poverty rate has been above the national average since 1996. In 2006, the national poverty rate was approximately 10.5 per cent.

"If we commit to a bold plan, a dramatic reduction in poverty and homelessness is feasible," Klein said. "We had, until recently, many years of strong (economic) growth ... but there were still increases in poverty. Many of the benefits of growth are concentrated higher up the income scale."

Poverty is not only wide-spread in B.C. but very deep, Klein said. The average low-income family in B.C. is living $7,700 below the poverty line.

According to Statistics Canada, 331,730 British Columbians - more than 10.5 per cent - were living on less than $5,000 per year in 2006. Nearly 20 per cent of British Columbians earned less than $15,000 per year.

Nationally, 18.5 per cent of Canadians lived on less than $15,000 per year in 2006, according to Statistics Canada.

The problem is compounded by B.C. having the least-affordable housing in Canada, Klein said. Nearly one in three households, and 44 per cent of renters, pay 30 per cent or more of their income on housing.

In May, 2008 B.C. Housing had a waiting list of 13,400 applicants for assisted housing.

Of the 13 per cent of people in poverty in B.C., 3.5 per cent are on welfare or disability assistance. The remaining 9.5 per cent are working, Klein said.

"It's a low-wage story, overall. The bottom 60 per cent of families are worse off than they were 30 years ago," he said.

In a comparison of 1976-79 and 2003-2006, real after-tax incomes for the bottom 30 per cent of wage earners dropped more than 15.6 per cent. During the same period, the top 30 per cent saw their income increase nearly 11.7 per cent. Nationally, all categories saw real after-tax incomes increase.

Increased inequality in the market and inequality in tax and social policy is, "the rich man's double-double," Klein said.

For the 3.5 per cent able to receive social assistance, the average income for a single, employable person is $610 per month. Those living on permanent disability are eligible for just over $900 a month.

"Welfare caseloads are down since the late 1990s. But we looked at the numbers and all of the caseload reduction was because of fewer people going on. We have developed a system that is so Byzantine that people are systemically discouraged, delayed and denied," Klein said.

During the economic decline of the mid-1990s, 80 per cent of workers were eligible for EI benefits and 90 per cent of people who applied for social assistance were approved. Today only 40 per cent of workers are eligible for EI and only 50 per cent of people who apply for social assistance are approved, he said.

However, Klein said, poverty is not inevitable.

Quebec, Ontario, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick have enacted anti-poverty legislation which set clear targets and timelines, he said.

"Newfoundland used to share with B.C. the highest poverty level in Canada. Now they are in the middle of the pack," Klein said. "Newfoundland has a higher minimum wage than we do. And Newfoundland was the first province to index the minimum wage to inflation."…

"(In a recent survey) 77 per cent of British Columbians said, now more than ever, we need to support the poor," he said. "We have the will, the solutions are known and now we need a plan."

The centre's plan calls for poverty to be reduced by 33 per cent within four years, street homelessness eliminated in two years, and all homelessness eliminated within eight years.

The plan calls for social assistance to be immediately increased 50 per cent and indexed to inflation. In addition, barriers to access should be eliminated.

"The people the most at risk have the hardest time getting on social assistance," he said.

The minimum wage should immediately be increased to $10.60 an hour - the poverty line for a single person, working full time, he said. The number of employment standards officers should be restored to investigate employer violations such as unpaid overtime….

"When we had less homelessness, we used to build 2,000 units of social housing a year," Klein said. "We need to deal with the housing crisis. We need an increase in social housing."

A universal child care system is needed, he said. For families with children living in poverty, the second biggest expense, after housing, is child care, Klein said.

"Child poverty is a kind of poison, when it comes to a child's cognitive ability and performance as school," Klein said. "Quebec has made a decision to have universal child care and they do it alone. They made a different choice as a society. They are ahead of us in so many ways."…

We pay now, or we pay later."…