The real cost of raising a family in Metro Vancouver
By Seth Klein, Marcy Cohen and Tim Richards
Vancouver Sun
May 4, 2010

Families who work for low wages face impossible choices -- buy clothing or heat the house, feed the children or pay the rent. The result can be spiralling debt, constant anxiety and long-term health problems. In many cases it means working long hours, often at two or three jobs, just to pay for basic necessities. Parents end up with little time to spend with their families, help their children with school work, or participate in community activities.

For six years running, B.C. has had the highest child poverty rate in Canada. The story of child poverty is very much a story of low wages. More than half of B.C.'s poor children (56 per cent) have at least one parent working full-time all year. That's why the living wage is one of the most powerful tools available to address this troubling state of poverty in B.C….

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