Victoria Aims to Legislate Poverty Reduction Plan by Next Spring says Minister
Minister of Social Development and Poverty Reduction Shane Simpson visited Prince George Monday – photo 250News
Prince George, B.C. – British Columbia remains the only province in Canada without a poverty reduction plan – but that will soon change.
B.C.’s Minister of Social Development and Poverty Reduction Shane Simpson made the comment while on a visit to Prince George today. He said his goal is to have one legislated next year.
“I’m consulting right now with a number of organizations, including the business community, labour, academia, stakeholder groups, social justice organizations around the issue,” he told 250News.
“We’ll do that work and then legislate in the spring with clear targets and timelines. A transparent reporting system that reports to the legislature on an annual basis.”
Simpson says a big part of the plan will include creating affordable housing province-wide.
“If you want to break the (poverty) cycle, it’s about housing and making housing available for people to meet that need. It’s also about providing educational opportunities for people to upgrade their skills to move forward.
“It’s about mental health and addictions for people who are struggling. It’s about health care and justice issues. It’s also about collaborating with other governments – I’ve already reached out to the federal government to make sure space and land is available for that.”
He said the government has started making strides by raising the minimum wage earlier this month and by creating the Fair Wage Commission to figure out the timeline for gradual increments up to their promised $15 an hour.
Simpson said the purpose of this visit today was two-fold – to meet with ministry staff in the city and garner feedback – and to meet with organizations in the community who are working with vulnerable people to get a better sense of what the situation is like here.
According to the government, there are about 678,000 people living in poverty in B.C. – about 15 per cent of our population. More than 20 per cent of those people are children.
Comments
Building affordable housing? All you will do is create ghettos.
Poverty reduction plan? Three words: ha ha ha.
Ghettos?
Can you list the locations in PG where the Government has built affordable housing?
For each one, give me the characteristics of why you define those you list as ghettos.
Remember, no matter whether the government is NDP, Liberal or Conservative, they all build “affordable” housing.
PG? who is talking about PG? The story refers to the Province. In many places “affordable” housing is basically older condo complexes that have been bought up by the government. Yes they are made up of people in particular social or economic situations. That is not my beef. What usually happens is that these developments turn into zones of excessive alcoholism, drugs and violence wrought by the tenants who live there. Either inside the complex or out into nearby parts of the community.
Imorge, unfortunately is correct, I’ve seen it time and again throughout this province.
Woo Hoo, sign me up. gonna quit my job today and start living…..
With the NDP in power, and the Federal tax gouging, I hope they make room for a lot more poverty.
Is poverty increasing or decreasing in all the other Provinces that have a Poverty Reduction Plan?
The most successful poverty reduction in history took place (and still is taking place) in China, where they’re pulling a million people per month out of poverty.
How about asking them how they do it?
Hint – it involves a lot of capitalism.
Yes, but with VERY strict government control and lots of government money. I’m not sure that would work here.
The Chinese, I believe, are doing on a much larger scale what the Japanese did prior to, and again after, World War Two. They use what could be called National Credit to further the aims of the State. In both instances, it involves elbowing their way into the export markets of the world. No matter how cheap any other country could produce the same goods domestically, they could always undersell them. Such methods enslave their own populations, and impoverish those of the countries they’re exporting to.
‘Capitalism’ is kind of a nebulous word. Fundamentally, any economy that uses ‘tools’ ~ things to make things with ~ is a capitalist economy. Those tools, whether they be of the simplest and primitive, or the most modern and technologically advanced plant and equipment imaginable, are fixed capital.
But usually ‘capitalism’ is used in a more monetary connotation. It involves a method of accounting, one which we call double entry accrual accounting, and it’s a method of fixing prices in relation to costs.
The old Soviet Union, after the 1917 Russian Revolution and ascent to power of the Communists, outlawed that method of accounting, because it involved profit, and to the Marxists profit was an anathema. Unfortunately for them, without any method of booking a profit, producers had no way of determining just what it was consumers wanted. So the State had to dictate what would be made, and how much anyone was allowed to have of it. That didn’t work very well.
I’d like to live in Vancouver, preferably in Shaughnessy although I might settle for the Kerrisdale area! Anybody want to provide me with some low cost housing there so I can rub shoulders with the rich folk?
On second thought, I think that the Okanagan would suffice, perhaps somewhere in the upper Mission. The Carrs Landing or Okanagan Centre areas Of Lake Country are also nice! Again, any takers on building me some affortable housing in those ritzy neighbourhoods?
No takers? None!?
Oh well, guess I’ll just stay here in good ol’ PG, where housing is affordable and the quality of life is pretty darn good!
Perhaps we need to look at moving some of lower mainland’s homeless populations to less expensive parts of the province where we could get far more bang for the tax dollars that will be spent on housing!
Just a thought, a politically incorrect one, but a thought none the less!
Decentralization of industrial and commercial enterprises as well as government services is one of the answers. With jobs, people will follow.
Prices of housing will rise, but not as high as the lower mainland and south island.
Not all enterprises need to be close to a major urban centre.
Oh well, guess I’ll just stay here in good ol’ PG, where housing is affordable
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Housing affordability is all relative and there are loads of people out there who would find housing in PG to be unaffordable. Heck, I recently browsed the MLS listings and was shocked at what has happened to the price of housing since I moved away. There is comparable housing in the suburbs of Ottawa that is less costly than what you’d pay in PG and there are far more options for housing stock here. When I put in my desired price range, I was basically only given some houses in Westwood that were 30 years older than what I’m living in now.
On the other end of the spectrum, I was recently in Atlantic Canada and in certain places you could almost live in a palace for the same price as you’d pay for a house here or in PG.
That said, none of the three places I mentioned would be considered affordable for someone who is making minimum wage or slightly more. I always thought that the goal of “affordable housing” was to help people gain some stability and provide them with a reasonable place to live, as they work to improve their personal situation, and ultimately find the means to move beyond “affordable housing”. To that end, I think it’s a noble goal to pursue. Of course, it still has to be managed properly. Legislation without a proper plan and subsequent execution is useless.
news.gov.bc.ca/stories/seven-communities-to-pilot-poverty-reduction-strategies
That site is still up.
Dated April 12, 2012 …. 5 years ago
It includes Prince George.
So where is the plan?
“VICTORIA – The Province and the Union of BC Municipalities have identified seven communities to participate in a pilot project where poverty-reduction strategies will target the unique needs of families struggling to get out of poverty in those communities.
Prince George, Cranbrook, Port Hardy, Surrey, New Westminster, Stewart and Kamloops have been identified as the first to pilot community poverty-reduction strategies. These communities were recommended by the UBCM to reflect a mix of metro, urban, rural and remote communities across B.C.”
“The strategies will optimize existing resources and will initially focus on families with children living in poverty. They will be guided by feedback from town hall meetings, community discussions and conversations with low-income families and individuals vulnerable to poverty. Key to developing successful strategies is recognition that each community has distinctive needs and resources.”
We could build parasitic structures for the homeless.
Google “This Designer Built A Secret Studio That Hangs Beneath An Underpass”
dezeen.com/2017/08/18/secret-studio-under-bridge-fernando-abellanas-architecture-valencia-spain
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