If all the children in B.C. who live in poverty were gathered together, they would form B.C.’s fifth-largest city with a population of 153,300.
That city would be disproportionately populated with First Nations kids, visible minorities, recent immigrants and children of single parents, according to a newly released BC Child Poverty Report Card by the First Call B.C. Child and Youth Advocacy Coalition. The report is funded by United Way.
“When you add in the astronomical rents in Metro Vancouver it means that being poor here is far worse than being poor in other parts of Canada,” said Adrienne Montani, First Call’s provincial co-ordinator as reported in The Vancouver Sun.
Montani explains: “It costs so much to live here, you have far less money left over after shelter. When families scrimp, they scrimp on food or they don’t heat their homes, because you can’t scrimp on rent.”
Another significant obstacle for both single mothers and families in B.C. is the difficulty of finding affordable child care — so parents can sustain employment.
The poverty rate for children in lone-parent families is nearly 50 per cent, compared with just 11-per cent for kids raised by couples.
Using the 2016 data from Statistics Canada, the report shows BC’s child poverty rate for children age 0-17 in 2015 was 18.3%, representing 153,300 children. This is nearly a full percentage point higher than the national average of 17.4%. It is down slightly from the 2014 rate of 19.8%.
In 2015, while BC children made up just 18% of the province’s total population, they made up 22% of all British Columbians living in poverty. The report contains new 2016 census data highlighting the much higher poverty rates among some groups of children in the province, with recent immigrant children at 45%, off-reserve Aboriginal children at 31%, and racialized (‘visible minority’) children at 23%.
“Poverty negatively effects children’s physical, emotional and social development,” said Michael McKnight, President & CEO, United Way British Columbia. “We need to look after our most vulnerable: no child in BC should be limited because of poverty.”
Other key findings in the 2017 report include:
- In 2015, the child poverty rate for children in lone-parent families (47.7%) was more than four times the rate (11.2%) for their counterparts in couple families
- 36.2% of the 14,490 children living with grandparents, alone or with relatives, non-relatives or in foster care, were living in poverty
- Nearly half (45%) of recent immigrant children were poor, one in three (31%) Indigenous children were poor (not counting children living on First Nations reserves), and 23% of racialized (‘visible minority’) children were poor
- The 2017 Metro Vancouver homelessness count found 386 homeless children and youth under 25 years, including 201 children under the age of 19
In addition to calling for a provincial poverty reduction plan, the 2017 report card makes 21 public policy recommendations that would help reduce the child poverty rate to 7% or less by 2020.
Key recommendations to the provincial government include implementing the $10 a Day Child Care Plan, bringing the minimum wage up to $15 an hour and indexing it against inflation, significantly increasing income and disability assistance rates, and extending the provincial child tax benefit for all children under 18.
Additional provincial recommendations include enhanced supports for youth transitioning out of government care, removing financial barriers to obtaining a post-secondary education, paying living wages, and substantially increased investments in affordable housing options for families.
United Way is aligned with First Call and its recommendations, focusing on supporting and partnering on prevention strategies: investing donors’ dollars into preventative programs and services helping today’s children and ensuring the well-being of future generations. Our organization knows that happy, healthy kids become happy, healthy parents. The financial return on early childhood initiatives is high: studies show that for every dollar invested, there is a return of at least $6 to $7 in future economic benefits.
The Honourable Shane Simpson, Minister of Social Development and Poverty Reduction will talk about poverty reduction strategies next week at United Way’s Labour Appreciation Night.
Topics : Building strong communities, Kids and Youth
