Winding Down BC’s Fossil Fuel Industries - 2020
For British Columbia to meet its emissions targets and not perpetuate the climate crisis, it must phase out its fossil fuel industries by mid-century. This means strategically and thoughtfully planning for the coming energy transition, including full decarbonization of the economy by 2050 and a fair transition for workers and resource-dependent communities. The report outlines a four-part framework for a managed wind-down in BC, which must be planned with First Nations, to phase out fossil fuel industries over the next 20 to 30 years. Written with Marc Lee. Read more here.
Submission to the BC Rental Housing Task Force - 2018
This submission makes recommendations to control rental costs in British Columbia. It advises changes to BC’s Residential Tenancy Act. It argues bold action to control rental costs must be a central component of a comprehensive and effective poverty reduction plan. Given escalating housing costs, there is a grave risk that all the improvements and gains experienced for low-income people from minimum wage increases, welfare rate increases, child care fee reductions and more will be wiped out by rent increases. Read more here.
Submission on the Development of a BC Poverty Reduction Plan - 2018
This submission highlights relevant CCPA–BC reports detailing why BC needs a poverty reduction plan and what should constitute core elements of such a plan. It underscores the CCPA's support for the detailed submission and policy recommendations of the BC Poverty Reduction Coalition. Now is the time for the BC government to deliver with a plan that is bold and ambitious, that will produce meaningful results, and that will stand the test of time. Read more here.
Working for a Living Wage Update: Making Paid Work Meet Basic Family Needs in Metro Vancouver - 2018
A $20.91 hourly wage is needed to cover the costs of raising a family in Metro Vancouver, up from $20.61 per hour in 2017. This is the hourly wage that two working parents with two young children must earn to meet their basic expenses (including rent, child care, food and transportation), once government taxes, credits, deductions and subsidies have been taken into account. The cost is calculated annually in Working for a Living Wage: Making Paid Work Meet Basic Family Needs in Metro Vancouver. Read more here.
Long Overdue: Why BC needs a poverty reduction plan - 2017
At the time of this report, BC was Canada’s only province without a poverty reduction plan. This report examines the most recent statistics on poverty and its associated hardships in BC, and demonstrates that strong policies are urgently needed to dramatically reduce and ultimately eliminate poverty in our province. A comprehensive and ambitious poverty reduction plan for BC is long overdue. Read more here.
submission to the BC Fair Wages Commission - 2017
The CCPA-BC highlights the urgency for British Columbia to adopt a $15 minimum wage. Low-wage workers need a significant boost to their income and they have been waiting a long time. Over 400,000 British Columbians—22 per cent of all paid employees in the province—work for less than $15 per hour and they would significantly benefit from a $15 minimum wage. The submission also offers recommendations for after the $15 minimum wage has been implemented and refutes arguments from those opposed to increasing the minimum wage. Read more here.
A Federal Plan to Tackle Poverty and Inequality - 2016
During the 2015 federal election campaign, the Liberal party campaigned vigorously on a promise to tackle inequality and substantially reduce child poverty. Proposals such as the Canada Child Benefit and 10% increase to the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) for low-income seniors are certainly steps in the right direction. However, the fight to eliminate poverty and inequality is far from over. This paper expands on the 2016 Alternative Federal Budget poverty chapter. Read more here.
A Good Jobs Economy in BC: A Summary of Papers and Ideas Presented at the CCPA–BC Jobs Conference - 2016
In November 2014 the CCPA-BC hosted a very thoughtful and solutions-oriented conference entitled A Good Jobs Economy in BC. Fifteen papers were presented. This paper highlights some of the policy ideas contained in those papers, with more than 50 policy proposals for the creation of good jobs in BC — plenty for any government or party to choose from in the development of a vibrant jobs agenda. Read more here.
Progressive Tax Options for BC: Reform Ideas for Raising New Revenues and Enhancing Fairness - 2013
The idea that we should debate whether taxes are ‘good’ or ‘bad’ is old. As most of us understand, taxes are the price we pay for the high quality of life we enjoy in Canada. At their root, taxes come down to a simple question: Which goods and services do we want to pay for together as a society, and which do we want to pay for privately as consumers? Read more here.
Living on Welfare in BC: Experiences of Longer-Term “Expected to Work” Recipients - 2008
The number of people receiving welfare in BC has been on the decline since 1995. Despite this, in 2002, the provincial government introduced dramatic policy changes designed to further shrink the welfare “caseload.” Some of these changes were unprecedented in Canada. Many of them dealt with how people access welfare—the eligibility rules and application processes that people must navigate in order to receive assistance. This study found that BC’s welfare system systematically discourages, delays and denies assistance to many of the people most in need of help, with harmful consequences for some of the province’s most vulnerable residents. Read more here.
Working for a Living Wage: Making Paid Work Meet Basic Family Needs in Vancouver and Victoria - 2008
Families who work for low wages face impossible choices — buy food or heat the house, feed the children or pay the rent. The result can be spiraling debt, constant anxiety and long-term health problems. In many cases it means that the adults in the family are working long hours, often at two or three jobs, just to pay for basic necessities. They have little time to spend with their family, much less to help their children with school work or participate in community activities. This report launched the Living Wage for Families campaign, and established the methodology that has been used to calculate the living wage in dozens of Canadian communities. Read more here.
A Poverty Reduction Plan for BC - 2008
This report lays out a comprehensive poverty reduction plan for BC. In 2009, after the report was published, the CCPA-BC, along with other organizations, founded the BC Poverty Reduction Coalition, a province-wide group calling for a poverty reduction plan for BC with legislated targets and timelines. The Coalition works to make sure that all BC political parties get the message that British Columbians want action on poverty, and that not only is this the right thing to do, it also is the most effective way to make this province better for everyone. Read more here.
Denied Assistance: Closing the Front Door on Welfare in BC - 2006
The number of people receiving welfare in BC has been on the decline since 1995. Despite this, in 2002, the provincial government introduced dramatic policy changes designed to further shrink the welfare “caseload.” Some of these changes were unprecedented in Canada. Many of them dealt with how people access welfare—the eligibility rules and application processes that people must navigate in order to receive assistance. This study found that BC’s welfare system systematically discourages, delays and denies assistance to many of the people most in need of help, with harmful consequences for some of the province’s most vulnerable residents. Read more here.