Were hitting the road: join us in our BC-wide workshop series! Also, watch a video of Mayor Ted Clugston, support the Poverty Reduction Act & more
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- Published on Friday, 15 May 2015 07:15
- Written by editor
Hello,
In this edition of our newsletter we have plenty of updates for you, as there’s been lots of action in the last few weeks. Some of these updates are really time-sensitive, so let's get to it!
- Bill M218: The Poverty Reduction and Economic Inclusion Act has been re-introduced in BC’s Legislature! This bill calls on the provincial government to develop and implement a strategy with legislated targets and timelines in order to reduce the breadth and depth of poverty. Now's our chance to pressure our politicians to pass this great bill!
- We are super excited to announce the launch of “The Road to a Poverty-Free BC” workshop series coming to a community near you! We are hitting the road and visiting Terrace, Prince Rupert, Prince George, Richmond, North Vancouver, Kelowna, Nanaimo and Abbotsford. And this is just the start!
- Our latest Speaker Series on Impacts and Solutions with Mayor Ted Clugston was a huge success! But if you missed it or want to share it, we've uploaded a recording of the province-wide webinar so that you can still hear from “The Mayor Who Ended Homelessness.”
- We have also prepared a brief report of our participation at the National Poverty Reduction Summit, which took place in Ottawa last week, May 6-8.
If you haven't yet, please like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter. It's an easy-peasy way to keep engaged and find out the latest news and updates from all our coalition members.
Hope to see you on the road!
Trish and Gil
Support Bill M218: Poverty Reduction and Economic Inclusion Act!
Earlier this week, Nelson-Creston MLA Michelle Mungall re-introduced a bill that would see the provincial government commit to the development and implementation of a strategy, with legislated targets and timelines, to reduce the breadth and depth of poverty. Hundreds of postcards that you helped collect and sign were also submitted along with the bill (see a video here)!
BC’s Legislature is currently in session, so this is the best opportunity for you to contact your MLA and ask them to take advantage of this wonderful chance to set BC on the right path. Please support the bill!
The Road to a Poverty-Free BC: Connecting Communities for Upstream Action is a series of workshops where local community members can share their knowledge and strengthen their ability to work for meaningful change. Trish will facilitate a community workshop on story-telling and effective advocacy, providing an opportunity to strategize about how we can work together to make systemic change in tackling poverty.
These events are part of a province-wide tour. Everyone welcome!
- People living in poverty and their allies
- Service providers, community organizations or others who work directly with those in poverty
- Anyone who wants to make meaningful change!
The schedule for the first round of workshops is below, but please visit our website for the most up-to-date calendar:
Terrace
May 23, BC Federation of Labour regional conference
Prince Rupert
May 25, Fisherman's Hall
Co-hosted with Kaien Anti-Poverty Society
Prince George
May 26, Central Interior Native Health Society
Richmond
June 9, 9:30am-1:30pm, Richmond Caring Place
Co-hosted with Richmond Poverty Response Committee
Please register here
North Vancouver
June 25, 9:30am-1:30pm, Tsleil Waututh Community Centre
Co-hosted with North Shore Disability Resource Centre
Kelowna
September 17. Details coming soon!
Co-hosted with Canadian Federation of University Women
Nanaimo and Abbotsford events in the Fall.
If you’d like to help support any of these events or if you would like us to come to your community, please This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Thank you for making the Speaker Series a success!
Thanks to your support, Mayor Ted Clugston's visit to BC was a tremendous success: both public forums were very well-attended, and the province-wide webinar was full to capacity! Mayor Clugston's visit also sparked a lot of interest from the media, with at least ten articles published on local, regional and national newspapers, as well as several radio and TV interviews. Here are a couple of our favourite examples: a great interview in Megaphone Magazine and an article in The Georgia Straight.
If you did not manage to attend any of the events or if you want to share Mayor Clugston's message, we've uploaded a video of his presentation in the province-wide webinar for you to enjoy. Watch it here!
BC Left Behind in National Fight Against Poverty
On May 6-8, the National Poverty Reduction Summit took place in Ottawa, where leaders from across the country met to discuss how to align their efforts to tackle poverty, and we were there (thanks to Vancity's generosity)! It was super exciting to see PRAC's Poverty Mythbusters video start the day off at the national living wage conference on the first day.
At the Summit, we learned more about the progress and success that other provinces and cities have had with their strategies, such as free transit for low-income people. Unfortunately, on the BC front, all we heard was that the provincial government was adopting "a different approach." It was embarrassing to be the only province in Canada left without a plan to tackle poverty!
Some of my favourite quotes from the week include (for more, see Twitter here):
- "Poverty is something we've chosen to construct as a society so we can choose to tear it down," Alan Broadbent
- "We're all in this together. Our neighbours' pain is our pain, our neighbours' success is our success," Mayor Naheed Nenshi, Calgary
- "Income is how we take care of ourselves, taxes are how we take care of each other," Catherine Ludgate, VanCity
- "We know the answer to poverty: very significant and brave changes in federal policy," Mayor Naheed Nenshi, Calgary
The BC Poverty Reduction Coalition acknowledges and honours the fact that
our communities lie on unceded Indigenous lands. Copyright © 2015 BC Poverty Reduction Coalition, All rights reserved.
You are receiving this email because you signed a BC Poverty Reduction petition, subscribed to our mailing list at bcpovertyreduction.ca, or took part in a workshop with the Coalition.
Our mailing address is:
BC Poverty Reduction Coalition1400 - 207 West Hastings StreetVancouver, British Columbia V6B 1H7 Canada
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