United on PWD Rates, Bus Pass and more!
- Details
- Published on Thursday, 26 May 2016 08:15
- Written by editor
Dear PAOV,Hope you had a great long weekend! May has been a busy month here at the BC Poverty Reduction Coalition:
- Over 160 groups throughout BC signed an open letter calling on the provincial government to Raise the Rates and Leave our Bus Pass Alone.
- May is Child Care Month, and we continued #RethinkPoverty by supporting the $10aday Child Care campaign.
- Our Member Organizations were also busy with research on indigenous child poverty and affordable housing, filing a human rights complaint against the clawback of maternity benefits, opening a free women's legal centre, and more!
Trish and Omar
In an incredible show of solidarity and commitment to addressing poverty for some of BC's most vulnerable citizens, the BC Poverty Reduction Coalition and a growing number of anti-poverty, human rights, faith groups, immigrant and refugee organizations and disability organizations have banded together in a joint Open Letter calling on Premier Clark to Raise the Rates, Leave our Bus Pass Alone.
The Open Letter is an urgent call to action by more than 160 provincial and local community groups across BC who strongly oppose the changes to the BC Bus Pass Program and Special Transportation Subsidy and believe its long past time for the BC Government to raise Persons with Disability Rates (PWD). This is only the latest of almost weekly actions since the government's budget announcement.
The Open Letter urges the provincial government to:
- Bring back the $45 per year bus pass for people with disabilities;
- Eliminate the new $52/month bus pass fee;
- Allow everyone receiving PWD benefits to keep the $77/month increase;
- Bring back the Special Transportation Subsidy, and introduce a rural transportation subsidy for those living outside the areas where the Bus Pass Program and Special Transportation Subsidy operate; and
- Raise income and disability assistance significantly by October 1, 2016 to reflect the cost of living, and then index to inflation.
Help us keep the pressure up:
- Join over 15,000 people and sign the petition
- This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to the list of signatories of the Open Letter
#RethinkChildcare
Bringing you the third month of #RethinkPoverty, this May, we #RethinkChildcare by highlighting the $10aday Child Care campaign. If you haven't already joined us on social media, there's just a few more days to go until we switch to #RethinkInclusion for June.
The $10aDay Campaign launched the 2016 edition of the $10aDay Plan! It’s still the Plan you know and support – updated to reflect the new federal context and the unstoppable enthusiasm for the Plan across BC.
A comprehensive early learning and child care program, including provisions for special needs children and pay increases for child care workers (most of whom earn less than the living wage), should be a high priority for the province. Child care fees are the second-largest expense for most young families after housing. In the Fraser Valley living wage calculation, child care outpaces housing as the number-one expense. Providing this service publicly would remove a huge financial burden from thousands of low-income households
Take Action: Sign the petition endorsing
the $10 a Day Child Care Plan.
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Quebec’s child care system returns $1.05 to its government for every $1 invested – and Ottawa recovers 44 cents, even with no direct investment. These returns continue to grow. More broadly, every public dollar invested in quality child care returns at least $2.54 to our overall economy. Investing in child care has a bigger job multiplier effect than any other sector.
81% of parents who use child care say that the cost puts a financial strain on their family. For many low-wage families, quality and affordable child care is just not something that they are able to afford. Many have no option but to leave the workforce or to use unregulated care.
Member Updates
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The CCPA released Shameful Neglect: Indigenous Child Poverty in Canada, a report calculating child poverty rates in Canada, including the rates on reserves and in territories—something never before examined. - West Coast LEAF and the Peter A. Allard School of Law have officially opened Rise Women's Legal Centre, the only free/low-cost women's legal clinic in BC.
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The CCPA released Getting Serious about Affordable Housing: Towards a Plan for Metro Vancouver, proposing a bold affordable housing solutions agenda. - The Community Legal Assistance Society filed a human rights complaint on behalf of Jess Alford, whose maternity benefits were clawed back from her partner's disability assistance. Read more here.
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The BCFED, HEU and the Employment Standards Coalition is co-hosting an evening with Jane McAlevey. Real Power Through High Participation Organizing will take place on Thursday, June 2nd at 7 pm at the Vancouver Public Library. To register, visit http://bit.ly/1TxvEA1
- Canada Without Poverty’s NEW two-week online course, Putting Poverty in the ‘Rights’ Place: An Intro to Economic & Social Rights in Canada and BC, will run from Tuesday, May 24th to Tuesday, June 7th, 2016. Six sponsored free-of-charge spots have opened up for BC residents. If you’re interested, contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to see if they’re still available
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 Coalition#810 - 815 West Hastings StreetVancouver, British Columbia V6C 1B4 Canada
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