Let's Celebrate Our Successes! Taking on the housing crunch, school closures and rising hydro rates.
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- Published on Tuesday, 09 August 2016 07:15
- Written by editor
Dear PAOVWe've had a busy summer here at the BC Poverty Reduction Coalition:
- Thanks to our wonderful members and allies, there are lots of successes to celebrate over the last few months!
- Over a dozen municipalities have adopted resolutions calling for a comprehensive provincial poverty reduction strategy, and the resolution will be brought forward at the Union of BC Municipalities in September.
- We're keeping up the pressure on the Raise the Rates, Leave our Bus Pass Alone campaign.
- As students and teachers get ready to go back to school, we #RethinkEducation and call for adequate levels of funding for all levels of education.
- BCPIAC is representing us and other groups to tackle rising hydro rates through the BC Utilities Commission Rate Review and will be presenting evidence next week.
Trish and Omar
Let's Celebrate Our Successes!
Big change is possible when we work together. Here are some great examples of that achieved in the last few months.
Huge victory on HousingOur allies in the Downtown Eastside from the Carnegie Community Action Project, VANDU, and others urged the Mayor of Vancouver to commit to welfare-rate housing in the development of 58 West Hastings. And he signed the commitment! Read more.
Lifting 397,000 People Out of Poverty
Members, CCPA and First Call, have been advocating for a strong Canada Child Benefit for years and now our federal government has heard the call. And it won't be taken away from those on welfare! Read more.
Living Wage on a Roll
The number of municipalities taking steps towards reducing poverty is growing as both Parksville and Pitt Meadows recently voted to become living wage employers and, on June 20th, the Living Wage for Families Campaign certified 9 new LW employers. Read more.
And Continue to Call for More Big Changes!
Municipalities Call for Poverty Reduction Plan
13 cities have now adopted resolutions calling for a provincial poverty reduction strategy. Please encourage your city council to add their support and vote for the resolution when it's brought forward at the UBCM in September. Read more.
Raise the Rates, Leave our Bus Pass Alone
After the huge show of community support for the Open Letter signed by over 160 organizations, we have had no response from the government, although there has been some shift in the language from them, now calling the change a $25 increase plus a $52 "transportation allowance" so they're clearly feeling some pressure.
To keep it up, we've got plans for another action in the next month and we're also going to start sharing personal stories on the impact of this change and inadequate PWD rates. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to get involved.
#RethinkEducation
This summer, our #RethinkPoverty campaign has featured inclusion and health. Now, as families are thinking about going back to school, we're focusing on education. If you're concerned about school closures throughout BC, find out more about the chronic underfunding of public education here.
We have resources for both students and teachers to take upstream action against poverty on our At School page, including our Share the Weight activity. Also, share the BCTF's Infographics and the Federation of Post Secondary Educators' Open the Doors video.
Energy Poverty: Facing Rising BC Hydro Rates
As rising hydro rates continue to put pressure on low-income people, the BC Public Interest Advocacy Centre is representing us and other groups to ask the BC Utilities Commission to urge BC Hydro to implement a bill affordability program for low income residential ratepayers. Read more.
Opportunity: Federal Government Consultations Open!
The Federal Government has launched separate public consultations on housing and poverty reduction strategies. Tell them that poverty and homelessness are violations of human rights, and we need strong national strategies with funding, targets and timelines to address them.We will be making a formal submission to the poverty reduction consultation so check our website in the fall to follow up on that and feel free to use it as a template for your own submission. Copyright © 2016 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 Coalition#810 - 815 West Hastings StreetVancouver, British Columbia V6C 1B4 Canada
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