First Call, B.C.’s child and youth advocacy coalition, has released its annual report card on child poverty in B.C. One in five children in B.C. lives in poverty. This is shameful when the B.C. Liberals are boasting a budget surplus of $1.94 billion in the first quarter of this year.
When one child lives in poverty, it’s a tragedy. When a fifth of the children in B.C. are poor, it’s a crisis.
Research has long demonstrated that poverty is toxic to children’s health and development. From poor nutrition to family stress to exclusion from social participation, there are many ways poverty is known to raise the risk of lifelong ill effects on health and reduce opportunities for children to realize their full potential.
Despite consistently high rates of child poverty in B.C., there has been little concrete action taken by provincial and federal governments.
It is time for the B.C. government to adopt a comprehensive poverty-reduction plan with legislated targets and timelines.
Let’s make this an election issue, as B.C. trails all other provinces with one of the highest rates of child poverty.
Marilyn Banfield
Victoria
